Comments (0) Best Local Music History Event - 2006
Black Artists Group Retrospective
Although the Black Artists Group (BAG) was active for only a relatively short time in the late <\#213>60s and early <\#213>70s, its influence still resonates. A multimedia collective whose performances combined music, drama, poetry, dance and visual art, BAG generated a lot of buzz during its time and helped launch the careers of many influential artists. Despite these accomplishments, the organization's role in music history has been overshadowed by the similar but longer-lived Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. This past February Washington University's music department (with an assist from Jazz St. Louis) went a long way toward righting the historical record by hosting a series of events commemorating BAG's legacy, including an academic symposium, a panel discussion featuring BAG members, and concerts by former BAG members and associates. At last St. Louis got a chance to celebrate a gutsy group of innovators who had long been overlooked.
