Basquiat + Jazz at The Broad

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Horn Players, 1983

We can’t get to museums right now, and fortunately the best institutions are pivoting with creative quarantine programming. This three-part video series from The Broad features jazz musicians interacting with the museum’s new installation of it’s thirteen Jean-Michel Basquiat paintings – these will all be on view when the museum is able to reopen.

The first segment features jazz musician Terrace Martin and Quincy Jones Productions on jazz and bebop. Martin delves into how the bebop genre played a role in Basquiat‘s artistic vision.

You can watch the first segment now and the next two in coming weeks – they’re quite short – the first is under ten minutes – and seamlessly blends art history, social justice issues, and pop culture. Terrace Martin provides lots of clues to what influenced Basquiat and what he, in turn has done to influence culture today. It’s a wonderful tease for the show and proves the longevity stemming from a very short career.

“Art is how we decorate space, music is how we decorate time.” —Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960–August 12, 1988)