Art in The Age of Emergence

When Los Angeles-born, Oakland-based pianist-turned-producer Gene Russell co-founded Black Jazz in 1971, the 39-year-old journeyman was just two years removed from a small-trio release on Decca that landed squarely in the lighthearted, pop-friendly, ‘Up-Up And Away’ and ‘Born Free’-covering world of cocktail-bar jazz. But with the turn-of-the-seventies emergence of revolutionary developments from electric Miles to the spiritual directions of Pharoah Sanders and Alice Coltrane – and all sorts of funky mutations in Russell’s soul-jazz wheelhouse, to boot – the tight-knit collection of artists he assembled took full advantage of all the possibilities that lay ahead for jazz in the young decade.

Code, Chaos, and Cyber Shields - A silent battle.

Code, Chaos, and Cyber Shields - A silent battle.

Waldemar Januszczak challenges the prevailing wisdom that civilisation stopped after the fall of the Roman Empire and argues that the Dark Ages were actually a time of great artistic achievement, with new ideas and religions provoking new artistic adventures. He embarks on a fascinating trip across Europe, Africa and Asia, visits the world's most famous collections and discovers hidden artistic gems, all to prove that the Dark Ages were actually an 'Age of Light'.