Adkins to Host Living in the Trees, Speaking to the Times

Visitors to Adkins Arboretum view “Clear Forest.,” a site-specific sculpture by Washington, D.C., artist Julia Bloom.

Join Adkins Arboretum on Sat., Sept. 6 for a special program in which music and art cast a spell on a late-summer evening. Living in the Trees—Speaking to the Times, an ongoing conversation in music and art, brings together art and music in a spectacular natural setting.

When art is made outside in nature, it is constantly changing. Throughout the summer, the site-specific works created for the seventh biennial Outdoor Sculpture Invitational—Artists in Dialogue with Landscape have been part of the Arboretum’s landscape. Meadow grasses have grown into the curves of Marcia Wolfson Ray’s marsh elder stick sculpture “Serpentine,” turning it into a living green artwork. The cloths on which Jay Fuhrman’s nature poems are printed have mellowed like aging prayer flags and become translucent. Join co-curators Howard and Mary McCoy for a twilight walk to several of the sculptures to see how they have evolved and settled into the landscape during the summer months.

Jeff Davis & Café Bossa will set the tone with an evening of classic bossas in their Americanized instrumentation, alongside original material to support the latest release, Cosmos. The trio of Jeff Davis (guitar and vocals), Jay Heath (saxophone) and Ray Anthony (percussion) will be joined by guest vocalist Jodie Littleton, lead singer of the Chestertown group Dovetail.

Active in the local music scene since his arrival on the Eastern Shore in 1990, Davis has performed most recently with jazz pianist Joe Holt and vocalist Beth McDonald in the group Classic Avenue. He has supported many local and regional musicians as a bassist and has released two independent CDs of original compositions. His latest release, Cosmos, is an ep of Latin and bossa-esque tunes.

Jeff Davis

Heath, a professional tenor saxophonist, has toured Europe with legendary R&B and soul singer Percy Sledge and has recorded and performed extensively throughout the Mid-Atlantic. He and his wife, Denise, are owners of Middletown Music, a full line music store and education center in Middletown, Del.

Anthony, a graduate of Berklee College of Music, comes from the lineage of jazz guitarist Harry Leahey. He has toured nationally, recorded with numerous artists and teaches percussion professionally.

Living in the Trees runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Advance registration is requested. The fee of $25 for members and $30 for non-members includes a light dinner of antipasti, salad and dessert. A cash wine and beer bar will be available. Register at adkinsarboretum.org or call 410.634.2847, ext. 0.

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