St. Louis has a brand new BAG

Operating in St. Louis from 1968 to 1972, the Black Artists Group was a multidisciplinary arts cooperative that brought together music, poetry, dance, drama and visual arts, providing performance opportunities for local artists as well as educational programs for young people in the community.

Though coverage in local media was scant at the time, over the years BAG has come to be recognized as an historically significant organization that not only served as an important incubator for new artistic ideas but also helped launch the careers of a number of notable creative musicians, including Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill, Hamiet Bluiett, Baikida Carroll, Charles "Bobo" Shaw, Floyd LeFlore, J.D. Parran, Joseph Bowie and Luther Thomas.

The original BAG ended when the group's funding sources, primarily grant money, began to dry up and a number of the group's most active members left town for New York or Europe. But BAG's legacy has remained an important part of St. Louis' cultural history, and was celebrated in 2005 with a symposium and performances at Washington University.

Now some of the members of the original Black Artists Group, along with some new faces, have formed Black Arts Group (or BAG II for short). According to an email from bassist/composer/mbira player Zimbabwe Nkenya, the new organization's mission is "to present to the community music, dance, theatre, visual and literary arts and foster wholistic health practices, welcoming and appealing to all age groups and multicultural audiences. BAG II is working to revive the creative efforts of and expose audiences to BAG's musical, artistic and cultural legacy."

BAG II has scheduled several events in St. Louis over the next few weeks, all to be held at the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, 2658 Delmar Blvd in St. Louis (map).

The first will be at 6 p.m. this Saturday, January 13, when BAG II will present a program featuring music from the Creative Forces Ensemble, with Zimbabwe Nkenya on bass, Ariel Kenyatta on saxophone, and other guest musicians. Dr. Lee Blount will also be on the program, offering a presentation on wellness and fitness. The event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.

February's celebration of Black History Month provides an occasion for two additional events, starting at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 4, with "Men of Words," featuring Roscoe Crenshaw, Chris Mullin and David Jackson, with Nkenya performing solo on bass and mbira.

And at 6 p.m. on Saturday, February 24, BAG II will present another musical performance, this time featuring J. Dubbs (soprano and alto saxophones), Floyd LeFlore (trumpet), Jerome "Scrooge" Harris (drums), Zimbabwe Nkenya (bass and mbira) and Thomasina Clarke (spoken word).

BAG II doesn't have a Web site yet, but if you'd like more information on these programs or the group, you can call Thomasina Clarke at 314-249-0363 or email bag_blackartistsgroup (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Whether you call it a rebirth, a remix or a resurgence, the return of BAG in any form is a welcome development, and StLJN definitely will have more coverage of this story and future developments as they unfold.

(Edited after posting to add contact info.)