Photo by Kristie Kahns
Jeremy Cunningham’s
The Weather Up There
The Weather Up There focuses on the life of Jeremy's younger brother Andrew, who died in a home invasion robbery in 2008. Working closely with Jeff Parker, Paul Bryan, and Josh Johnson, this new work confronts the tragedy of violence and examines the acute ripple effect on several people's lives through the lens of memory, response, and collage.
As part of his process, Cunningham collected a series of audio interviews from family members and close friends of his brother that detail their experience of loss and the effect gun violence has had upon their lives. Cunningham formed a drum choir for these compositions with close mentors and colleagues Mike Reed, Makaya McCraven, and Mikel Patrick Avery, in order to further deepen the textural and emotive impact of these deeply personal works. The collective improvisation of the drum choir is their response to the calls of personal stories and narrative accounts of these troubling events.
Cunningham traveled to Cincinnati with experimental video artist Kim Alpert, who documented the scenery and locations referenced in The Weather Up There. Her work alongside Mikel Patrick Avery, and Connor Lane resulted in many of the images, videos, and photographs accompanying the music.
In an effort to broaden the scope of this project, Every Town For Gun Safety has provided visual and written materials to help educate the public before and after these shows on the reality of gun violence statistics in the United States. Cunningham believes in common sense gun reform.
Jeremy Cunningham with his siblings Natasha and Andrew at Krohn Conservatory, Cincinnati Ohio, 1984
Jeremy Cunningham talks about his album “The Weather Up There,” and the people’s stories featured throughout his work.
Mike Reed, Makaya McCraven, Jeremy Cunningham, and Mikel Patrick Avery. Sept, 2017.
This work was made possible by an Individual Artist Grant by Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.