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Playing an album release show in the planetarium at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis isn’t a run-of-the-mill gig, but saxophone player Jared Thompson would like to see similar events become more prevalent.
Thompson, leader of the jazz quintet Premium Blend, is using a grant from New York-based MAP Fund and assistance from the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation and other community partners to showcase new album “Virtue” April 21 at The Children’s Museum. While Premium Blend performs, digital animation by Indianapolis artists Ronald Craig Jr. and DJ Boogie Bang will be projected on the planetarium’s screen.
The $30,000 award from MAP Fund made it possible to produce the event titled “Space Jams.” Thompson said the special event can be a blueprint in lessening the financial burden for artists.
“I would like to be able to look in the future five to 10 years and see something like this happening three or four times a year with other people involved,” he said.
The planetarium’s capacity is 75 people, and Premium Blend will present the songs of “Virtue” for separate audiences at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tickets, free for attendees younger than 18 and $10 for adults, sold out shortly after the event was announced on March 1.
“We’ll have about 150 people who get to experience this,” Thompson said. “The hope is that they will contact our community sponsors and The Children’s Museum to the point of annoyance to tell them to continue to make things like this possible.”
Premium Blend—featuring Thompson on saxophone, Ryan Taylor on guitar, Steven Jones on keyboards, Brandon Meeks on bass and Richard “Sleepy” Floyd on drums—also will celebrate the release of “Virtue” with an April 20 performance at the Palladium in Carmel and two shows April 22 at the Jazz Kitchen.
Thompson said the “Virtue” album includes examples of bebop, post-bop and modern jazz sounds. The eight songs serve as a tribute, he said, to jazz’s influence on “how we listen to and create modern music.”
The album’s title track is a ballad influenced by trumpet players Roy Hargrove and Marlin McKay.
“I wanted to make something that was very pretty but something that was moving,” Thompson said. “Not define what ‘virtue’ is, but somehow listening to it you would understand the definition of the word.”
The album includes a rendition of “Aisha,” a 1961 composition by pianist McCoy Tyner. Saxophone icon John Coltrane recorded “Aisha” with Tyner and Indianapolis trumpet player Freddie Hubbard. Premium Blend also covers “Money Don’t Matter 2 Night,” a Prince song from 1991’s “Diamonds and Pearls” album, on “Virtue.”
Thompson enlisted visual artists Craig, known as Tony Styxx when he performs spoken-word works, and Boogie Bang to create celestial-themed animation for the planetarium event.
North Central High School alum Thompson’s history with The Children’s Museum dates to weekly volunteer shifts as a pre-teen.
His twin brother, Joshua Thompson, is a pianist who co-hosts the “Melanated Moments in Classical Music” podcast with soprano vocalist Angela Brown.
Thompson said he’s eager to play for young listeners at the planetarium.
“I remember growing up, my parents found tons of ways for us to be able to watch live music and professional musicians do what they do,” he said.
In addition to the MAP Fund and Indianapolis Jazz Foundation, supporters of “Space Jams” include The Children’s Museum, cultural firm GangGang and jazz ensemble From the 317.
The MAP Fund awards 80 grants each year, and Thompson was the only Indiana artist among grant recipients announced in December.
“It’s a $30,000 grant to effectively elevate minority and underserved voices,” he said. “They give you full autonomy of what you want to do, which I think is spectacular.”
Premium Blend presents ‘Space Jams’
- When: 8 and 9 p.m. April 21.
- Where: Planetarium at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, 3000 N. Meridian St.
- Tickets: Sold out.
- Info: Visit premiumblendindy.com.
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