Edward Burra @ Tate Britain

Before going on to Pizza Express our man Jerry stopped off at Tate Britain  to see an exhibition of works by the English artist Edward Burra (1905-1976). Sadly he, Jerry, did not have nearly enough time to fully appreciate the collection but one thing did surprise him was that Burra (active 1920-1970 approx) was a big fan of 1920s/1930s'  jazz. When, in 1933, he made his first trip to New York his first port of call was Harlem, the epicentre of black culture.

Tate Britain, Jerry tells me, had/has a whole room devoted to Burra's jazz-related paintings and other artefacts including some survivors from his record collection - pic attached. His taste very much in line with the emerging European jazz scholars (Feather, Pannasié, Delauney etc.). His lifestyle perhaps like that of British Bohemia and their society patrons of those days - almost like an extract from Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies!

A typical jazz age painting THE BAND, is typical of his work from that era when he spent a lot of time in Paris and NY. It's a scene from a gig in Harlem c 1934 depicting a big band with conductor and two lady singers. Burra "cropped" the right hand side of the stage because, at the time, he had a restricted view 0f the musicians (a bit like my Pizza Express photo where the bass and piano player  are tucked away in a corner, invisible to most commented Jerry).

Edward Burra's worth looking up if you don't know his work. Lance

LINK.