Charged Particles serves up a summer treat

Nothing spells summer quite like a setting sun, a warm breeze, cool jazz and neo-primitivist art.\nSound strange? Henri Matisse, the early 20th-century French painter, wouldn't have thought so.\nA collection of art works by Matisse, who was a fan of jazz, will be on special display until Aug. 4 at the IU Art Museum. The installation is being shown in conjunction with a series of jazz concerts, which are held outdoors on the museum's Sculpture Terrace every Friday night through July 26.\nThe concerts, featuring both local and national talent, begin at 6:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public. The Matisse exhibit includes his series of works entitled "Jazz," which were inspired by the textural and spatial elements of music. The artist himself referred to the work as a set of "chromatic and spatial improvisations," according to Joanna Davis, public relations assistant for the museum.\n"He always likened his artwork to musical compositions," Davis said. "This was especially true when his eyesight failed him in later years, and he turned to the cutout technique to create his art." \nA different work from the "Jazz" collection will be on display each weekend.\nNow in its twelfth year, the art and music series, which the museum calls "Jazz in July," originated as a way to present more of its permanent collection to the public. "We have over 35,000 pieces in the collection, and quite a bit of that material has not been on display, or it may have been out only once," Davis said. "We really have a wealth of things that connect with jazz. The series was so popular when it began 12 years ago that we've kept it going since."\nPart of the attraction, no doubt, is the al fresco atmosphere of the concerts. "The Sculpture Terrace is a great place for those, with the fresh air and the outdoor artworks all around," Davis said.\nThe concert series, which featured Indianapolis guitarist Charlie Smith on July 5 and Columbus, Ohio-based fusion group Charged Particles on July 12, also has the Bill Lancton Quartet on the calendar for July 19 and Bloomington musician Sara Caswell on July 26. According to the museum's press release, Lancton has over 30 years of experience playing jazz, rock funk and country music, and award-winning jazz violinist Caswell recently performed at Carnegie Hall alongside the New York Pops All-Stars.\n"To have someone who has played in Carnegie Hall is so exciting," Davis said. "Of course, Bloomington is so full of fine musicians that we could probably have a different performer here every week for years. We're also lucky to have a community that supports art and music so strongly. I think people look forward to and expect the series every year."\nCharged Particles drummer Jon Krosnick is happy to be part of the series. While "Jazz in July" is celebrating 12 years of music, his group is celebrating 11 together. "If you know the jazz world, you know it's hard to be around for that long," he said. "We also have a new CD out, and we enjoy the chance to play the new material for people."\nJazz fan Warren Hartzog, who attended the concert with his daughter Chelsea, heard about it while touring the museum. A resident of York, Penn., he was in town for the week with his daughter and wife, who is a doctoral student at Waldon University. "We've been here six days, and have seen just about every musical event in Bloomington during that time," he said. His daughter is taking violin lessons, and while he is not a musician, Hartzog professed to being an avid listener. "I love going to hear live jazz," he said. "It's been a very good week for that"