According to Ray

MUSICAL EXPERIENCE AT THE MARK TAPER FORUM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MUSE/IQUE.

In MUSE/IQUE’s roaring season opener at the Mark Taper Forum, we explore how Ray Charles’s diverse musical genres, influences, and collaborators all culminated in his landmark recording of “America the Beautiful.” Featuring the inimitable Brandon Victor Dixon and DC6 Singers Collective on vocals.

For the first few decades of his career, Ray Charles electrified us with his genius knack for blending gospel, blues, jazz, rock and soul.

Then, in 1972, the ultimate musical trailblazer did something even he’d never done before: he infused his work with an anthemic message of empathy at a time when we really needed it. With his album A Message From the People, and its cornerstone reinterpretation of “America The Beautiful,” Charles expressed his own vision of America—confronting our contradictions and lighting a path back toward our ideals.

In this rousing performance, MUSE/IQUE brings to life Charles’s remarkable career, with genre-spanning hits like “Hit the Road Jack” to “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and more, and the crucial role his music has in shaping our collective vision of America. Through our favorite Charles classics, MUSE/IQUE Artistic & Music Director Rachael Worby and a brilliant array of artists take us on a deeply personal, yet universally resonant, journey through patriotism, citizenship, and the enduring hope for a better future.