An Afternoon with Naima Nefertari: Piano Duet & Conversation

Join The Contemporary Austin for an afternoon of music and conversation with Naima Nefertari (aka Karlsson), visual artist, musician, and granddaughter of artist Moki Cherry and jazz iconoclast Don Cherry. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Living Temple: The World of Moki Cherry.

The program opens with a piano duet featuring Naima and Mexico City-based pianist and composer Ana Ruíz. A longtime collaborator of both Don and Moki Cherry, Ruíz arranged for the pair to travel their Organic Music Society workshop to Mexico City in 1977. In 2021, Naima and Ruíz began performing together—carrying forth a multi-generational legacy of music.

In the conversation that follows, Naima reflects on her grandparent’s genre-defying practices and how their philosophies continue to shape her own work across sound, image, and improvisation. She is joined by acclaimed filmmaker, Ephraim Asili, who has worked closely with the Cherry family estate on an in-progress documentary Don and Moki: Organic Music Society.