(Dean Mitchell). Angelou,Maya.

Music Deep Rivers in my Soul.

New York. Limited Editions Club. 2003. This Edition Limited to 400 numbered copies of which this is #142. Signed by Maya Angelou, Dean Mitchell and Wynton Marsalis to Colophon. Spectacularly illustrated with 6 full-page Jazz oriented aquatints from original line etchings by Dean Mitchell. Oblong Large Folio. 20.25" x 16.25". Handsomely bound in full sand linen over boards. Black titled grain morocco label inset to front cover. Encased in an ultra-suede lined,like bound Solander box with black titled grain morocco label inset to spine.

Maya Angelou is one of the most honored writers of her generation. She has been honored by universities, literary organizations, government agencies, and special interest groups. Her honors include a National Book Award nomination for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, a Pulitzer Prize nomination for her book of poetry, Just Give Me A Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie, a Tony Award nomination for her role in the 1973 play Look Away, and three Grammys for her spoken word albums. In 1995, Angelou's publishing company, Bantam Books, recognized her for having the longest-running record (two years) on The New York Times Paperback Nonfiction Bestseller List.[87] She has served on two presidential committees,[88] and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Arts in 2000[89] and the Lincoln Medal in 2008. She has been awarded over thirty honorary degrees.

Artist Dean Mitchell was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; raised in Florida; and now lives in Kansas City, Missouri. His life was shaped by his maternal grandmother, Marie Mitchell, who raised him. It is this upbringing which inspires his remarkable work. Although Mitchell has termed himself "ordinary," his ability to make the ordinary special through his art is extraordinary.

Just a few of his literally hundreds of awards are first prize at the T.H. Saunders International Artist and Watercolor Show held in London, top prize from The National Watercolor Society Show in California, the House of Heydenryk Award at the National Arts Club 89th Annual Watercolor Exhibition, and the Art for the Parks medal for overall excellence.

Although many of his awards are for watercolor, Mitchell does not limit himself in media, subject, or size. He also works in oil, pastel, acrylic, and several other media, while painting landscapes, portraits, street scenes, and still life. He is a member of The American Watercolor Society, and The National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic, among others.

"I want to create paintings that make peope think and feel," he says. "Art has to mean something, whether it is commercial or not. I think that, in the end, the spirituality takes over. Human feelings are universal, no matter what the subject."

The collaboration of Angelou and Mitchell in this fabulous production is a superlative evocation of Jazz.

The original issue Wynton Marsalis CD has been replaced in this copy by a specially created DVD. The two-part video program consists firstly, of an interview with Angelou and Marsalis in which they discuss their collaboration on this work and the History of African-American Music. The Second part presents an extraordinary studio rehersal by the Marsales Quintet for their performance of the piece at the 2007 Marciac Jazz Festival. Lower front corner of box bumped else, A Very Fine, Pristine, apparently unread copy. LEC Letter laid-in.

Item #8589