J Camp/Jamaaladeen Tacuma/June Lopez

by A.D. Amorosi

"Just as sound is therapeutic to the body, so is color and texture to senses of sight and feel," says legendary jazz bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma. "It is very important to have a little of that on stage." While making a monthly home at Tritone, the bassist, whose solo CDs and collaborations with Ornette Coleman and Jeff Beck (among others) have resulted in adventures beyond music, has drifted into the realm of furniture: "lamps giving off soft glowing light, sleek chairs for lounging, paintings of vibrant and muted colors." Then he drifted into Taji Modern Gallery and found J. Camp. Like the late famed Philadelphian George Nakashima, Camp's wood modernist works are streamlined, organic, natural; they have a sculptural, almost manicured feel that still takes into consideration the centuries-old grooves of their cores as well as styling that is an abstraction of Shaker aesthetics. Unlike Nakashima, whose work is often cool and distanced, Camp is warm and alive, even hot and vibrant like a Kirlian photograph. Neither Camp nor his son, Gary, is new to attention from musical artists: Along with being so much a part of Sansom Street's legendary arts scene, James Camp's grainy creations are reputed to have found their way into the homes of Rat Packers Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra. Tacuma and producer/DJ June Lopez celebrate 40 years of Camp with an interactive improvisational musical display of Camp's creations new and old. Listen to that chair. Sit on the music.

J Camp/Jamaaladeen Tacuma/June Lopez, Fri., April 4, 7-9 p.m., free, Taji Modern Gallery, 62 N. Third St., 215-922-2757.