- Caravan of Dreams
:"For the
Canterbury scene band, see Caravan of Dreams."The Caravan of Dreams was a
performing arts center located in thecentral business district of Fort Worth,Texas during the 1980s and 1990s. The venue was best known locally as a live musicnightclub , though this only represented one portion of a larger facility. The center also included a multitrackrecording studio , a 212 seat theater, twodance studios, and a rooftop garden.ref|linernotes1 The center was located at 312 Houston Street, and prefigured the redevelopment ofSundance Square into a dining and entertainment district.Edward P. Bass , whose family has participated in much of the redevelopment of downtown Fort Worth, financed the project, andKathelin Hoffman served as its artistic director.ref|litweiler185The Caravan of Dreams was self-described as "a meeting place appealing to audiences who enjoy the creation of new forms of music, theater, dance, poetry and film" that was "architected and managed by and for artists."ref|linernotes2 The name was taken from "1001 Arabian Nights", by way of
Brion Gysin , who attended the opening of the venue withWilliam S. Burroughs in 1983.ref|hoffman The opening celebration centered around performances by Fort Worth nativeOrnette Coleman , both with his Prime Time ensemble in the nightclub, and with the Fort Worth Symphony at the nearby Convention Center. The event coincided with the mayoral proclamation ofSeptember 29 ,1983 as "Ornette Coleman Day," when Coleman was presented with a key to the city.ref|litweiler186The center operated its own
record label , releasingalbum s by Coleman as well as artists such asRonald Shannon Jackson , James "Blood" Ulmer, andTwins Seven Seven . Caravan of Dreams also releasedfilm s (including "Ornette: Made in America", a feature-length documentary about Coleman) andspoken word recordings by William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin,John P. Allen (as Johnny Dolphin), and others.The rooftop garden featured hundreds of cacti and
succulent plant s, as well as a glassgeodesic dome . Several years later,Biosphere 2 would incorporate geodesic domes in its structure, with the involvement of some of the same principals behind Caravan of Dreams.ref|litweiler193Eventually the facility became less geared toward the experimental (though high-profile) musicians, writers, and artists with whom it was associated in its early days. Caravan of Dreams ceased its production of entertainment media, and the nightclub hosted more mainstream performers outside of the
jazz genre.The nightclub closed in 2001, exactly eighteen years to the day after Ornette Coleman Day, and was converted into a restaurant, Reata at Sundance Square.ref|bluesnews The theater space continued to be operated as such.
Notes and references
* Liner notes. "
In All Languages " byOrnette Coleman . Caravan of Dreams Productions CDP 85008, 1987.
* Litweiler, John. "Ornette Coleman: A Harmolodic Life". 1992. New York: Da Capo, 1994. p. 185. ISBN 0-306-80580-4
* Liner notes. "In All Languages."
* Hoffman, Kathelin. Liner notes. "Uncommon Quotes" by William S. Burroughs. Caravan of Dreams Productions CDPT 85011, 1988.
* Litweiler, p. 186.
*Note|litweiler193 Litweiler, p. 193.
* " [http://www.geocities.com/bluesdfw/News2001.htm Dallas/Fort Worth Blues News 2001] ." AccessedNovember 1 ,2005 .See also
*
List of jazz clubs
*List of record labels External links
* [http://www.fortwortharchitecture.com/caravan.htm Caravan of Dreams at fortwortharchitecture.com] - About the structure that housed the venue (includes photos).
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.