back to past exhibits & programs

Doktu Rhute Muuzic (formerly Roy Hytower)

Blues For Breakfast
A special Mother’s Day Blues Brunch by Doktu Rhute Muuzic, May 8, 2005

Press release:
"Blues for Breakfast" Planned for Mother's Day at Intuit (May 8)
Celebrate Mother’s Day with a special blues brunch and view the acclaimed exhibition Tools of Her Ministry: The Art of Sister Gertrude Morgan on Sunday, May 8, 2005 at 756 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago. Southern cooking prepared by Wishbone will be served at 10:30 am and a performance by Doktu Rhute Muuzic (formerly Roy Hytower) will begin at 11:15 am. Ticket prices are $40 for members and $50 for non-members. Reservations must be made by May 6, 2005.

Guitarist and vocalist Doktu Rhute Muuzic is known throughout Chicago’s South Side as “the root doctor.” He was born in Coffeeville, Alabama and arrived in Chicago in the early 60s. When Mighty Joe Young left Otis Rush’s band, Rhute eagerly stepped in and within a few years he was one of the most popular young bluesmen in town. Over the years, he has expanded his artistic vision beyond music. In 1984 he portrayed Muddy Waters in the Black Ensemble Theater’s much praised play Muddy Waters, followed by The Hoochie Coochie Man. He subsequently played leading roles in musicals about Otis Redding and Jimmy Reed and made appearances in the movies Poltergeist III and The Babe. In live performance, Doktu Rhute Muuzic runs the stylistic gamut from raw-edged Chicago blues to contemporary funk and soul. Versatile and exploratory, he personifies the spirit that keeps Chicago blues alive.

Tools of Her Ministry: The Art of Sister Gertrude Morgan, arranged by the American Folk Art Museum in New York, is the first major museum retrospective devoted to Gertrude Morgan (1900-1980), an African-American painter who today is considered one of the most important self-taught artists of our time. A self-appointed missionary and preacher, Sister Gertrude was also a musician and a poet. Her paintings illustrate specific scriptures from the Old and New Testaments and they functioned as visual guides to the work she performed as a missionary. Painting on anything that was available—paper, wood, Styrofoam meat packing trays, and window shades—Sister Gertrude created a comprehensive body of work that demonstrates originality, mastery of color, and a highly distinctive style.

Sunday, May 8, 2005
10:30 am Brunch: Southern Cooking served by Wishbone
Menu: Crawfish Cakes, Southern Scrambled Eggs, French Toast, Sausage, Bacon, Cheese Grits, Fruit Salad, Corn Muffins/Biscuits, Fruit bread, Jam, Coffee/Tea, Juice

11:15 am Blues for Breakfast (a special Mother’s Day Blues Brunch) by Doktu Rhute Muuzic (formerly Roy Hytower)

Blues for Breakfast is supported by Architectural Artifacts, Inc. and the Playboy Foundation.
The Sara Lee Foundation is the Lead Chicago Sponsor of the Tools of Her Ministry: The Art of Sister Gertrude Morgan.