Mr. Webber turns his insightful eye toward the past by bringing to live the musical sights and sounds of known and forgotten performers of American Music who have personally impacted his life. Anyone who was fortunate enough to catch Mr. Webber's solo exhibition "TESTIFY" last year will surely not want to miss this one. Webber's commitment to capturing the echo of an era, will leave you at once uplifted and exalted through the sheer exuberance of a technique that is undeniable. Majestic and Lyrical are just a few words one can use when describing the new works by this amazing artist. Very little has changed when it comes to great music of the past and great music of the present. The New York of Webber’s childhood the 1950’s - 70’s would have been an amazing melting pot of sights and sounds. In fact, the earliest memories Stephen has is of music being played in his house. “I remember this 78 record with a green label that we always listen to when I was very young.” In those days one could go inside small booths on Coney Island and record oneself, much in the same way as people today take pictures of themselves in airport photo booths. “One side was my father singing ‘Chances Are by Johnny Mathis’ (his favorite). The other side was of my mother singing ‘The Farmer in the Dell.’ We thought they sounded great.” The neighborhoods in New York during that period would have been much more racially mixed then they are today. Recalling this period, Webber recalls: “One memory that is really sacred are the Sunday mornings: The smell of my mother making breakfast, the sun shining through the windows, and listening to the radio... I think it was WCBS, 101. It seemed that station played music that everybody could relate to. I would love for a song to come on that one of my parents would start singing to. The music seemed to just bring us closer together.” It is important to remember that the fifties and sixties really were a great time of individuals trying to communicate, and speak out against things that were disliked. During this time period, music began to mix rhythm, blues, country, and western swing. There was a sense of rebelliousness through these new sounds that many older people in the show business didn't like. Some people 'got it' and understood the messages being made, which is why the literary and musical works during the time were so well received. On the other hand, there were some people who didn't 'get it'. As Ken Kesey fairly stated in On the Bus, "You're either on the bus or off the bus." Which would have meant that at a young age, Webber would have found himself exposed to many different musical forms. Evident in one of Webber’s earliest ‘Ravenswood’ paintings. In the painting, the viewer can see children of different races playing in front of a building along with a black guy playing his guitar, surrounded by white teenagers. “That part of the painting represents a guy named Lucius who used to play the guitar and sing real well. He'd put on little shows, by singing popular music in front of the building.” The person who had the biggest influence on the musical side of the Webber family was Stephen’s older brother Bebe. Stephen’s sister, Dorothea worked Woolworth's record department. It was Dorothea who brought home all of the popular music. James Brown, Motown, and slow jams. “Bebe would make up songs from pictures in the newspaper and imitate songs he heard on TV or the radio. The first time I can recall being truly moved by singing was from a song he and I used to sing in harmony. It was a song from church that went, ‘Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation…’ Bebe would teach me, my sister Dorothea, and my sister Maria the harmony parts. In those days we played and sang lot’s of harmonies to the Beatles and later the Five Stairsteps. Bebe, a friend named Marion, and myself formed a group and we’d sing out in front of our building for the other kids.” Years later, they would form the group - THE FABULOUS FILTRATIONS - with a band Bebe was already performing with. They would record one single WAIT ‘TIL I FIND HER before disbanding and going their separate ways. Webber’s MUSICAL FREEDOM covers a lot of ground. From the British invasion to Motown, Classic Jazz to barrel house Blues, along with icons like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Sammy Davis Jr. all of whom have become tightly intertwined with Webber’s own life experiences. “There are so many icons that I could have a show each year and never capture them all. The songs and artists that I have in this show just represent different music styles and how all of these particular styles, in my experience, always provided a place to go that made me feel part of it and either took me away from whatever was going on, or allowed me to feel what was going on with beauty and more meaning. It's not that easy to describe a feeling, but I'm sure that you know what I'm talking about. I have really tried to share my experiences, memories and expressions of music through visual art in the hopes that you the viewer might just identify with that same inner place, that lives in each and every one of us.”