Black Art Jazz Collective

The Canal Stage welcomes the Black Jazz Art Collective for a unique performance where jazz is being reintroduced through the authentic sounds of its most recognized representatives today.

The collective was founded in 2012 by Johnathan Blake, Wayne Escoffery and Jeremy Pelt, in an attempt to promote and celebrate the contribution of the African-American community in culture and politics, as well the deeply entwined history of jazz and the African-American civil rights movement.

Their political and social concern and commentary permeates their first album, which came out in 2016 and pays tribute to great figures of the African-American community, such as author W.E.B Du Bois and the former president of the United States, Barack Obama.

Their sound, indicative of their musical abilities, continually transforms while their musical style is fluid with hard-bop elements, dynamic rhythm sections and tightly coiled frontline melodies.



Contributors
Wayne Escoffery: Saxophone
Jeremy Pelt: Trumpet
James Burton III: Trombone
Xavier Davis: Piano
Vicente Archer: Bass
Johnathan Blake: Drums