As we celebrate the month of June as Black Music Month, it’s pertinent to acknowledge that Black music, since its first note, has been a voice of the people, a drum of awareness, the in-the-moment soundtrack of America’s stained society of deceitful rhetoric.
Black musicians composed and played inventive music that freed their minds and spirits, and enchanted American audiences. In the midst of such creativity and musical contributions, they were obligated to use the rear entrances of performance venues, were unable to socialize in these venues, had to eat in the kitchen or on the bus, and the possibility of being lynched was a lingering reality. Black music is revolutionary not because of its creative magic but in spite of it. Black musicians have created a form of music or categorical genres that influenced the world.
Their creativity came during the most precarious periods of their lives. They dared to create and perform music they loved that is revolutionary. Their inventive sounds, rhythms, lyrics, melodies are the moving, dancing, singing, clapping, crying, shouting realities of Black life in America. It’s a continuous [long-playing] always-live soundtrack that has played through call and response, race music, gospel, blues, doo wop, R&B, negro spirituals, bebop, hard bop, hip hop, avant garde, jazz, swing big bands, and everything in between.
Now, in this 21st century, an evil caricature known as the Red Baron, an overambitious authoritarian demagogue, sits in the White House. His sick desire is to obliterate American democracy. He uses his pen daily as a demolition tool (signing numerous executive orders) to annihilate Black institutions and extinguish any resources that reflect the immense historical and current contributions Black American people have made to this country.
As the Red Baron invades, people must band together to speak out, or, as we celebrate Black Music Month, refer to the Sly & the Family Stone album’s title song “Stand” (Epic Records, 1969): “Stand for the things you know are right / It’s the truth that the truth makes them so uptight / Stand, all the things you want are real / You have you to complete and there is no deal.”
As it relates to the attempted demise of Black history, there is Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise”:
“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise.”
The only propelled journey into uncharted territory is the annual Vision Festival (June 2–7), now in its 29th year. It is perhaps the only jazz festival that actively confronts America’s societal injustices while celebrating Black multicultural, improvised creative arts. It showcases experimental music, dance, poetry, and visual arts with a heavy emphasis on improvisation.
On June 2, Vision 2025’s “heART to RESIST” will open with a celebration of the Lifetime of Achievement honoree Roscoe Mitchell. The native of Chicago is one of the city’s most inventive musicians and a founding member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). In more than 60 years of performing, composing, and improvising, this creative genius continues to push his own artistic boundaries in music and as a visual artist.
More than 100 all-star artists will take audiences on a stratospheric journey where music swings beyond the stars. Some of those artists will include Roscoe Mitchell, Nicole Mitchell, Hamid Drake, Olive Lake, William Parker, Matthew Shipp, Mary Halvorson, Marilyn Crispell, DoYeon Kim, Miriam Parker, and Pheeroan.
The festival will close June 7 with bassist and composer William Parker’s Healing Message from Time & Space, featuring an all-star band.
“In this time of real fear that the freedoms and security that we took for granted are being stolen, all Americans need to have the ‘Heart to Resist,’” said Vision founder/director Patricia Nicholson. “Holding onto the legacy of freedom and its struggle, we the organizers and the artists aim to inspire and empower resistance. We will bring the Healing Force of the Universe and the creative spirit of this incredible lineup of exceptional artists, to lend our strength and stand up to those who would destroy what was good in America.”
For a complete schedule and tickets, visit artsfoart.org or roulette.org. All events take place at Roulette Intermedium (507 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn).
Trumpeter, composer, and author Ahmed Abdullah is an acclaimed bandleader and composer who played a major role in the jazz loft scene on in lower Manhattan during the 1960s–’70s (a community collaborative of primary Black musicians who created their own destiny through establishing their music venues [lofts] and creating other outlets to share their music). However, his reputation will hinge on his significant role as a musician with the innovative galaxy bandleader Sun Ra Arkestra. He performed intermittently with Sun Ra from 1975 until Sun Ra’s transition in 1993. He continued working with the Arkestra under the leadership of John Gilmore and later Marshall Allen.
On June 8, Abdullah’s One Breath Rising will begin the celebration of its 10th year of existence with Ahmed Abdullah’s Diaspora, which will feature vocalist/poet Monique Ngozi Nri, saxophonist Don Rodney Chapman, pianist D.D. Jackson, bassist Norbert Marius, multi-percussionist Warren Trae Crudup, and Abdullah on trumpet, flugelhorn, and vocals.
The Diaspora (Dispersions of the Spirit of Ra) concert, as the name implies, will feature music of Sun Ra and of the African Diaspora.
For this special performance, there will also be a celebration of Malcolm X and Medgar Evers, both of whose centennials are this year.
The concert will take place at the Soapbox Gallery (636 Dean Street in Brooklyn). For more info, visit onebreathrising.org.
Multi-reed instrumentalist and flutist Rene McLean has been absent from the performance stage for two years due to health issues. His recent triumphant performance at his favorite jazz spot, Sistas’ Place in Brooklyn, electrified the audience. The fiery sparks were a group effort with his longstanding ensemble: trumpeter Josh Evans, drummer Winard Harper, pianist Hubert Eaves III, saxophonist Antoine Roney, and bassist Matt Dwonsyzk.
After approaching the stage to a standing ovation, McLean introduced the band and allowed them to share reflections about his influential father, alto saxophonist, composer, and educator Jackie McLean. After a few Jackie/Rene tidbits, the sextet jumped into the evening’s celebration of Jackie’s birthday and his legacy.
Rene kicked off the opening tune, a John Coltrane jewel: “Resolution.” His distinctive warm tone, understated riffs, and timing were all there, not as powerful, but permeating the room. The Sistas’ audience response of shouts and hollas let him and the band know, “I feel you, I feel the music, it’s burning.”
Sailing on the groove, Rene counted off “Little Melonae,” a fast-paced hard bop original by his dad. Rene put it in the pocket with his spirited flavor of lower eastside swing. The song appears on “Jackie McLean and Donald Byrd: The Ultimate Jazz Archives 32 (3 of 4).”
Rene is back on the scene, swingin’ hard and getting better each day; that’s what music warriors do — they keep rising, playing music for the soul! He has more gigs coming up, so stay tuned.
For Black Music Month, we will be suggesting various genres of Black music for you to experience. This week, try listening to the classic title track “Message in the Music,” by The O’Jays (Philadelphia International Records, 1976), which, through its lyrics, is “trying to make you understand why you do the boogie.”