Overview
NJPAC Jazz Advisor, bassist, composer and bandleader Christian McBride has played everything from Monk to Funk. But this latest project is his most ambitious yet: The Movement Revisited, a full-length work for jazz orchestra, vocalists and orators, celebrating the great leaders of The Civil Rights Movement. The words—and the praises—of Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King, Jr. and President Barack Obama will be spoken and sung in this inspiring performance. This all-encompassing work transcends the topical and the political and crosses into the realm of the spiritual, celebrating not just what it means to be Black in America but what it means to be human on this earth. Orators Sonia Sanchez, Willie Perdomo, John Murillo and Dion Graham will accompany the Christian McBride Big Band, reading excerpts from The Movement Revisited. The choir from the original recording, Voice of the Flame (VOTF), will also perform.
The evening will begin with a performance by the Last Poets: Abiodun Oyewole, Umar Bin Hassan and Babadon Babatunde, joined by Newark’s Honorable Mayor Ras J. Baraka. With their politically charged raps, taut rhythms and dedication to raising African-American consciousness, the Last Poets laid the groundwork for the emergence of hip hop. Contributing to the culture since 1968, they have most recently collaborated with contemporary artists including Kanye West, Common and Nas.
This program is presented as part of City Verses: Amplifying New Voices Through Jazz and Poetry. City Verses is conducted in partnership with Rutgers University-Newark. Support for this program was provided by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
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A fee of $3.50 has been added to all performance tickets to offset the cost of COVID-19 upgrades and maintenance for performances taking place between September 1, 2021, through July 1, 2022.
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