Jul 22, 2026 12:37 PM
In Memoriam: Rodney Holmes, 1966–2026
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
“There’s so much history right in Washington, D.C.,” Christian McBride said about bringing his music about the Civil Rights Movement to the nation’s capital.
(Photo: Anna Webber)Bassist Christian McBride is bringing his ambitious civil rights music, which was 20 years in the making, to The Kennedy Center on Friday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m.
The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait Of Four Icons, an album released in 2020, serves as McBride’s masterpiece on “the struggle,” featuring impassioned speeches from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali. The project also includes a short tribute to President Barack Obama.
“It’s such an honor to bring The Movement Revisited to The Kennedy Center, and to be joined by the Howard Gospel Choir of Howard University,” said McBride. “There’s so much history right in Washington, D.C. — from Benjamin Banneker’s role in designing the city, to Martin Luther King Jr. speaking at the Lincoln Monument, and the launch of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Washington, D.C., has always been an important place in the Black American legacy.”
McBride was not yet born when the world witnessed some of the greatest moments in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. As a child in the ’70s, he learned the history in school, but found truth beyond the history books.
“When I was a kid, I used to spend hours looking at old copies of Ebony and Jet magazines that my grandmother saved,” he said. “To read contemporaneous writings by Black writers about events and people who were my history – our history – that was absolutely fascinating to me. It was the greatest gift my grandmother could have given to me.”
Those writings played a major role in the creation of The Movement Revisited: A Musical Portrait Of Four Icons. The work combines elements of jazz, gospel, big band, swing, symphony, theater and dramatic spoken word.
For more information, go to kennedy-center.org. DB
A drummer’s drummer, Rodney Holmes gigged with everyone from Joe Zawinul and Carlos Santana to Steve Kimock and the Brecker Brothers.
Jul 22, 2026 12:37 PM
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
Jul 16, 2026 1:34 PM
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans and…
Wilson’s ability to connect to audiences helped her to win two Grammy awards and multiple other accolades. She was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2022.
Sep 3, 2026 10:44 AM
Cassandra Wilson, a singer, songwriter and producer who was one of the most acclaimed and successful jazz vocalists of…
“The love from the jazz and music community restored my faith in humanity,” Walia wrote in an online post upon his release from detention at an ICE facility.
Aug 18, 2026 2:15 PM
Indian jazz guitarist and composer Pritesh Walia has been released after being unexpectedly detained by ICE and taken…
Percussionist Poncho Sanchez was among the artists scheduled to perform at the now-canceled inaugural LA Jazz Festival.
Aug 11, 2026 12:53 PM
The inaugural LA Jazz Festival, originally scheduled to run Aug. 7–23 with dozens of events across Los Angeles’…
