Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Theo Croker’s Dream … Manifested!
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
Christian McBride’s “The Movement Revisited,” a tribute to four civil rights icons, will debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on May 16. The performance concludes the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association’s 2007/2008 jazz series.
McBride composed the music for “The Movement Revisited,” which features a 17-piece big band, spoken narrators and the St. James Sacred Nation Choir. Loretta Devine narrates the words of Rosa Parks, Carl Lumbly narrates the words of Malcolm X, James Avery narrates the words of Muhammad Ali and Wendell Pierce narrates the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The sacrifices made by these four African Americans have been so enveloped in myth, that, to a large extent, their names are remembered more than their accomplishments,” McBride said. “This piece will capture musically how their deeds shaped our world, and remind us of our responsibility to see, paving theway for so many to live a better life.”
More info: laphil.org
To record Dream Manifest (Dom Recs), Croker convened artists from his current and recent past ensembles, plus special guests.
Jun 10, 2025 4:13 PM
Partway through his early set at Smoke Jazz Club, Theo Croker blinks the room back into focus. He leans over the piano.…
“There’s nothing quite like it,” Springs says of working with an orchestra. “It’s 60 people working in harmony in the moment. Singing with them is kind of empowering but also humbling at the same time.”
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Chuck Mangione on the cover of the May 8, 1975, edition of DownBeat.
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