Mar 30, 2026 10:30 PM
Flea Finds His Jazz Thing
In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
Vocalist Angélique Kidjo is among the performers to contribute to Jazz Foundation of America’s #TheNewGig fundraiser.
(Photo: Courtesy Jazz Foundation Of America)On May 14, Jazz Foundation of America is set to host #TheNewGig fundraiser to benefit the organization’s Covid-19 Musicians’ Emergency Fund.
The evening, which aims to provide in-need performers with living expenses, is set to be hosted by actor and writer Keegan-Michael Key. Drummer Steve Jordan is the evening’s music director. New performances, which are scheduled to be produced prior to the stream, will include Jon Batiste, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Robert Cray, Davell Crawford, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Stanley Jordan, Ivan Neville, Kim Wilson, Angélique Kidjo, Milton Nascimento and others.
“An entire community of artists who live gig to gig has gone from standstill to freefall, financially speaking, but their music has continued to give us solace and comfort in quarantine,” said Joe Petrucelli, JFA executive director, in a press release. “Support for #TheNewGig and the COVID-19 Musicians’ Emergency Fund provides these musicians direct assistance and creates a sense of solidarity and hope in a time of despair and uncertainty.”
The stream also will include past performances from JFA’s A Great Night In Harlem event—the nonprofit’s annual fundraiser that has been postponed this year because of the pandemic—as well as special appearances by Wayne Shorter and Bootsy Collins, among others.
Donations can be made at jazzfoundation.org/covid19 or by texting “NewGig” to 41444. The event’s stream can be found at the same URL. DB
“Cerebral and academic thought is a different way to approach music,” Flea says of his continuing dive into jazz. “I’ve always relied on emotion and intuition and physicality.”
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