For its 10th anniversary, the Black Art Jazz Collective, hailed by DownBeat as “a powerhouse of contemporary jazz talent,” offers some new works that speak to artistic freedom and musical sensibility relative to the tenor of our times. Playing a set list of widely varied moods and messages, the band features an all-star line-up, including founding members Wayne Escoffery, Jeremy Pelt, James Burton, Xavier Davis and Johnathan Blake with other band members both past and present. Wayne Escoffery relates, “I formed an ensemble of African American musicians, celebrating Black culture and the origins of the music through original compositions.”

Wayne Escoffery – tenor saxophone
Jeremy Pelt – trumpet
Josh Evans, Wallace Roney Jr. – trumpets (track 3)
James Burton III – trombone
Xavier Davis (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10) Victor Gould (tracks 3, 6, 7, 8): piano Vicente Archer (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10), Rashaan Carter (tracks 3, 6, 7, 8): bass Johnathan Blake (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10), Mark Whitfield Jr. (tracks 3, 6, 7, 8): drums

TRACKS: Black Heart • The Fabricator • Truth to Power • It’s Alright • Coming of Age • Dsus • Code Switching • Soliloquy (for Sidney Poitier) • Lookin’ for Leroy • Blues on Stratford Road

 Coming of Age

 Lookin' for Leroy

 Black Heart