September 27, 2020
The Appel Room - New York, NY

A slogan-chant-battle cry that has dominated the airwaves and the social space. Its intention is very clear but the facts of it all remain shrouded in mystery. Is it an organization, a philosophy, a call to arms, a call for justice, or all of the above? Used and obscured by all sides to mean whatever they want it to mean, it has illuminated, excited and exacerbated the multiple segregated fault lines that corrupt of our way of life. Will this be a passing slogan used to patronize and move on? Or will we realize a bloodless revolution by changing the laws and mechanics that allow unarmed citizens to be slain by peace officers who lie beyond the arm of the same justice they are sworn to uphold?

“Jazz music is the perfect metaphor for democracy,” says Wynton Marsalis. At a time when America—and indeed, the whole world—finds itself at a crossroads, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer has been inspired to write a poignant and buoyant work, “The Democracy! Suite,” which proves that the joy and beauty of jazz can bring us all closer together.