What would you do to keep your reality intact? This was the question posed by composer, conductor, and jazz pianist Kevin Harris to a crowd of hundreds gathered in the Beinecke Library on Monday. By the light of illuminated bookshelves, New Haveners gathered to share in a musical and educational experience, inspired by the work of writer and activist James Baldwin and part of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas.
“Baldwin asks us to imagine: what if you came out and you saw the stars, the sun, ablaze?” said Harris.“In a lot of ways we’re answering Baldwin right here right now.”
Harris’s answer was a three-movement jazz performance, based on and in conversation with The Fire Next Time, Baldwin’s exploration of race in America. He performed his“Roots, Water, & Sunlight” together with a band comprised of Anabel Diaz on flute, Jonathan Suazo on alto sax, Gregory Groover Jr. on tenor sax, Jason Palmer and Daniel Sky on trumpets, Megan Riccio on french horn, Sophia Griswold and Tino Erdos on trombone, Tyson Jackson on drums, Calvin Lemuel on EDI (electronic digital instrument), and Harold Cincero on keys.
