TQC - JUMAANE TAYLOR PRESENTS THE JAZZ HOOFING QUARTET - May 13, 2021

Jumaane Taylor leads a multidisciplinary performance of music and dance on the anniversary of the MOVE raid in 1985. This is a site specific concert in front of the Fred Hampton mural, utilizing ESS’s new Mobile Broadcast Unit. Special thanks to Polished Nailz for supporting this concert. Yvonne Orr-El - word Brent Griffin Jr - sax Charles Rick Heath - drums Marlene Rosenberg - bass Jumaane Taylor - tap Writing by Omar Dyette (ESS Marketing Manager) for this concert: Jumaane Taylor brings tap dance to the jazz music scene with the Jazz Hoofing Quartet, featuring saxophonist Brent Griffin Jr, drummer Charles Rick Heath, and bassist Marlene Rosenberg. The event opens with a spoken word piece by Yvonne Orr-El, daughter of the late activist Delbert Africa. Africa was a member of Philadelphia Black Nationalist organization MOVE and was imprisoned for 40 years in connection to a 1978 standoff that left a police officer dead. He maintained his innocence along with the other members of the “MOVE 9.” This event marks the anniversary of the 1985 MOVE bombing, when police forces dropped combat-level bombs alongside 10,000 rounds of ammunition into the headquarters of the organization. The blast and ensuing fire killed 11 people, including five children, and destroyed an entire neighborhood of Black working-class houses, many of which are still vacant today. After being found liable for the attack in 1996, the city offered an official apology in 2021 to mark the 35th anniversary, and today is the first official Day of Remembrance for the attack. While this represents progress in recognizing the impact of discrimination and racialized policing, we as a society are still actively confronting the realities of police brutality. The MOVE attack also echoes other instances of Black political and economic suppression, from the 1921 Tulsa race massacre to the 1969 assassination of Fred Hampton here in Chicago. It also draws unfortunate parallels to the rise of anti-Asian hate at home and abroad, and the current airstrikes and attacks in internationally-recognized occupied Palestinian territories. This performance is a site specific concert in front of the Fred Hampton mural, utilizing ESS’s new Mobile Broadcast Unit built specifically for live-streaming and documenting location based performance and sound art. Special thanks to Polished Nailz for supporting this concert. This evening we will be presenting a performance recorded with this rig earlier in the same day. We hope tonight promotes both reflection and joy, a marker of resilience in the face of injustice. We must remember that freedom for all comes from a relentless push for truth, respect, and resources.