In the Beginning Was the Word - Nathaniel Mackey

Born in Miami, Florida, in 1947, a Californian most of his life, and a resident of Durham, North Carolina, since 2010, Nathaniel Mackey is a poet, fiction writer, essayist and editor. He has published numerous books and chapbooks of poetry, most recently Birds Anonymous (Verge, 2023) and Double Trio (New Directions, 2021), a boxed set of three books: Tej Bet, So’s Notice and Nerve Church. He has received such prestigious honors as the National Book Award for Poetry (2006), the Bollingen Prize for American Poetry (2015) and, most recently, the Caribbean Philosophical Association’s Nicolás Cristobál Guillén Batista Lifetime Achievement Award (2024).

Salim Washington is a composer and multi-instrumentalist, playing tenor sax, flute, oboe, and bass clarinet. He has played and recorded with many of the luminaries of the art form, and has been featured in festivals and other venues throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. Washington has combined a life in music with a life of the mind, and is a scholar of black music and culture, having written several articles and co-written with Farah Jasmine Griffin Clawing at the Limits of Cool, a book about the collaboration between Miles Davis and John Coltrane. He currently serves as professor of Global Jazz Studies and Music at UCLA. He works to combine his artistry and pedagogy with his political conviction that we must work to improve our society with greater justice for all.

Hailing from Houston Texas, Ku-umba Frank Lacy started on piano early then switched to brass instruments throughout elementary, junior, and senior high school. He started his professional career at 14 with Joe Tex. He attended an HBCU, Texas Southern University, where he majored in physics. He then moved to Boston in 1979 to attend the Berklee College Of Music, studying arranging, trombone, conducting, and film composition. Moving to NY in 1981 and then attending Rutgers University, he studied physics and music. Deemed as super executive John Hammond’s last “find,” Frank has garnered 5 Grammy awards (2 with Mc Coy Tyner, 1 with Roy Hargrove, 1 with the Mingus Big Band and 1 with D’Angelo). A bandleader in his own right, he’s performed with Slide Hampton, Illinois Jacqu Lester Bowie, Henry Threadgill, Bobby Watson, Julius Hemphill, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messenger ( as musical director), Dizzy Gillespie, the Mingus Big Band, Roy Hargrove, Mc Coy Tyner, Abdullah Ibrahim, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Common, and Kid Kudi.

Born in Tokyo, Japan, but raised musically in New York, pianist/composer Yayoi Ikawa is an experience in ingenuity and compassion.  Using music as a powerful communicational tool, Yayoi strives to lift up humanity through understanding and encouraging herself and others.   After recording a straight-ahead jazz piano trio on Nippon Crown release “Angel Eyes” in 2004, she self-produced “Color of Dreams” displaying her original compositions. Since then her group has featured in various music festivals in U.S., Italy, Japan, Costa Rica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, South Africa, and Ivory Coast. In 2008, Yayoi started “The Bridge Project” to create musical dialogues between different cultures in concerts and workshops.   More of her musical journey can be seen on www.yayoiikawa.net

Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, Rodney T. Whitaker is a multifaceted virtuoso. Over four decades, this celebrated artist and pedagogue has championed jazz with fervent devotion, profoundly shaping its landscape. A newly elected member of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences underscores the impact of this distinguished professor at Michigan State University, who has painstakingly built one of the nation’s foremost blues-based jazz programs. His unwavering commitment and inspiring zeal have nurtured generations of musicians, igniting their passion and guiding their careers with tireless commitment. Beyond his exceptional teaching, Whitaker is a globally celebrated jazz double bassist. His powerful, unmistakable tone commands attention worldwide. He has shared stages with a pantheon of jazz legends, including Ray Charles, Chick Corea, Dizzy Gillespie, Kathleen Battle, Natalie Cole, Dianne Reeves, Marian McPartland, The Marsalis Family, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and many, many others—a constellation of talent that spans generations and styles. This illustrious list also boasts collaborations with leading symphony orchestras across the globe, showcasing the breadth of his artistry. His seven-year stint with Wynton Marsalis’s Septet and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, as well as his prominent role in the Roy Hargrove Quintet, further solidifies his position as a pivotal figure in contemporary jazz. His performances with such luminaries represent a legacy of musical excellence and profound influence.

Taru Alexander is an acclaimed American jazz drummer with over three decades of award-winning experience. Born in Brooklyn, New York, to jazz legend Roland Alexander, Taru was immersed in music from childhood, performing professionally by age 13. He has appeared on over 100 albums, collaborating with jazz greats like Roy Hargrove, Kenny Garrett, and Abbey Lincoln. As a bandleader, his albums “KoJo Time” and “Echoes of the Masters” earned critical praise, including 4 stars in DownBeat Magazine. Honored by Brooklyn’s borough president and lauded for his innovative drumming, Taru remains a dynamic force in jazz, inspiring audiences worldwide.