LitFest 2024: Music & Activism with Benjamin Barson at Alphabet City, Northside

Benjamin Barson: baritone sax, bass clarinet; Alex Zander Redd: alto sax; Gizelwanath Rodriguez: guitar, vocals; John Bagnato: guitar, banjo;  Chris Fazio: piano; eli namay: bass;  Hugo Cruz: percussion; Desmond Rucker: percussion

In his book Brassroots Democracy: Maroon Ecologies and the Jazz Commons, musician and activist Benjamin Barson explores one such form of expression: jazz music. The book dives into the birth of jazz, and unearths vibrant narratives of New Orleans musicians to illuminate the Black Atlantic struggles that informed music-as-world-making from the Haitian Revolution through Reconstruction to the jazz revolution.

This program will bring Ben’s research to life, as he takes the stage with a group of Pittsburgh and New York based musicians to reimagine the music discussed in the book and its resonance in our current moment. The program will be moderated by Justin Laing.