Freedom Sounds

The Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network co-presents three concerts that uplift freedom, liberation, and justice themes. Curated by violinist/flutist Michelle May and underwritten by an anonymous donor, these concerts will include historic and new compositions from world-class music ensembles. The performances will occur at the Detroit Food Commons, in the Mama Imani Humphries Banquet Hall on the second floor.

All concerts are from 5:00 pm. - 6:30 pm

Tickets are by advance sale only; no sales at the door. There is free and secured parking on site. Concerts are open to all ages. TICKETS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE but can be transferred.

Sunday, September 22, 2024 - Ali Jackson (Tickets on sale beginning July 22)

Sunday, October 27, 2024 - Marion Hayden (Tickets on sale beginning August 5)

Sunday, November 24, 2024 - Aisha Ellis (Tickets on sale beginning September 6)

Sunday, September 22, 5 pm: Ali Jackson Ensemble (photo: C. Andrew Hovan) -Jackson will be performing selections from Max Roach's rarely performed "Freedom Now" Suite

Award-winning musician, composer, arranger, educator, and percussionist Ali Jackson developed his talent at an early age. He began playing drums at the age of two and piano by the age of five. As a child growing up in Detroit, Ali found himself immersed in serious study alongside his father, the great jazz bassist Ali Jackson Sr., who gave him an intense introduction to music, taking him on gigs where he began playing professionally at eight years old.

Ali’s natural ability and passion for music bloomed and by the age of 11 his aptitude flourished as a result of a steady stream of lessons and mentoring from an all-star lineup of music legends, including Max Roach, Milt Hinton, Dr. Donald Byrd, Betty Carter, Aretha Franklin and James Mtume. During one lesson when he was 12, Ali met Wynton Marsalis and impressed the trumpet virtuoso and future collaborator with his maturity and his advanced knowledge of the piano and music theory — skills rare among drummers.

Ali graduated as a music major with high honors from Detroit’s prestigious Cass Tech High School, a program with a rich legacy of consistently producing the country’s top musicians.

As a student at the New School University for Contemporary Music in New York City, he was privileged to study with Max Roach and Elvin Jones. He attended college on a full academic scholarship, earning an undergraduate degree in music composition. In 1994 Ali was selected as the guest soloist for the Beacons of Jazz program honoring legendary jazz drummer Max Roach. The Thelonius Monk Institute and Jazz Aspen selected him to participate in the first annual Jazz Aspen for gifted and talented musicians. Ali was also the first recipient of the state of Michigan’s prestigious Artserv Emerging Artist award in 1998.

After moving to New York for college, Ali became highly sought after for his distinctive, powerful swing, which is marked by a comprehensive knowledge of different styles, genres, and historical eras. Known for playing innovative, melodic drum solos utilizing all of the surfaces of the drum set, Ali’s playing is compact, tight and full of a simmering intensity that is unmistakable.

Upon graduation, Ali spent several years touring and recording with a diverse group of musicians before accepting the role of Drum Chair of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in 2005. Ali was the driving heartbeat of the big band, which was founded by Wynton Marsalis to bring together the world’s top jazz musicians on every instrument to showcase the music of Duke Ellington and other great composers and arrangers. As an integral part of the rhythm section, Ali’s playing helped define the sound of the JLCO and Wynton Marsalis for more than a decade and is documented in hundreds of recordings and videos of concerts that were witnessed by millions around the globe.

Ali has performed and recorded with a multitude of artists including Wynton Marsalis, Jon Batiste, Willie Nelson, Tony Bennett, Faith Hill, Karriem Riggins, Bobby McFerrin, Buster Williams, Norah Jones, Eric Clapton, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Harry Connick, Jr., KRS-1, Marcus Roberts, Joshua Redman, Vinx, Seito Kinen, Seiji Ozawa, Diana Krall, Gerald Albright, Michael Heise, Russell Gunn, James Morrison, Craig Handy, Jacky Terrasson, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and the New York City Ballet.

As a bandleader, Ali has recorded five albums, including Amalgamations, Wheelz Keep Rollin’, Big Brown Getdown and the Yes! Trio album. Ali’s playing is featured on more than 40 other albums, including Congo Square, Touchdown, Gunn Fu, Young Gunn Plus, European Sessions, Live at Yoshi’s, Reflections in Change, Back East, Two Men With The Blues, Three-Five, Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles, He and She, The Magic Hour and From the Plantation to the Penitentiary. Jackson also collaborated with jazz greats Cyrus Chestnut, Reginald Veal, and James Carter on Gold Sounds, an innovative album that sought to transform songs by indie alternative rock band Pavement into unique virtuosic interpretations with the spirit of the church and the attitude of the juke joint. His production skills can be heard on George Benson’s album Irreplaceable. He is also the voice of Duck Ellington, a character in the Penguin book series Baby Loves Jazz.

Ali is also an acclaimed composer whose voice is unique in its command of the universal language of the groove and the power of thoughtful use of space — both rhythmically and harmonically. His most recent masterworks include the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra-commissioned Living Grooves: A World in Jazz Rhythm and a ballet composed for the Alvin Ailey Dance Company titled r-Evolution, Dream.

Ali’s collaborations with other artists continue to push the envelope of jazz music and its connection to the human spirit. In 2010, Ali executive produced an original work called Beats of NYC, a project blending the musical idioms of Congolese, Senegalese, Tap, and modern dances juxtaposed with various styles of spoken word and the history of the blues. He also composed a ballet with long-time collaborator Hope Boykin titled Ballet: Watching go by the Day.

Beyond the performance stage, Ali takes a leading role in advocating for arts and musical education to build stronger communities around the world. As an active supporter of the arts, music, and the humanities, Ali believes in the power of jazz education to help students cope with life experiences by creating a positive mindset and working collectively toward common goals. He has donated musical instruments and conducted numerous master classes in the effort to improve music knowledge and uplift aspiring students. He has given lectures on jazz and culture at New York University, Stanford University, Eastman College of Music and Columbia University and has taught hundreds of music education classes for grade school students across the country.

Sunday, October 27, 2024, 5 pm - Marion Hayden Ensemble. Hayden will perform selections of her original music.

Born in Detroit, MI, a crucible of jazz, Marion Hayden is one of the nation’s finest proponents of the acoustic bass. Mentored by master trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, Hayden began performing jazz at the age of 15. She has performed with such diverse luminaries as Bobby McFerrin, Nancy Wilson, Geri Allen, Regina Carter, Steve Turre, Lester Bowie, David Allen Grier, James Carter, Dorothy Donegan, Joe Williams, Lionel Hampton, Frank Morgan, Jon Hendricks, Hank Jones, Bobby Hutcherson, Larry Willis, Vanessa Rubin, Sheila Jordan, Mulgrew Miller, Annie Ross, and many others. She is a co-founder of the touring jazz ensemble Straight Ahead- the first all-woman jazz ensemble signed to Atlantic Records. She is a member of the Detroit International Jazz Festival All-Star Ambassadors touring ensemble.

Widely recognized as a standard bearer of culture and artistic history, Hayden received a 2019 Art X Grant and a Creators of Culture Grant for original musical works. She was Artistic Director for a 2018 Knight Arts Foundation Grant encouraging young women in jazz. In 2016 Hayden was honored for her work as a performer and educator with the prestigious Kresge Artist Fellowship- a 1 year fellowship and grant award given to an elite group of creative artists. She was the recipient of a 2016 Jazz Hero Award.- a national award given by the Jazz Journalists Association- recognizing people who have made a significant contribution through their artistry and community engagement.

As an arts advocate, Hayden has served as Grant Panelist for the Detroit Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs, Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs, Art-Ops and the Highland Park Cultural Commission. She also serves as panelist or consultant for South Arts, Detroit Sound Conservancy, Charles Wright Museum of African American History, the Kresge Foundation, Jazz Education Network and Societie of the Culturally Concerned.

A passionate advocate for youth music education, Hayden teaches for Michigan State Univ. Community Music School Detroit and is an educator in residence for the Detroit Jazz Festival. As well, she conducts the Next Gen Ensemble- a performing group of some of the areas best young musicians. Hayden holds faculty positions in the Jazz Studies Departments at University of Michigan and Oakland University. Hayden is the Bass instructor for the Geri Allen Jazz Camp, Newark, NJ. , and in 2021 joined the faculty at Centrum Jazz, Port Townsend, WA.

Sunday, November 24, 5 pm: Aisha Ellis Ensemble - Ellis will perform selections from her recently released album.

Rhythmic resilience with an innate sense of soul are the hallmark of musician, percussionist/drummer, Aisha Ellis. The Detroit native creates sonically stimulating experiences for local and international audiences with a transformative, percussive prowess. With a career that spans almost four decades, she is a unicorn in an industry that operates on a system traditionally stacked against black women, yet she persists as a paragon of love, health, and prosperity.

Aisha was immersed in music, song, and dance since birth. She grew up surrounded by the influences of musical icons such as Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Bob Marley, Gil Scott Heron, Angela Bofill, the artists of Motown and so many more. Sounds from everyday life such as dripping water, her father’s footsteps, windshield wipers, turn signals and birds chirping, served as the inspiration for her gift of drumming. Her mother belonged to an African dance and drum troupe, and would often take Aisha to rehearsals. While in middle school, she formed a band of girl drummers, and was the last one standing once the others quit. Those formative years prepared the artistic expressionist to perform with fellow renowned creatives such as Jessica Care Moore, Diviniti Roxx, Dionne Farris, Joi, The Pocket Queen, Nona Hendrix, Jaci Caprice and more.

She notes, “Seeing Sheila E. and Terri Lynn Carrington as well as meeting and being mentored by amazing local women drummers like Gayelynn McKinney and Monique Reynolds, truly inspired me and let me know that I was on the right path.”

With unwavering confidence, Aisha strives past obstacles such as patriarchy, sexism, and depression. She represents the women whose desire to be drummers was denied or deferred. Known as “Drumlova,” she has an estimable presence in multiple roles including band leader, as well as drummer and music director for We Found Hip-Hop. She also performs with her trio, and is an avid enthusiast of African dance. Since 2010, she has served as the co-percussionist/drummer for Jessica Care Moore's The Daughters Of Betty, formerly known as Black Women Rock, an art show and tribute concert to funk/rock icon, Betty Davis. During her tour with hip-hop artist Mahogany Jones, in 2017, Aisha visited Kathmandu, Nepal as a cultural ambassador through the Arts Envoy Program. She also recorded and toured with neo soul pioneers, Les Nubians, to play at the critically acclaimed Smokin’ Grooves Music Festival in Oakland, California. Another notable collaboration was with the legendary Amp Fiddler (RIP). Her various accolades include the Kresge Foundation’s Gilda Snowden Award (2018) and the Art X Detroit Award (2019).

Aisha’s present endeavors include serving as the drummer for the multi-genre band Mollywop, which dropped its debut album, Stand Up! during the summer of 2019. Prior to the pandemic, she presented Beautiful Places and Freedom Spaces, a visual arts exploration of the injustices faced by marginalized communities. Her art and activism also blend through her work with the Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network. Along with cultivating crops at the D-Town Farm, she has taught organic farming to local children. Aisha’s efforts to heal others holistically are felt through her work as an experienced dance teacher/fitness instructor, herbalist, and as a certified colon hydrotherapist. As a mother, she has raised a son who is a trained trumpet player, emcee and producer with his own group, and a daughter who is a visual artist and owner of an origami business.

Along with her past international appearances, Aisha has graced the stage at seminal events such as the Women In Hip-Hop Annual Women's Month Concert, African World Festival (2022) and Detroit Rocks the Runaway (2019 and 2022). In the summer of 2023, she was featured in the Detroit Free Press for her work as an instructor for the Girls Rock Detroit Summer Camp.

The multifaceted maven was set to tour internationally, yet the pandemic hit, pushing her to birth her debut EP, Luck and Favor. Released exclusively on vinyl and digital download, in late 2023, Luck or Favor is a collaborative blend of hip-hop vibes, funk, and fusion jazz. The instrumental opus evokes feelings of joy and adventurous emotions as it motivates the listener. Produced by P-Gruv and Piper Carter, and written by Aisha, features include Dez Anders, William Pope, James Shelton, Jon Dixon, and others. She is the first artist on the independent, Hipnotech Records.

Aisha’s original song, “Should We Be Here,” is featured in the upcoming short film, Lisa Branch’s A Blade in The Grass.

Host or Publisher Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network