“The Power of Music”
The 2024 Healdsburg Jazz Festival got started with the third annual Juneteenth celebration, a free-to-the-public jazz jubilee, with a talent-packed triple bill in the Plaza. The Juneteenth program featured Person2Person, a quintet co-led by tenor sax titan Houston Person and his younger colleague, fiery altoist Eric Person, and pianist Darrell Grant and the MJ New, a band that honors and extends the elegant legacy of the Modern Jazz Quartet. The program opened with poetry by Enid Pickett, Healdsburg Jazz Poet Laureate and culminated with a set by trombone master Steve Turre, this year’s artist in residence. Turre spoke about Chicano culture, the Black Panther Party and the influence of Bay Area in the 70’s, as he introduced a song about peace, prior to playing “Flower Power” on the conch shells. With three stellar bands, the Juneteenth program exemplified the power of music as a liberational force.
Free and Open to the Public
Activities in the Educational Area included two free drumming workshop with teaching artist Javier Navarette who led Juneteenth attendees in a body music/percussion lesson. To begin the drumming workshop, Javier spoke about the Orisha, deities of Santeria, the Afro-Cuban religion practiced throughout the world, such as Yemaya the goddess of the ocean and mother of all living things. The orisha are celebrated in music and song, sung in the Yoruba language of West and Central Africa, which was spoken by many of the Africans who were brought to Cuba as slaves.
Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society Executive Director and Curator Holly Hoods and museum intern Elizabeth Cole shared stories from the recent exhibition, “We Are Not Strangers Here: African American Histories in Healdsburg and Rural California” which presented some of Healdsburg’s surprising African American history (including the fact that there were enslaved people living in the Healdsburg area even after Juneteenth)!
“Duke’s Place”
A poster exhibit was created to celebrate the 125th Birthday of the great Duke Ellington, along with other notable Jazz Royalty. The art table welcomed children and families to make their own pinwheels, crowns and zines to take home in celebration of Juneteenth.
DIY Juneteenth – Do It Yourself with Healdsburg Jazz!
- Download & Make a Zine – Celebrating the Past, Present and Future of Black Music
Civic Season: What’s Your Super Power?
Juneteenth at the Healdsburg Jazz Festival is one of the many kickoff events held around the country in conjunction with Civic Season, a new tradition for self-discovery and civic upskilling, co-created by Gen Z and cultural institutions. This summer, from Juneteenth to July 4th, no matter where you are, you can connect to stories, inspiration and tools to help you power our democracy, from a vast array of credible sources. Civic Season is the flagship program from Made By Us, a network of hundreds of museums, historic sites, libraries and archives unleashing access to history for younger generations who have the most at stake.
Are you a Nurturer, Defender, Connector or Amplifier?
We all have a role to play, every day in our communities, neighborhoods and social spaces. But how do we know where to begin? For those of us just starting out, how do we discover and grow our skills? What powers do you hold?
Amplifier: You know how to capture the imagination of everyone around you. With creativity and passion, you can translate ideas, making them interesting and easy to understand. Whether on stage or online, your voice makes progress possible.
Connector: Through your contact list and your commitment, you bring people, ideas, and movements together. You don’t just know the right people — you do the work to connect the dots. You are open-minded and make unlikely alliances, helping build the bridges to overcome obstacles and reach the future we envision, together.
Defender: On the front lines, you keep the movement MOVING. You don’t take no for an answer, and people count on you. You aren’t scared of confrontation or getting in trouble for standing up for what you believe in.
Nurturer: You are crucial for sustaining the marathon of change. Do people need to be fed? On it. Does someone need cheering on? You’re there. You know change can’t happen without community, and you care for and support those around you.
CLICK & LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR SUPER POWER with CIVIC SEASON! “The Story of You” is a guide co-created by the 2023 cohort of Civic Season Design Fellows and leading cultural institutions across the United States.
CIVIC SEASON is the flagship program from Made By Us, a network of hundreds of museums, historic sites, libraries and archives unleashing access to history for younger generations who have the most at stake.
WE THE ARTS is an annual ArtsEd4All project held each year from Juneteenth to the Fourth of July in conjunction with Civic Season.
HEALDSBURG JAZZ stimulates interest in and promotes awareness and appreciation of jazz by facilitating cross-cultural interaction, providing performance opportunities, and educating young people and adults about the important role of jazz as an indigenous American art form.