What a night! First, at 5:30PM on Fri 6/27 in the Mimi Ohio Theatre we celebrate Oscar Peterson, a Montreal-born virtuoso often hailed as jazz’s greatest pianist, who composed the Africa Suite in the 1980s, inspired by Nelson Mandela. After Peterson’s death, John Clayton, cofounder of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, arranged the suite, and their group performs it with Peterson’s protégé Benny Green and Ohio-raised guitarist Dan Wilson, who continue jazz’s rich traditions. Tickets here.

Then, at 9PM in the Mimi Ohio Theatre, the Sun Ra Arkestra brings their big-band swing, space-age free jazz, bebop, singing, dancing, chanting and Afro-pageantry to the Tri-C JazzFest, presented by KeyBank, as one of the earliest pioneers of the synthesizer and the free jazz revolution of the 1960s. Over 60+ years, Sun Ra has recorded over 100 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Swirling (2020). Tickets here.

This Saturday, June 14, all across the country, millions of Americans will be joining peaceful No Kings protests/demonstrations to remind our leaders that they are elected to serve US and are constitutionally required to do so, and that we declared our independence from monarchy 250 years ago. In Washington D.C. a would-be king is trying to make this anniversary all about himself and his imaginary glory, but in Cleveland and Parma and Chardon and Bainbridge and Mentor, in Ashtabula and Lorain counties, people will be standing up to show him that it’s not about him but about the citizens and residents of this country.

In Cleveland the demonstration will take place at Willard Park, the location of the Free Stamp, along with similar peaceful demonstrations around the region. In a reminder of our country’s complex historical crosscurrents, that’s just over a block from Mall C where the Juneteenth Freedom Fest—marking the day in 1865 when the last slaves were freed—is happening. It’s a golden opportunity to celebrate both, and a reminder that freedom doesn’t defend itself. Read more.

RA Washington co-founded Mourning [A] BLKstar in Cleveland in 2015, calling the group a US-based Afrofuturist collective that is a multi-generational, gender and genre non-conforming amalgam of Black culture. CoolCleveland correspondent Liv Lewis caught up with RA between stops on an East Coast and European tour that takes them to NY, VA, MA, and the Kennedy Center in DC, as well as stages in Germany, Czechia and the Netherlands, supporting their recent release, Flowers For The Living.

As for what influences Washington, he cites an apocalyptic American culture, believing that unaddressed atrocities throughout history inevitably lead to collapse, “[This country’s] history hasn’t been acknowledged by the people since the start.”  View the video interview here.

Recently, someone posted a delightful photo of Chuck Berry and Pete Townshend from the 1993 groundbreaking for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on a social media group dedicated to historical Cleveland photography. The commentary began with someone noting that it was cool that “The King of Rock & Roll'”(referring to Chuck Berry) was present, which led to sarcastic criticism that Elvis Presley was not in the picture. Not surprisingly, the debate garnered many statements about how the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame “sucks” because it has been inducting hip-hop and other “non-rock & roll” groups which “don’t belong there.”

As we approach Juneteenth, noting the day when enslaved Africans were finally granted freedom in Galveston, Texas, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation, I thought it appropriate to share some history about the Kings and Queens of Rock & Roll, as an exercise in civil discourse. Read more from CoolCleveland contributor and musician Jeffrey Bowen.