Terri Lyne Carrington to Premiere New Work at MIT

Terri Lyne Carrington, founder and artistic director of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, will be a featured artist at MIT’s It Must Be Now!, an immersive music and multimedia event. It Must Be Now! will feature the world premieres of newly commissioned work of three leading jazz artists—Carrington, Braxton Cook, and Sean Jones—and live VJ’ing by renowned visual artist and filmmaker Mickalene Thomas. The compositions explore themes such as the resilience of Black women, the concept of Pangea as an Afrofuturism vehicle, and the value of healing as we continue to process the collective trauma of the pandemic and racial injustices. The performance takes place on Saturday, May 7, at 8:00 p.m. at MIT's Kresge Auditorium in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Proceeds from the concert will be donated to Artists for Humanity (AFH). 

The event will feature 125 performers, including Carrington, Cook, Jones, Thomas, the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble, MIT Vocal Jazz Ensemble, MIT Wind Ensemble, and other student musicians from MIT and Berklee. The performance also includes arranger, director, and vocalist Laura Grill Jaye; arranger, orchestrator, and Berklee faculty member Edmar Colón; dancer Vinson Fraley Jr.; composer, percussionist, turntablist, and Berklee ensemble director Val Jeanty (aka Val-Inc); music producer, pianist, and turntablist Wendel Patrick; guitarist Andrew Renfroe; and lyricist, spoken-word poet, and vocalist Orlando Watson.

Carrington’s composition for It Must Be Now! investigates the common struggles, inherent truths, and enduring spirit of Black women, born into a world of injustice and tasked with navigating the overt and subliminal burdens placed on them while claiming the right to be free and whole. Carrington’s piece reflects on the legacy of creativity and invention within the enslaved African community and their descendants, and aims to find a path forward to abolition, self-determination, and justice.

“This piece is dedicated to the power and resilience of Black women,” said Carrington. “My hope is that audiences can use their imaginations to identify or empathize with the historical and present-day challenges Black women continue to face as our society moves toward ideas of healing and reconciliation. It is an honor to tell these stories through a platform and space like MIT’s It Must Be Now!—I look forward to continuing these important conversations through creative pursuits.”

Led by Frederick Harris Jr., director of jazz and wind ensembles at MIT, It Must Be Now! launched in the spring of 2021. Tickets and more information about the event are available on MIT's website.