Celebrating Mtume: A Journey Through Alkebu-lan (Land Of The Blacks) at Winter JazzFest at Crown Hill Theatre

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We celebrate James Mtume with a special one-off re-imagining of Alkebu-Lan: Land of the Blacks (Live at the East), his landmark album from 1972. Recorded at the East, a cultural arts center and meeting place for Black people along Claver Place in Bed-Stuy, Alkebu-Lan might be the high-water mark of Mtume’s career: vigorous and free, an Afrocentric blend of volcanic flourishes and chants rooted in African pride — a rousing celebration of unabashed Blackness and spirituality. It’s also a Holy Grail album that sells for hundreds of dollars on Discogs. At WJF 2024, an all-star lineup including direct participants Billy Hart and Gary Bartz alongside Shabaka, Moor Mother, Julius Rodriguez, Luke Stewart, Nicole Mitchell, Elucid, Kweku Sumbry and Charles Burnham will reimagine Mtume’s classic album, using the vitality of Alkebu-Lan as a springboard to something new.