Terri Lyne Carrington: We Insist! 2025 at BroadStage Santa Monica

One of the seminal works of jazz as protest, "We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite,” was first released in 1961 by Max Roach in collaboration with Abbey Lincoln and lyricist Oscar Brown, Jr. on Candid Records. Invoking both the historic pains and hopeful potentiality of the Black experience, Roach created a striking avant-garde vocal-instrumental suite commemorating the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation and which acted as an urgent call for freedom during the civil rights era, which remains poignant as ever today.

In honor of Roach's centennial, GRAMMY-Award Winning drummer-producer Terri Lyne Carrington has recorded the "Freedom Now Suite,” paying homage to Roach and Lincoln's legacy by sonically reimagining the suite, while being steadfast with the still poignant social justice message - We Insist! Continuing her work honoring jazz traditions, Carrington acknowledges Roach's legacy and its continued relevance to today's fight for freedom in order to bring forth a new story of jazz's future.

Joining the album lineup are many emerging artists that she introduced to Candid Records: Morgan Guerin, Milena Casado, Simon Moullier, Zacchae'us Paul, Devon Gates, special guest percussionist Weedie Braimah, and vocalist Christie Dashiell filling in the role of Abbey Lincoln. Together, they impart the story of the "Freedom Now Suite" respecting its jazz tradition, while allowing the influences of other Black musical traditions, including gospel, R&B, and indigenous Afro-diasporic rhythms, with the resounding spirit and urgency that rings true on the original album.