Melton Mustafa Jr. Headlines Pompano Beach Arts Juneteenth Celebration

The Pompano Beach Cultural Affairs Department is proud to announce a virtual jazz concert and celebration starring the Melton Mustafa Quintet on Friday, June 18, 2021. The concert at the Ali Cultural Arts Center will showcase acclaimed saxophone player Melton Mustafa Jr. and poetry by award-winning spoken word artist Eccentrich. The program will air for free on the City of Pompano Beach's Facebook page. For more information www.pompanobeacharts.org/programs.

"We are proud to support this national commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States with an event that honors and celebrates Black history and culture," said Phyllis Korab, Director, Cultural Affairs Department.

The program will feature a concert lead by Melton Mustafa Jr. who is a two-time, Grammy-Award nominated educator, and the son of renowned trumpeter Melton S. Mustafa.

Born in Atlanta, Ga. and raised in Miami, the Juneteenth event headliner started playing music in high school under the direction of Frank Neal at Miami Carol City High School and received a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Florida A&M University where he served as leader of the saxophone section and head of the Dance Routine committee for the Legendary Marching "100." While at FAMU, he performed with the FAMU "Strikers" at the Apollo Theatre and traveled the world with the Marching "100." Mustafa received a Master's in Education (M.Ed.) from FIU and where he is working on his Doctoral Degree in Leadership.

Currently, Mustafa works as Professional Music Educator at Parkway School of the Arts and is an Adjunct Professor at Florida Memorial University. As a director, he has conducted the "Star Spangled Banner" for the Junior Olympics, directed a show for the Super Bowl entitled "Global Rhythms Local Beat," served as the Musical Director for the Show "From the Porch" featuring Danny Glover, directed the band and choreographed for Master "P" and Little Romeo's music video, "Two Way" (which was featured on the BET TV Show Access Granted - the making of the video).

Adding to the celebration will be acclaimed spoken word artist Eccentrich. As a poet, she has graced the stages of over 45 venues from Florida to California. She was ranked the 7th woman poet in the world according to her placement during the 2017 Women of the World Poetry Slam and was a member of the celebrated spoken word team Dada, who finished first in the nation during the 2017 National Poetry Slam. Eccentrich was honored to have her poetry featured on the acclaimed site , Button Poetry, a platform committed to developing a coherent and effective system of production, distribution, promotion and fundraising for performance poetry. She is also the founder of Free on the Inside, a prison reform initiative using the arts.