Jerome Jennings - Solidarity

2019 CD release.

Jerome Jennings' Solidarity represents the confluence of music, politics, and personal experience. He seeks to sonically capture and honor the jazz tradition while integrating some of the music that influenced us most during our formative years— blues, R&B, hip hop, and world music. Jerome's debut recording ‘The Beast’ is a reflection of the every day joys and traumas of black life in the U.S. It was named one of the top three Jazz releases by NPR, received a four star rating in Downbeat Magazine, and was nominated for the prestigious French ‘Grand Prix du Disque’ award for Album of the Year in 2016.

As its title implies, Solidarity is deeply concerned with the state of political and social justice in the United States on the cusp of the 2020s. It particularly focuses on the experiences of African American women, examining them through the prisms of the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, among others. “Black women have traditionally been the conscience of the country,” Jennings explains. “Solidarity means…being present, not walking away. Being an ally, in a very overt way. ‘I got you. I hear you. I’m with you.’”