"A second jazz band has pulled out of performing at the controversially renamed Trump-Kennedy center in Washington DC, giving just two days notice before their New Year's Eve gig was set to take place. The Cookers, described as a Grammy-nominated, all-star septet of legendary post-bop jazz musicians, have not given an explicit reason for their decision but in a statement posted on their website said: Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice."
"Richard Grenell, the Kennedy Center president, a Trump appointee, threatened to sue Redd for $1m in damages for what he called a political stunt. Your decision to withdraw at the last moment explicitly in response to the Center's recent renaming, which honors President Trump's extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution, Grenell said in the letter, which was obtained by the Washington Post."
"The latest jazz cancellation comes after folk singer Kristy Lee announced she had cancelled a concert at the center scheduled for next month. Lee said on social media that when American history starts getting treated like something you can ban, erase, rename, or rebrand for somebody else's ego, I can't stand on that stage and sleep right at night. A dance company, Doug Varone and Dancers, has said that they are pulling out of a two performances scheduled for April."
Two days before their New Year's Eve performance, the Cookers withdrew from a scheduled concert at the newly renamed Trump-Kennedy Center in Washington DC. The band posted that jazz emerged from struggle and insists on freedom of thought, expression, and the full human voice. The Kennedy Center board voted to rename the institution the Trump-Kennedy Center, prompting outcry, legal challenges, and updated signage. Earlier cancellations included drummer Chuck Redd, who faced a threatened $1m lawsuit from center president Richard Grenell. Folk singer Kristy Lee and dance company Doug Varone and Dancers also canceled performances, citing objections to renaming and concerns about historical erasure.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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