In light of President Donald Trump’s name being associated with the Kennedy Center, a number of artists have decided to cancel their planned performances. Among them is the acclaimed jazz ensemble, The Cookers, who have opted out of their New Year’s Eve concert. The center’s president expressed that these cancellations highlight the artists’ reluctance to let their music transcend political boundaries.
The Cookers have been a formidable presence in the jazz scene for nearly two decades. On their website, they announced their decision to withdraw from “A Jazz New Year’s Eve,” noting that the choice was made swiftly and acknowledging the disappointment it may cause to their audience.
While the group did not explicitly mention the venue’s renaming or the Trump administration, they conveyed a desire to perform in an environment that embraces the unity their music aims to foster, emphasizing their dedication to bridging divides rather than widening them.
Although the group as a whole refrained from commenting directly on the Kennedy Center issue, saxophonist Billy Harper spoke out. On the Jazz Stage Facebook page, Harper expressed his stance, declaring he would never perform in a venue named after and governed by individuals he believes undermine African American music and culture, which he has dedicated his life to promoting.
Per the White House, the decision to rename the venue was sanctioned by a board appointed by Trump. Harper criticized the board and the name choice, stating they embody principles he’s long opposed and continues to resist.
Richard Grenell, a Trump supporter and the president’s appointee to lead the Kennedy Center after the previous management was dismissed, remarked on social media platform X that the artists now canceling were initially booked by the former, “far left” leadership, implying these arrangements were made during the Biden administration.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Grenell said Tuesday the ”last minute cancellations prove that they were always unwilling to perform for everyone — even those they disagree with politically,” adding that the Kennedy Center had been “flooded with inquiries from real artists willing to perform for everyone and who reject political statements in their artistry.”
There was no immediate word from Kennedy Center officials if the entity would pursue legal action against the group, as Grenell said it would after musician Chuck Redd canceled a Christmas Eve performance. Following that withdrawal, in which Redd cited the Kennedy Center renaming, Grenell said he would seek $1 million in damages for what he called a “political stunt.”
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and Congress passed a law the following year naming the center as a living memorial to him. Scholars have said any changes to the building’s name would need congressional approval; the law explicitly prohibits the board of trustees from making the center into a memorial to anyone else, and from putting another person’s name on the building’s exterior.
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Associated Press writers Steven Sloan and Hillel Italie contributed to this report.
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