Grammy-nominated trumpeter and composer, two-time Edison Award winner, and JazzFM Innovator of the Year recipient Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah has jazz in his blood.
The 38-year-old New Orleans native, Berklee grad, and maker of what he calls “music with nutritional value” is the grandson of Big Chief Donald Harrison Sr., the only man to be the chief of four tribes of Black Mardi Gras Indians — and a lover of jazz.
With more than 15 solo records under his belt, Adjuah has built a career on bending and stretching contemporary jazz beyond its conventions, striking a balance that is polished, raw, and emotive. Just take Adjuah’s 2010 track “Ku Klux Police Department,” a composition made as the result of the performer being racially targeted by New Orleans police, who harassed and intimidated him. The song is anxious, chaotic, and textural, and sounds like a lamenting Radiohead track while also evoking power and persistence.
For this performance, Adjuah will be joined by North Carolina trio the Hamiltones and fellow Afro-Native American and multi-octave vocalist Mumu Fresh, who explores her ancestry, justice, and celebration of the soul through poetry, rap, and mindfulness.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11 at the Aretha; 2600 Atwater St., Detroit; 313-393-0292; thearetha.com. Tickets are $16+.