Manifesto for an All-Anarchist Jazz Band

We are a colllective of libertarian-socialist musicians and music educators who seek to practice our craft in service of the liberation of all peoples from the oppressive structures which dominate our lives.

We recognize that both anarchism and jazz are explorations of liminal space which are organized in a decentralized and non-authoritarian manner. As such, we seek to broaden and deepen these connections both by bringing jazz performance to left-organizing spaces and anarchist organizing principles to traditional live music spaces.

We understand and acknowledge that both jazz and anarchism demand and necessitate radical inclusivity. As such, we stand against all forms of bigotry including but not limited to; racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and anti-semitism.

We reject the co-optation and appropriation of jazz by the liberal bourgeoisie for it's own self-serving interests through inequitable systems and institutions such as; corporate media consolidation, excessive protectionism of intellectual property, elite private universities, and the non-profit industrial complex.

We acknowledge that our societal status as musicians comes with immense privileges. Bearing that in mind, we seek to share our knowledge, our professional networks, and our heightened visibility with historically marginalized communities and working people suffering under the alienation inherent to capitalism whenever it is prudent to do so.

We believe that in these dark times of rising far-right authoritarianism and hypercapitalist exploitation, working folx must unite in order to articulate the possibility of a better world and reclaim our humanity through radical acts of love, truth, beauty, liberty, solidarity and mutual aid. We seek to accomplish this, while working in cooperation with other activists and modes of praxis, through the medium of jazz.