The ESJQ
The Equity & Social Justice Quartet is dedicated to raising awareness, and when possible funds, for nonprofit and community organizations dedicated to equity and social justice. Our projects have supported the Homeless Children’s Network (San Francisco); and in Denver, we have partnered with Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC).
Ensemble members have included: David Boyce, Henry Hung, Glenn Nitta, Timothy Orr, Jay Ellis, Paul Riola, and Rent Romus; I previously performed under the name Markus Hunt.
With an aesthetic approach influenced by the likes of Ornette Coleman, the quartet creates a sonic landscape with a vitality all its own. The album showcases eight original compositions including a spontaneous solo bass piece, "Poverty Revisited." This is jazz that pushes the harmonic envelope. —BlogCritics
This CD is as uplifting and well-done as the intention that inspired it…KFJC 89.7FM
With the ESJQ, I composed the theme song for the Who We Are podcast. From slavery to sharecropping to mass incarceration, American institutions have reproduced cycles of social rupture and exploitation by design. Is it even possible to imagine true equity as long as the current carceral system stands? Carvell Wallace and Jeffery Robinson begin with Bill Clinton’s 1994 Crime Bill before turning to the ways in which incarceration ripples through questions of voting, health, wealth, and state violence. With final words from Afro-futurist author Sheree Renee Thomas, we’ll explore how we might dream a new America into being and the possibilities of Black liberation.
