Massachusetts Institute of Technology presents It Must Be Now!, a unique immersive music and multimedia event featuring the world premieres of newly commissioned work of three leading jazz artists of our time—Terri Lyne Carrington, Braxton Cook, and Sean Jones—and live VJ’ing by renowned visual artist and filmmaker Mickalene Thomas. The compositions explore themes such as the resilience of Black women, the concept of Pangea (an ancient supercontinent) as an Afrofuturism vehicle, and the value of healing as we continue to process the collective trauma of the pandemic and racial injustices. They will perform together on May 7, 2022 at MIT Kresge Auditorium in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Proceeds from the concert will be donated to Artists for Humanity (AFH).

125 participants will perform, including Carrington, Cook, Jones, Thomas, the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble, MIT Vocal Jazz Ensemble, MIT Wind Ensemble, other student musicians from MIT and Berklee, and an array of artists including arranger/director/vocalist, MIT’s Laura Grill Jaye, arranger/orchestrator Edmar Colón, dancer Vinson Fraley, Jr., electronic music composer/percussionist/turntablist Val Jeanty, aka Val-Inc, music producer/pianist/turntablist Wendel Patrick, guitarist Andrew Renfroe, and lyricist/spoken word poet/vocalist Orlando Watson.