The concert will take place on October 11, 2025 at 7:30pm at the Peace and Justice Memorial Center in Downtown Montgomery.
An Evening of World Renowned Artistry
The Equal Justice Initiative will bring together visionary instrumentalist, composer, and acclaimed jazz and classical saxophonist Branford Marsalis and Yo-Yo Ma, multi-faceted cellist and a United Nations Messenger of Peace, for an evening of world renowned artistry.
Part of EJI’s Art and Justice programming, the concert will treat audience members to a collaboration from two of the world’s greatest musicians. The concert will also feature three new pieces of music written specifically for the occasion by Branford Marsalis. Tickets to the concert are on sale now and can be purchased here.
Art and Justice
As part of its Art and Justice programming, EJI has brought many celebrated artists and creatives to the Legacy Sites in Montgomery, Alabama. These performances and events have enhanced the Legacy Sites and EJI’s work for justice, creating a new soundtrack for truthtelling. The concert on October 11 with Mr. Marsalis and Mr. Ma is the latest program at the Sites.
Branford Marsalis first visited EJI as a participant in a classical music convening hosted by Anthony McGill in 2024; he was inspired to compose new music and invited his friend, acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, to join him.
EJI is honored and thrilled to bring together these two musical legends for their debut collaboration on October 11. Join EJI for a one-night-only performance at the Legacy Sites. Tickets to the concert are on sale now and can be purchased here.
About the Artists
Branford Marsalis
New Orleans-born Branford Marsalis is an award-winning saxophonist, band leader, featured classical soloist, and a film and Broadway composer. In the process, he has become a multi award-winning artist with three Grammys and a citation by the National Endowment for the Arts as a Jazz Master.
The Branford Marsalis Quartet, formed in 1986, remains his primary means of expression. In its virtually uninterrupted three-plus decades of existence, the Quartet has established a rare breadth of stylistic range and has long been recognized as the standard to which other ensembles of its kind must be measured. The Quartet recently made its Blue Note Records debut with the release of Belonging, a full album interpretation of Keith Jarrett’s 1974 ECM album of the same name. But Branford has not confined his music to the jazz quartet context. He recently composed a classical suite commissioned by the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. Branford is regularly sought after as a soloist with classical ensembles around the world, including the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, and the Chicago, Detroit, North Carolina, and Düsseldorf Symphonies. And his legendary guest performances with the Grateful Dead and collaborations with Sting have made him a fan favorite in the pop arena.
Branford’s screen credits as a composer include original music for: Rustin starring Colman Domingo, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom starring Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks starring Oprah Winfrey, and Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues. He received a 2021 EMMY nomination for the original music he composed and produced for the History Channel’s Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre documentary and his work on Broadway has garnered a Drama Desk Award and a Tony nomination.
Learn more about Branford Marsalis on his website.
About Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma’s multi-faceted career is testament to his belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding. Whether performing new or familiar works for cello, bringing communities together to explore culture’s role in society, or engaging unexpected musical forms, Mr. Ma strives to foster connections that stimulate the imagination and reinforce our humanity.
Most recently, Mr. Ma began Our Common Nature, a cultural journey to celebrate the ways that nature can reunite us in pursuit of a shared future. Our Common Nature follows the Bach Project, a 36-community, six-continent tour of J. S. Bach’s cello suites paired with local cultural programming. Both endeavors reflect Yo-Yo’s lifelong commitment to stretching the boundaries of genre and tradition to understand how music helps us to imagine and build a stronger society.
Mr. Ma’s discography of more than 120 albums (including 19 Grammy Award winners) ranges from iconic renditions of the Western classical canon to recordings that defy categorization, such as “Hush” with Bobby McFerrin and the “Goat Rodeo Sessions” with Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile.
Learn more about Yo-Yo Ma on his website.