New, Major Hannibal Lokumbe Work Debuts in Philadelphia

The Kimmel Center is the venue for the world premiere of a monumental symphonic gospel work.  Several amassed choirs bring to life an evening-length work by Hannibal Lokumbe, the stubbornly unclassifiable jazz trumpeter and composer.

The new piece is titled, Can You Hear God Crying, the composer's tribute to his great-great grandfather who was born in the Sahara desert, kidnapped in Liberia, sold into slavery in Charleston S.C., but escaped and made his way as a free man to Texas, where L0kumbe was born and still lives.

The Philadelphia Inquirer's David Patrick Stearns reports that the music this story inspired is anything but simple.

Details about the concert on September 21st at 8 pm.