Thurs., November 12, 2026
6:30-8pm EST
Newark Public Library —Main Branch
5 Washington St.
4th Floor Auditorium
Dinner is served at this event. Please RSVP.
Join us at the Newark Public Library Main Branch at the 4th floor auditorium for a special holiday Our Newark Futures with New Jersey-based musician/composer/ensemble leaders Pheeroan akLaff and Peter Lin. They will be a part of Rutgers University historian Nicole Burrowes’ New Jersey Oral History project she conducting with Nottingham University in England, bringing out voices of cross community relations across the Black and Asian communities here in New Jersey and the UK. We will also hear Pheeroan, Peter and bassist Caylen Bryant play together during the program.
It is hard to categorize akLaff and Lin with the range of their work and the breadth of their musical collaborations. akLaff is a major voice in Jazz in New Jersey with his work with his non-profit organization Seed Artists. He has established a series in New Jersey and New York as well as works globally as an artist, having collaborated extensively with musicians in Asia. Lin is the organizer of the Asian American Jazz Festival in Newark and also bandleader working cross culturally with his Catbus Collective and Asian American Jazz Collective as well as his work abroad in Taiwan.
Burrowes will talk about the oral history project and hopes that there may be others who are working across communities that will like to join the project.
Photo of Peter Lin Photo credit Chris Drukker
Bios:
Pheeroan akLaff is contributing innovative drumming to creative music and interactive arts. His collaborative work with Anthony Braxton, Baikida Carroll, Anthony Davis, Andrew Hill, Oliver Lake, Tom Pierson Orchestra, Liu Sola, Henry Threadgill, Reggie Workman, and Yosuke Yamashita informed his musical vitality and is reflected in his recordings: Sonogram, Global Mantras, Brooklyn Waters, Drums-et Variations, Live in Japan, and the upcoming release Hana Dharma, fusing percussion with the string quintet of Aska Maret. Informed and inspired by his many residencies, research, and tours of Africa and Asia, Pheeroan values the ritual of regeneration in his conduction and live music.
Caylen Bryant (she/her) began singing as a child, and at the age of seven, she picked up the cello. Later in her musical journey, she was inspired to migrate to the bass while studying at Oberlin. There, she completed the Double Degree Program and earned her Bachelor’s degrees from the College and the Conservatory. She recently graduated from The Juilliard School with a Master’s in Jazz Bass Performance.
Caylen is a New York based musician and teaching artist and tours nationally and internationally with artist Kandace Springs. Rubén Blades has described Caylen as a wonderful storyteller, remarking on how well she can deliver a story through music.
Nicole Burrowes is a historian of the African Diaspora specializing in twentieth-century Caribbean and African American history. She is an Assistant Professor of History at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, and Associate Director of the Rutgers Advanced Institute for Critical Caribbean Studies. Her book, Seeds of Solidarity: African-Indian Relations and the 1935 Labor Rebellions in British Guiana (Cambridge University Press, 2026), explores the historical possibility of a movement forged by those at the edges of empire in the midst of economic, environmental and political crises. She also serves as Oral History Lead for the New Jersey strand of a British Academy–funded project on Black-Asian relations. Beyond academia, she has over twenty-five years of experience working with communities of color for transformative justice.
Peter Lin is a Taiwanese-American trombonist, producer, and educator in the tri-state area. A graduate from both William Paterson University (undergrad) and Rutgers University (graduate), Peter has performed with jazz luminaries including Slide Hampton, Ron Carter, Winard Harper, Charli Persip, JD Allen, Robin Eubanks, Steve Davis, and Steve Turre. He has also been included in notable ensembles such as the Roy Hargrove Big Band, Jimmy Heath Big Band, and Frank Lacy’s Tromboniverse. With three albums under his name, including his most recent release titled “Identity” on Origin Records under the band AAPI Jazz Collective, he continues to perform prolifically worldwide as both a leader and sideman. In addition to his musical endeavors, he is also the founder of Yardbird Entertainment, a music production company providing audio, video, and livestream services, as well as the producer of AAPI Jazz Fest for three years. He currently teaches at Jazz House Kids and New Jersey Youth Symphony as a trombone instructor and ensemble coach.