The Cookers, who were set to play the Kennedy Center’s New Year’s Eve concert, have canceled the performance.
The Associated Press reports that the jazz supergroup has chosen not to play the show due to the Kennedy Center’s renaming. Earlier this month, Donald Trump’s name was added to the institution's exterior.
The Cookers announced on their website that they wouldn’t be playing the Kennedy Center’s A Jazz New Year’s Eve. They didn’t specifically mention Trump or why they had canceled the performance.
“Jazz was born from struggle and from a relentless insistence on freedom: freedom of thought, of expression, and of the full human voice,” the statement said.
“Some of us have been making this music for many decades, and that history still shapes us. We are not turning away from our audience, and do want to make sure that when we do return to the bandstand, the room is able to celebrate the full presence of the music and everyone in it.”
“Our hope is that this moment will leave space for reflection, not resentment.” The group added. “To everyone who is disappointed or upset, we understand and share your sadness. We remain committed to playing music that reaches across divisions rather than deepening them.”
While The Cookers didn’t name the Kennedy Center in the statement, the group’s saxophone player, Billy Harper, did.
According to the outlet, Harper hopped on the Jazz Stage Facebook page, where he wrote that he “would never even consider performing in a venue bearing a name (and being controlled by the kind of board) that represents overt racism and deliberate destruction of African American music and culture. The same music I devoted my life to creating and advancing.”
Back in February, Trump removed the Kennedy Center board and named himself the institution's chairman, prompting Issa Rae and the producers of Hamilton to cancel events, and musicians Ben Folds and Renee Fleming to exit their advisory roles.
Trump then appointed Richard Grenell as the Kennedy Center’s interim executive director. On Monday (Dec. 29), Grenell slammed the artists who refused to play the newly named institution.
“The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far left leadership. Their actions prove that the previous team was more concerned about booking far left political activists rather than artists willing to perform for everyone regardless of their political beliefs. Boycotting the Arts to show you support the Arts is a form of derangement syndrome,” he tweeted. “The arts are for everyone and the left is mad about it.”
On Tuesday, Grenell also issued a statement to the AP, saying that the ” last-minute cancellations prove that they were always unwilling to perform for everyone—even those they disagree with politically.” He also said that the Kennedy Center had been “flooded with inquiries from real artists willing to perform for everyone and who reject political statements in their artistry.”
In 1964, Congress passed a law, memorializing the late President John F. Kennedy by naming the institution after him, following his assassination in 1963. This law bars the board of trustees from putting another person’s name on the facade, or from changing the Kennedy Center’s name to commemorate anyone else.