A Great Day in Lexington: Michael Cruse Comes Home

On Saturday, August 29, something more than a jazz concert will take place at the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden.

Lexington native and internationally accomplished jazz trumpeter, vocalist, composer and educator Michael Cruse is coming home. Before he raises his trumpet, we are inviting Lexington to gather at 6 p.m. for something we are calling “A Great Day in Lexington.”

The inspiration comes from one of America’s most celebrated cultural photographs. In 1958, photographer Art Kane assembled 57 extraordinary jazz musicians—including Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Mary Lou Williams and Sonny Rollins—on a Harlem street for what became known as “A Great Day in Harlem.”

Sixty-eight years later, we will create our Lexington expression of that idea: musicians, artists, cultural workers, horsemen and women, elders, young people, families, civic leaders and neighbors gather for one historic community photograph.

We are not trying to recreate Harlem. We are embracing its deeper idea: a community gathering to recognize itself, honor its history and celebrate those carrying its culture forward.

There may be no better place than the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden.