Akili Jamal Haynes
Multi-instrumentalist, Akili Jamal Haynes, has performed with Illinois Jacquet (Swing), Lester Bowie (Mixed genres), Wynton Marsalis (New Orleans), Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra (Mixed genres), McCoy Tyner (Modern Bebop), the Mingus Big Band (Bebop), Nana Kimati Dinizulu (Ghana), Lenny Kravitz (Funk/Rock), Stephen Scott (Bebop), Lamine Toure & Group Saloum (Senegales Sabar/Mbalax), Sidi Muhammed Camara (Mali), Isaura Oliveira (Bahia Brazil), Sory Diabote (Mali), Fred Woodard Collective (Bebop/Mixed genres), Taina Asili (Puerto Rico), Fulani Haynes (Bebop/Mixed Genres), and Stan Strickland (Mixed Genres), among others. Akili is cultivating his multi-genre band called A Slice of P.A.I. (Positive African Images), which combines the ancient rhythms of the African continent with Funk, Rhythm and Blues, Hip-Hop, and Bebop. With the diverse backgrounds and musical histories of it’s personnel, the group is able to authentically infuse the many rhythmic creations and genres of Africans around the world into one sweet healing sound. PAI is a group that concentrates on creating original music and presenting the works of composers of African ancestry. PAI has performed concerts and lecture demonstrations for communities and schools in the Greater Boston Area. Most recently supporting the Green House Growers of the Dudley Greenhouse, bringing music to students of the Martin Luther King School and participating in a Community Music Center of Boston sponsored music festival called Feté de la Musique. P.A.I. is currently working on a multi-media project called Metamorphosis of the Blues and a feature film called Becoming Chibuzo, which tells the story of Akili Jamal Haynes, a child prodigy, forced to play trombone, who puts it down to pursue the dreams of his youth.