In the twenty-first century, or, in other words, in a post-migratory, post-colonial and finally multipolar world, one would think that jazz, being a distinctively black tradition, the recognition of the Afro-American contribution to the formation of popular music’s canon of the last hundred years would be evident. For several reasons, among them certainly the residues of abuse of prominent position on the part of classical European culture and the inherent arrogance of its defenders but also due to ideological exploitation, in recent years we have witnessed the emergence of multiple projects “celebrating” jazz’s black roots. Irrespective of the cultural or sociological considerations one may articulate about such phenomenon, it is obvious that there are differences of artistic quality and pertinence between them, varying according to the quality of their interpreters and the honesty of their purposes. The Black Art Jaz Collective, co-founded in 2012 by saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and drummer Jonathan Blake, all of them reputed instrumentalists from New York’s jazz circuit of the last two decades and accomplices in collaborations with jazz’s legends such as Ron Carter or Wayne Shorter, fits on the group of those who do it with undeniable integrity. The band’s sound is recognizable for the superimposition of musical and political narratives, thereby honoring the evocative power to the African-American cultural patrimony, not only its artistic heritage but also its history of political resistance. In that sense, and like their own members vindicate, this project is evocative of the ethical and aesthetical principles of seminal jazz ensembles of the past, namely the legendary Jazz Messengers led by Art Blakey.