Nasir Dickerson presents A Kwanzaa Celebration Experience : Bridging the Black Diaspora, Discipline & Jazz Expression

Nasir Dickerson is an Emmy Award-winning music educator, saxophonist, kora player, Africanflutist, composer, producer, and recording artist. A student of the late greats Charles Bowen,Robert “Bootsie” Barnes, and Leon Mitchell, and presently Cullen Knight, Nasir is the leader ofthe jazz sextet The Renaissance Messengers and Life Light Empower, and serves asArtistic/Music Director of The Universal African Dance & Drum Ensemble.Nasir has performed with artists including Lauryn Hill, Dave Chappelle, Erykah Badu, Doechii,Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean, Angie Stone, The Legendary Roots Crew, Bilal, Questlove, andJeff Bradshaw, among many others. He has also opened for jazz legends including Dr. DonaldByrd, Robert “Bootsie” Barnes, Wallace Roney, Jimmy Heath, Cyrus Chestnut Trio, and DuaneEubanks.

Audiences can expect a deeply immersive experience when Nasir Dickerson takes the stage—where improvisation meets ritual, and sound becomes a tool for reflection, power, and uplift. As the leader of Life Light Empower, Dickerson brings together African diasporic rhythm, martial arts discipline, and spiritual jazz in a performance philosophy shaped by movement, clarity, and cultural memory. “It’s not just music—it’s movement. It’s a vibration of history and future colliding,” says Dickerson. An Emmy Award-winning composer, saxophonist, and 7th Degree Master Black Belt, Dickerson was raised in the Universal African Dance & Drum Ensemble founded by his parents, where cultural preservation, artistic excellence, and physical practice were taught as one.

Nasir Dickerson, Saxophone, Jeanette Berry - Vocals, Charles Washington - Trumpet, Qaadir Sabree - Djembe, Adam Faulk - Piano, Ray Bernard - Bass, Hassan Sabree - Drums, Darryl Jackson - Percussion, Haki Pratt - African Percussion