Report by Dawoud Kringle

Photos by Kim Schmidt, Clara Aich, and Banning Eyre

On Friday, September 5th, 2025, the Cutting Room in New York City hosted MFM’s 10th Anniversary Celebration.

After a brief and impassioned introduction by Kim Schmidt, the MFM Unity Ensemble (featuring Joe Lovano, Arturo O’Farrill, Ron Wasserman, and Andy Weintraub) opened the show. Lovano and O’Farrill started a lively conversation performing “Giving Thanks.” O’Farrill’s piano work was magnificent, poetic, and unpredictable. Lovano’s saxophone worked its way in and out of the piano with wonderful melodies. This was perhaps the first time O’Farrill and Lovano had ever played together as a duo.

The second and third tunes they played were “All Blues” and “Rhythm-a-ning” with Andy Weintraub coming in to add percussion ornaments, as well as a hard-driving acoustic bass performance by Ron Wasserman. After those, they went into “Seraphic Light,” joined by SoSaLa on soprano sax, Volker Goetze on trumpet, and Roger Blanc on electric guitar, who played the hell out of that, too – a magnificent free improvisation.

Regrettably, two musicians who were initially scheduled to perform with the MFM Unity Ensemble had to cancel their appearances: Peter Gordon on saxophone and Roy Hartigan on drums. Both were missed.

When they finished, Lovano spoke briefly about MFM. Arturo O’Farrill followed with a statement about the sacredness of music. SoSaLa took the mic and shared his thoughts on the necessity of MFM, emphasizing how musicians are essential workers. He gave shout-outs to various friends and musicians, and a special shout-out to his wife, Shigeko, who, along with Sohrab, co-founded MFM.

This was followed by speeches from Board members Roger Blanc, Peter Wetzler, and Stephen Johnson, who’s also the Kingston Chapter leader, reading a message from Senior MFM member Steve Swallow, Senior member David Belmont, and yours truly, along with Sohrab.

Then SoSaLa took the stage, joined by Mark C, David Belmont, Baba Don Eaton, and Andy Weintraub. They began with Mark C’s free, electronic-inspired improvisation, opening the way. Belmont stepped in with a series of exotic arabesques in E minor before the whole band began a powerful marching groove performing “Sad Sake.” This evolved into an infectious hypnotic rhythm. Then they played “What’s What.” SoSaLa’s saxophone flew above everything. In the third song, which has no title, SoSaLa went into an indescribably intense jam, creating a range of amazing things. At one point, Leon “Kaleta” Ligan-Majekodunmi (Fela Kuti guitarist) made a special appearance with SoSaLa on vocals.

A video of LA member Sandra Izsadore was shown, in which she spoke about MFM, discussing how musicians bring joy to the world, while also acknowledging the need to earn a living and cover production expenses. Keyna Wilkins (the first member of MFM from Australia) sent a video. Both ladies sent their well wishes!

Banning Eyre on guitar and Sylvan Leroux on Fula Flute offered some beautiful, African-based acoustic music, accompanied by Baba Don on congas, Andy Weintraub on drums, and Peter Wetzler on piano.

Christopher North spoke briefly, reading statements from members who were unable to attend, including a statement by Ramin Aldizadeh (a member of the MFM in Iran) and a special statement by Mark Ribot (Musicians Workers Alliance). Due to time constraints, not all statements could be read aloud; however, they will be published on our social media channels.

The evening concluded with a jam session featuring Richard Scott on guitar and vocals, Adam Robinson (shakuhachi), Andy on drums, Kaleta Ligan-Majekodunmi on guitar, and Baba Don on congas.

After their performance, Advisory Committee member Banning Eyre offered a speech about the present lack of federal funding and the complexities of financing our projects.

Over 50% of our membership attended, either in person or via video messages. Twenty-three members showed up, and six non-NY members made statements.

At this point, I must acknowledge the following people for their valuable contributions to the event:

All performing musicians, especially Joe Lovano and Arturo O’Farrill,

Steve Walter, the TCR owner, who extended a special deal to MFM,

Arnie Perez, Jazz presenter, who made the special deal with Steve on behalf of MFM,

Adam Reifsteck (VP), for running the Facebook ad campaign, setting up the t-shirt sale, and sitting at the merchandise table.

Barry Heyman for initiating contact with Steve and coming up with organisational ideas,

Roger Blanc, our music coordinator,

Roger Jr Blanc for videoing and photographing the event,

Peter Wetzler for announcing our event on Kingston FM radio,

Sal Catildi for announcing our event on NYSmusic.com,

Stephen Johnson for getting a written message from Senior member Steve Swallow,

Christopher North for reading the member messages from the stage,

Dawoud Kringle for producing the special edition of MFM’s podcast (https://mfmspeaksout.simplecast.com/episodes/ep-52-mfms-10th-anniversary),

Mark C for driving Sohrab and his stuff to the venue and back home,

WKCR FM Jazz host (Jazz Alternatives) Sharif Abdus Salaam for interviewing SoSaLa and Roger Blanc, and announcing our event. (https://mfmspeaksout.simplecast.com/episodes/wkcr-interview)

Lewis Oliveros for designing and manufacturing the anniversary t-shirt (https://musiciansformusicians.org/product/mfm-t-shirt-10th-anniversary-event/)

To all retailers who distributed our event flyers: ROUGH TRADE, DMG, CATALYST RECORDS, PARADISE OF REPLICA, AND JAZZ RECORD CENTER.

And last but not least, Sohrab, for producing this event, which wasn’t an easy thing to do.

Usually, I tend to downplay myself when I write these reports. Despite my public persona (and the nature of promotion and social media), I sometimes have trouble finding a legitimate reason to attract attention to myself. Nonetheless, I’d like to share something personal.

I met Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi at Ornette Coleman‘s apartment. I’d been introduced to Ornette through Bachir Attar, the leader of the Master Musicians of Jajouka. One evening, when I was jamming with Ornette (and sweating bullets trying to keep up with him), Sohrab walked in and joined us. As time went on, we became friends. Sohrab was new to New York City and was shocked at the degeneracy that existed in the music business. Specifically, how musicians are treated., He decided to take action. He and I hung out and had many late-night discussions, brainstorming sessions, and arguments. This was the beginning of MFM. I became the first person to join the Board and the second dues-paying member.

MFM has grown and evolved over the past decade. We have weathered many storms and accomplished a great deal. We have good reason to celebrate the first decade of our existence.

But we still have a lot of work to do. The political climate in the United States, as well as unprecedented technological changes, has gone beyond a threat to specialized musical skills. Our very existence is in jeopardy. And as it stands now, our greatest (and only) weapons are our solidarity, ingenuity, and resolve.

Looking back on the last decade, it’s astonishing what MFM has accomplished. Looking ahead, we can achieve many more great things. And we will.