[Photo: eventnoire.com]
The Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC) will host a landmark evening of creative music on Friday, July 10, 2026, as percussionist Kahil El’Zabar and saxophonist David Murray take the stage together for the final stop of the We Be Free Tour. Produced by India Lovejoy, the concert will serve as the central musical event of Bayou City Stewards: Celebrating America From Our Perspective, a major new exhibition co-curated by Robert Hodge and Rachel Simon that opened at HMAAC on Juneteenth. The performance will be filmed and archived live by Ice House Radio for Houston’s permanent musical record.
“Visual art tells the story of who we are, while music gives that story its heartbeat,” said Davinia Reed, CEO of HMAAC. “As the final tour stop for jazz legends Kahil El’Zabar and David Murray, this performance is more than a concert, it is a continuation of the powerful dialogue taking place within our exhibition, Bayou City Stewards: America From Our Perspective.”
About Bayou City Stewards
Drawing exclusively from Houston-based private and institutional collections, the exhibition traces 250 years of African American artistic production, centering the city of Houston as a living repository of Black cultural memory and creative excellence. The exhibition proceeds from a foundational conviction: that art, music, memory, and community belong in the same living space. ”An extraordinary evening with legendary jazz visionaries Kahil El’Zabar and David Murray. It is a rare privilege and tremendous honor to welcome two of the most influential living figures in creative music to Houston for a performance that celebrates freedom, improvisation, and the enduring power of Black artistic expression,” states Robert Hodge. “We invite audiences to witness an unforgettable evening with two true giants whose artistry has shaped generations of musicians around the world.” The July 10th concert is conceived not as an ancillary event but as the exhibition speaking in sound. El’Zabar and Murray, two artists whose careers collectively span more than a century of creative music, embody the lineages, struggles, and spiritual ambitions that Bayou City Stewards places at the center of the American story.
About Kahil El’Zabar
Kahil El’Zabar is one of the most spiritually fearless and consistently innovative percussionists in the history of creative music. Over a fifty-year career rooted in the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) – of which he has served as chairman – El’Zabar has led the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble and collaborated with artists including Pharoah Sanders, Nina Simone, Dizzy Gillespie, Tomeka Reid, and Isaiah Collier. His work sits at the intersection of the African diaspora, jazz improvisation, and ritual sound.
About David Murray
David Murray stands among the most important and prolific saxophonists alive, with a recorded output exceeding 200 albums. His lineage runs through Albert Ayler, Ben Webster, and John Coltrane, and his work has continuously extended the possibilities of the saxophone as an instrument of both personal expression and collective witness. Murray’s inclusion in the We Be Free Tour’s final stop at HMAAC anchors the concert in a living tradition of Black musical genius – one that Bayou City Stewards insists has always been present in Houston, even when the city’s cultural institutions have not always reflected it.
About Ice House Radio
Ice House Radio will film and archive the July 10th performance live, contributing the evening to Houston’s permanent musical record. Ice House Radio’s participation reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that significant creative music events in Houston are documented, preserved, and accessible – building the archive that future generations will return to.
Event Details
Date: Friday, July 10, 2026
Venue: Houston Museum of African American Culture, 4807 Caroline Street, Houston, TX
Tickets: $25 General Admission (standing room) · $40 Reserved Seating
Time: Doors open at 7pm, show begins promptly at 8pm
