FREE FIRST THURSDAYS: February

Maliq Wynn Johnson is a drummer, producer, and composer from Denver, Colorado. Maliq describes himself as “eclectic”  using his voice and experiences to think deeply around his creativity through music. As curator, he enjoys decentering the patriarchy within his ensembles and pieces. Moving away from the stereotypical archetypes of how Jazz is supposed to be heard, thought, or conceptualized; Maliq ties his admiration for the history of this genre with an innovative & contemporary approach. 

He began his love for music when he was given a snare drum from his Mother at a young age. After learning Jazz in middle school through the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz (CCJA)  and eventually graduating from Denver East High School, he then created his band Splifflet and went on to begin producing electronic music under the name J4ZZ_UN1T.

He’s had the honor to play for the inauguration of the Denver City Mayor and perform in spaces including New Hope Baptist Church, Five Points Jazz Festival, Dazzle Denver, Red Rocks, NuBlu Classic in New York, and Boston venues like Wallys & the Exit Galleries. In his last year of pursuing Performance & Music Production at the Berklee College of Music, he is en route of a fruitful musical journey as a musician-staying true to who he is and bringing his music to many places & spaces.

Devon Gates is a bassist, vocalist, and composer from Atlanta, Georgia. Through studying anthropology and jazz performance at Harvard University and Berklee College of Music, she has worked with Terri Lyne Carrington, Linda May Han Oh, Vijay Iyer, Danilo Perez, Claire Chase, and Esperanza Spalding, and has performed with Social Science, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Susie Ibarra, Fay Victor, Michael Mayo, Alexa Tarantino, Immanuel Wilkins, Kenny Werner, and Tia Fuller. In 2020, she released her first EP, “Voice/Bass” on Bandcamp, followed by the release of single “skipped that step” in spring 2023. In 2022 her original composition “Don't Wait" was published in Berklee Press' "New Standards" collection of 101 lead sheets by female jazz composers.

Johnette Marie (she/her) is a medicine maker, thinker, and creator experimenting with literary and visual arts. Community building, teaching, producing and curating have also been a part of Johnette’s journey. After receiving a masters in urban affairs, Johnette studied creative writing and earned her masters of fine arts; language remains key to her vision of unlocking passageways and portals toward our collective liberation. Alongside poetry and prose, Johnette has also used photography and film to communicate and reflect. She studies spiritual herbalism, and surrenders to nature as her most prominent and promising muse.