Bobby Bradford is 91 years old. He has played trumpet and cornet alongside Ornette Coleman, taught jazz history at Pomona College for four decades, and helped shape the sound of avant-garde Los Angeles.
Last January, the Eaton Fire took his home. This Saturday, he will take the stage.
The “Power Up Altadena” festival marks one year since the Eaton Fire. Organized by Dena United, a coalition of legacy arts organizations, the free event brings together musicians whose lives are woven into Altadena’s cultural fabric—artists who lost homes, neighbors, and the venues where they once performed.
Bradford will be joined by vocalist Dwight Trible, whom JazzTimes has called a godfather of the Los Angeles jazz scene, and the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, the ensemble founded in 1961 by pianist Horace Tapscott to preserve Black music in South Central and beyond.
Also on the bill: Baba Onochie Chukwurah and the Rhythms of the Village Family Band, Earthseed Band, Whispering Giants, and guest MCs Medusa and Myka 9.
The festival was originally scheduled to take place at Zorthian Ranch, the 48-acre artist colony established in 1946 that had hosted everyone from Charlie Parker to Andy Warhol. The fire destroyed nearly all of it. When Los Angeles County denied a permit to hold the event on the recovering property, organizers moved to Westminster Presbyterian Church, the French Gothic sanctuary at 1757 North Lake Avenue that straddles the border between Pasadena and Altadena.
Doors open at 11:00 a.m., with youth performances and art workshops beginning at 11:11 a.m. At 1:11 p.m., Baba Onochie Chukwurah will lead a Libation Ceremony. At 2:22 p.m., the festival pauses to honor Altadena’s elder culture bearers and remember those who died in the fire. The Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra closes out the afternoon beginning at 4:44 p.m.
Admission is free for Altadena residents who bring proof of address. Others are asked for a $10 donation at the door. Proceeds support local healing arts programs and the legacy organizations that make up Dena United, which describes itself as a coalition of artists, musicians, and activists working toward what it calls “the post-apocalyptic cultural renaissance of Altadena.”
Food trucks will serve throughout the day. Workshops in art, dialogue, and soil health will run alongside the performances.
The festival runs from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1757 North Lake Avenue. For more information or to volunteer, email DenaUnited@gmail.com or visit DenaUnited.org.
