BUFFALO, N.Y. — There is a new union in Buffalo that’s working to spread the living melodies of the world, keeping alive one of the nation’s most classic genres of music: Jazz.

The Point Nine Mile Collaborative (stylized .9 Mile) is a multiyear partnership between the Historic Colored Musicians Club and Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, which are just 0.9 miles away from each other, hence the name. The venture was formed to expand the scope of live jazz programming throughout the region. For founders and musicians Walter Kemp III, musical director at the Colored Musicians Club, and Steve Baczkowski, musical director at Hallwalls, the idea was organic, as their shared mission and close vicinity easily opened doors for them to unite audiences through the power of music.

What You Need To Know

  • The Point Nine Mile Collaborative (stylized .9 Mile) is a multiyear partnership between the Colored Musicians Club and Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center

  • The collaborative was formed to broaden the scope of live jazz concert programming throughout the region

  • The first major venture of the collaborative to date was bringing the Sun Ra Arkestra under the direction of Marshall Allen to Asbury Hall on Sept. 2

  • The collaborative will be presenting the CMC International Jazz Fest Oct. 8-10

“For me with the music, the music is not just in the past, we are living it as we are talking here today,” Kemp III said.

“We’re already so close and yet there’s these kind of illusory lines that divide our communities and music is one of the primary ways that people come together and it seemed to be an obvious partnership for us," Baczkowski said.

One of their greatest feats to date was bringing the Sun Ra Arkestra back to Hallwalls on Sept. 2, this time under the direction of Marshall Allen. This was the third time the Arkestra performed there, following shows in 1991 and 1992.

“The Colored Musicians Club tried to get Sun Ra a few years ago; it just didn’t work out," Kemp said. "So we’re ecstatic we can actually get them now and we have the resources, that’s probably the huge thing.”

The experience brought guests directly into the magic, transporting listeners to other dimensions under one roof while also honoring two departed members of the Arkestra from the Queen City, baritone saxophonist Ray Scott, who died in 2018, and double-bassist Juini Booth, who recently passed away in July.

“It’s a tight-knit community, locally, nationally, and internationally," Baczkowski said. "So it felt very natural at this time to bring the group back to Buffalo in its newest incarnation under the direction of Marshall Allen.”

The show was a testament to the necessity of the .9 Mile Collaborative, as these jazz performances allow newer audiences to connect with legendary ensembles to understand the timelessness of the music. In fact, according to Knoel Scott, saxophonist and one of the original members of the Sun Ra Arkestra, society is now ready to receive the messages that have been produced through the music for decades.

“We’re just doing what Sun Ra laid down in the fifties, and I’ve been continuing it going into now, and now, everybody’s receptive," Scott said. "So the world has finally caught up with the prophetic nature of Sun Ra.”

Through a union of the past and future, .9 Mile Collaborative, like jazz itself, is sure to bring more revolutionary experiences to the city that will impart the music of life into each and every listener.

“Like water goes through a rusty pipe, it takes some of the minerals from the pipe through; it doesn’t take the minerals from the other pipe it went through," Kemp III said. "So I have to leave some of my residue in what hits the listener, and that’s probably what keeps it fresh. If we try our best to be the conduit and let a little bit of you go with it, it isn’t dead and it won’t die.”

The collaborative will be presenting the CMC International Jazz Fest Oct. 8-10, featuring Drea D'Nur, Rootstock Republic, Scott Tixier and more.