ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The celebration of jazz music would be remiss without honoring Juneteenth.

“You cannot celebrate jazz music without understanding it’s rooted in the enslavement of people and jazz events that do not recognize Juneteenth, that’s problematic for us,” said Gloria Johnson-Hovey, coordinator for Rochester’s inaugural Juneteenth Jazz event, which is in partnership with Rochester’s Juneteenth 5k walk and run that will take place on Juneteenth.

It's what prompted Rochester’s inaugural Juneteenth jazz event.

“Jazz has gotten away from its roots and we are bringing it back,” Johnson-Hovey said. 

According to the American Conservatory Theater, the early origins of jazz trace back to African slaves and Creole descendants. By 1808, the Atlantic slave trade had brought half a million Africans to the United States, where they were forced to work on southern plantations.

“It was built on the backs and the blood of enslaved people," Johnson-Hovey said. "The songs, the rhythms, the music [and] the chants. They all came from Black and brown people from the Caribbean and Africa.”

The event featuring local jazz bands honoring the origins of the music, while also educating the community on its history. 

“People can wander in and wander out and get a glimpse of it,” said Johnson-Hovey. “It is different from the jazz festival that has been here for 20 years. We are absorbing Juneteenth and everything that has built jazz.”

The event taught those in attendance about the impact of jazz.

“When Black people were not able to play in the mainstream, in white establishments, they created their own space and they welcomed people that looked different from them to play with them.”

It also highlighted what jazz means.

“It means freedom," said Johnson-Hovey. "It means hope. It means love. [And] it means friendship."