Chris Coles

Guitarist and composer Dan Bruce's modern jazz ensemble, :beta collective, brings improvised grooves to audiences. The group releases its new album April 29.

It's been five years since Northeast Ohio saxophonist Chris Coles began working on "Nine Lives Project," a 40-minute music and performance piece intended to heighten awareness of ongoing racial injustice in America after the 2015 Charleston church shooting. Now, the project is complete and its four movements have been recorded. Coles says the project is intended to celebrate the achievements and greatness of Black Americans, rather than solely mourning the nine Black lives lost.

Saxophonist and Kent State University music teacher Chris Coles has spent the past two years creating a performance piece that he hopes will raise…