Carnegie Hall

A cosmically minded conjurer of soulful and spirited compositions, Grammy- nominated trumpeter Theo Croker creates emotional, musical soundscapes that defy categorization and shape stories. The grandson of legendary trumpeter Doc Cheatham (1905–1997), an Oberlin graduate, and a former mentee of Grammy- and Tony-winning chanteuse Dee Dee Bridgewater, Croker emerged from straight-ahead, avant-garde jazz roots in the early 2000s. From the beginning, it was clear that he meant to stake out new terrain in other frontiers, crafting an emotionally searing sound that offered his own, innovative take on post-bop, funk, and electronic-tinged fusion.

Displaying a vibrant versatility with influences from classical to hip-hop and historical and philosophical texts, his music exemplifies the jazz modernist who embraces multiple genres and cutting-edge technology. He remixes and reimagines whole eras of experimentation and new ways of seeing/hearing/being in a single track. Patterns ascend in his trumpet notes, each tone a choir in itself, pure and clear one moment, bold, brassy, or diffused the next. His work is imbibed with his fierce belief in the power of music to capture the story of a people, their journey, and the wonders of human connections.

In 2007, Croker began with The Fundamentals and continued In the Tradition (2008), but it was after these albums that he forged a star-studded path that reveals more of the stylistically wide-ranging aesthetic for which he is now known and celebrated. From the Dee Dee Bridgewater–produced Afro Physicist (2014), he reached Escape Velocity (2016) and showed us that we are a Star People Nation (2019). But it is with his latest work that displays an otherworldly dimension and depth.

Described by DownBeat as an ode to Blackness, Croker’s BLK2LIFE || A FUTURE PAST was created and self-produced during the pandemic and designed to “send coded frequencies to activate our sleeping, ancestral DNA.” Born in Leesburg, Florida, Croker returned to his hometown to record the entire album while under personal quarantine in the place where he says he first started his dream of music. He found the slowed-down, intentional pace—a musician’s version of a silent retreat—an experience that was quite freeing and very rewarding. “It really allowed me to tap back in to my ancestors and my roots.”

With an ancient elegance, his trumpet dances on the needlepoint of nuance, then bursts to an explosive wall of 100 sounds. Deep within there is a release from gravity’s pull that invites us to listen with our inner ear and see with our third eye. When speaking on some of the inspiration for his work, Croker gives thanks not only to his legendary grandfather, but also to “all of my ancestors, known and unknown, that are still in love and light.” He reminds us that our “inner voice, our spirituality, our instinctive guidance” is connected to a more expansive, ancestral memory, and that music connects us through these liminal threads. Choosing to listen opens us to exploring the unknown, invites us to revel in the mystery.

And with Croker, listeners have a gracious and adventurous guide. Said to straddle the past and present by being infinitely present, his music journeys as it climbs. Through musical memory and imagery—symbols decoded in layered sound—the trumpeter navigates our moods as skillfully as he does his parallel passions of songwriting, band-leading, music direction, collaboration, and production.

Croker’s lifelong fascination with science fiction, deep historical excavation, and reverse engineering of recorded memory offers us a greater understanding of not only the universe, but of ourselves. His compositions remind us that we are part of a greater world beyond the one beneath our feet. “I’m not a political or spiritual leader,” he says, “but I want to get to the highest meaning of life.”

Sheree Renée Thomas—a member of Carnegie Hall’s Afrofuturism Curatorial Council—is an award-winning poet and author of Nine Bar Blues: Stories from an Ancient Future. She is the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and associate editor of Obsidian. She is a contributor to Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda and a collaborator with Janelle Monáe on The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer. Her other books include Trouble the Waters, Sleeping Under the Tree of Life, Shotgun Lullabies, and the groundbreaking Afrofuturism anthologies Dark Matter and Africa Risen.

Photography: Croker by Odibi Nzeribe