CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE: Blue Note Records in the Progressive '60s

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE:

Chase Baird - saxophone

Ingrid Jensen - trumpet

Bruce Barth - piano

David Ambrosio -bass

Rudy Royston - drums

Civil Disobedience, initiated by New York bassist David Ambrosio, revives politically conscious music written by Black jazz composers during the late-1960s Blue Note era. This project revisits a powerful but largely overlooked body of music written in response to the civil rights movement and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Many of these compositions—instrumental works of protest and reflection—were released decades after they were written and never received wide attention. Civil Disobedience brings this music back into focus through new performances that highlight both its historical significance and its striking relevance today.

“With Civil Disobedience, Ambrosio is back in the deep end of musical dedication - to his ideals and to a historical and social consciousness” - Josef Woodard, DownBeat Magazine

"An album of anthemic songs speaking to the history of spirited civil rights activism." - AD Amorosi, Jazz Times

“This album has to be considered as one of the best of 2026” - Mike Greenblatt, The Aquarian

“If your foot isn’t tapping it’s because your shoes are nailed to the floor.” - Musically Speaking - Mel Minter

“There’s something life affirming about David Ambrosio’s latest project [Civil Disobedience]. These underplayed songs boast divergent melodic paths, but are all driven by swing.” - Andy Cowan, MOJO Magazine UK

“Civil Disobedience: Blue Note in the Progressive Sixties is both a tribute and a reclamation, a love letter to the music” - Mark Corroto, All About Jazz