NEW YORK — A planned Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center, a holiday tradition dating back more than 20 years, has been cancelled. The show's host, musician Chuck Redd, says he canceled the appearance after the White House announced last week that President Donald Trump the name will be added to the object.
As of last Friday, on the facade of the building it is written Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. The president's select council approved the decision, which scientists say violates the law, according to the White House. Trump has said for months that he is willing to change the name of the center.
“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then a few hours later on the building, I decided to cancel our concert,” Redd told The Associated Press in an email Wednesday. Redd, a drummer and vibraphonist who has toured with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Ray Brown, has helmed the Kennedy Center's Jazz Jams celebration since 2006, succeeding bassist William “Keter” Betts.
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Center website reports that the show has been cancelled.
President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and the following year Congress passed legislation naming the center a living monument to him. Kennedy's niece Kerry Kennedy has vowed to remove Trump's name from the building once he leaves office, and former House historian Ray Smock is among those who say any changes must be approved by Congress.
The law expressly prohibits The board of trustees is prohibited from turning the center into a memorial to anyone else and from putting another person's name on the facade of the building.
Trump, a Republican, was closely associated with the center named after the iconic Democrat, although he largely ignored it during his first term. He ousted its leadership, rebuilt the board while installing himself as its head, and personally hosted this year's Kennedy Center Honors, breaking with a long tradition of presidents serving largely as spectators. The changes at the Kennedy Center are part of the president's broader mission to combat “woke” culture in federal cultural institutions.
Many artists have canceled performances at the Kennedy Center since Trump returned to office, including Issa Rae and Peter Wolf. Lin-Manuel Miranda has canceled his planned production of Hamilton.
