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Humanitics Album Cover_87-No Tears Project-1080_edited.jpg

No Tears Project is excited to announce the release of our new album HUMANITICS, out February 25, 2025 from Mahakala Music!

Featuring 8 tracks, including 5 new works by Oliver Lake, plus a collaboration between Donald Brown and Marc Franklin, and original compositions by Bobby LaVell and Treasure Shields Redmond

HUMANITICS reflects the human spirit, resilience, and the enduring pursuit of justice. The album transcends boundaries to celebrate the universal. It is both a reflection of the struggles of the past and a call to hope and action for the future.

About

ABOUT

Christopher Parker and Kelley Hurt
"One of the most powerful things I've ever seen."
-Alex Greene, Memphis Flyer

The No Tears Project is a jazz-inflected collective formed in 2017 and led by vocalist Kelley Hurt, and pianist Christopher Parker.

 

The group’s repertoire is inspired by explorations into social equality and strives to create recognition as a precursor to reconciliation.

 

Born from a musical composition, No Tears Suite, written by Hurt and Parker and commissioned by the nonprofit Oxford American magazine to honor the civil rights heroes the Little Rock Nine, No Tears has evolved into a touring group and outreach program that brings conversations and healing to communities through music.

In addition to Hurt and Parker, a fertile community of creative artists have added texture to the group, including drummers Brian Blade and Darrian Douglas, bassist Rodney Jordan, Robert "Bobby LaVell" Garner (tenor saxophone), Marc Franklin (trumpet), and Chad Fowler (alto saxophone). The ensemble has also collaborated with composers Rufus Reid, Oliver Lake, and Donald Brown among others, as well as with spoken word artist Treasure Shields Redmond and choreographer/researcher, Ashley Tate. 

No Tears Project performance - Little Rock Nine Day 2023
No Tears Project Memphis performance Crosstown Arts Greenroom
ashley tate_no tears project jackson ms.JPG
No Tears Project performance at Jazz St. Louis

MUSIC

Music

VIDEOS

Video
Upcoming Shows

JOIN US IN JACKSON, MS - SEPT. 27 - 29

We are thrilled to announce the full event schedule below for our Jackson, MS residency September 27-29, 2024 in partnership with the Oxford American, the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument. 

Bassist and composer Rodney Jordan will premiere a set of new music inspired by the Evers Family.

Thanks to the National Park Foundation's ParkVentures initiative; Jazz Road, a program of SouthArtsSupporting Partner Visit Jackson; and community partners One Voice, the Mississippi State Conference of NAACP, Central Mississippi Blues Society, Mississippi Book Festival, Penguin Random House, Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church, and JSU's Department of Music for helping make the Jackson residency possible.

Stay tuned for more Fall 2024 tour dates in the Mississippi Delta region

by joining our e-newsletter.

Upcoming Shows

UPCOMING EVENTS

  • Feb 20, 2025, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
    Faulkner Performing Arts Center (U of A), 453 Garland Ave, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
    No Tears Project will play at Faulkner Performing Arts Center, presented by the U of A Multicultural Center. Join us for this special album release tour celebrating the group's new album, "Humanitics."
  • Feb 21, 2025, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
    UA-Pulaski Tech CHARTS Theater, 3000 W. Scenic Dr., North Little Rock, AR 72118, USA
    Just announced! No Tears Project will play the UA-Pulaski Tech '24-'25 Concert Series. Join us for this special album release show celebrating the group's forthcoming record, "Humanitics."

PAST EVENTS

Bios

BIOS

Memphis native vocalist Kelley Hurt comes from a musical family. She was the recipient of the Phillip’s Award for Best New Artist from the Memphis chapter of the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Hurt has toured and recorded with a range of groups including Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Joe Walsh, Bruce Willis and the Accelerators, North Mississippi All-Stars, and many others. She has performed in the US, Europe, and the Middle East.

Arkansas native pianist Christopher Parker’s playing associations range from free jazz musicians Kidd Jordan, William Parker, and Douglas Ewart to Brian Blade, Delfeyo Marsalis, Joe Jennings, and Blues musicians Luther and Cody Dickinson, among others. He has appeared on over 20 albums, and performed in the US, South America, and Europe.

Photos
Kelley Hurt in Little Rock 2023
No Tears Project Ensemble in Little Rock 2023
Christopher Parker in studio 2023
Ashley Tate at Jazz St. Louis 2023
No Tears Ensemble & Arkansas Symphony Orchestra
No Tears Ensemble at Jazz St. Louis 2023
No Tears Ensemble at Sumner High School St. Louis 2023
Bobby LaVell in Little Rock 2023
Rodney Jordan at Crosstown Arts Memphis 2023
Treasure Shields Redmond at Crosstown Arts Memphis 2023
Ashley Tate and Elizabeth Eckford
Christopher Parker Crosstown Arts Memphis 2023
Brian Blade at Crosstown Arts Memphis 2023
Workshop at Sumner High School 2023
Ashley Tate at Crosstown Arts Memphis 2023
Bobby LaVell in studio 2023
No Tears Ensemble in Little Rock 2023
No Tears ensemble in studio 2023-20230926-850_8185-Enhanced-NR
No Tears Ensemble at Children's Library in Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library Memphis 2023
Darrian Douglas in Little Rock 2023
Kelley Hurt & Treasure Shields Redmond in Little Rock 2023
Marc Franklin in Memphis 2023
Kelley Hurt in studio 2023
Chad Fowler in Memphis 2023
No Tears Ensemble at Memphis Jazz Workshop 2023
No Tears Project Ensemble Memphis 2023
Kelley Hurt and Elizabeth Eckford
No Tears ensemble in studio-20230926-850_8170-Enhanced-NR
Contact

CONTACT

BOOKING 

Ryan Harris | ryan@rde-consulting.net

314.479.3001

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