A black-and-white portrait of a person with short white hair and a warm smile, wearing a patterned tuxedo jacket and a dark bow tie with a white flower pinned to the lapel. They are posed behind a dark surface, likely a piano, with dramatic lighting creating a soft shadow in the background.
Al Downing Credit: Photo vy Jared, CC BY-SA 3.0

For 45 years, Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association has done the work of promoting music education through its events and scholarships. Named for the late pianist, educator who was the first African-American Commissioner of the St. Petersburg Housing Authority, this annual concert honors Downing’s legacy as well as the work and teaching of Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.

A press release says the outdoor event features “live performances of jazz from the Civil Rights Era, narrated reflections on the music’s history, and a special segment on the healing properties of music.”

There’s no cover for Al Downing Tampa Bay Jazz Association: The Sounds of Hope happening Saturday, Jan. 24 at St. Petersburg’s Warehouse Arts District.

The Sounds of Hope: Honoring the Legacies of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Alvin J. Downing

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Location Warehouse Arts District Association (WADA), 515 22nd Street South, St Petersburg

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This article appears in Jan. 22 – 28, 2026.

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...