“All That Jazz” Mural
Called "All That Jazz: Portrait of Matthew Evan Taylor," this mural honors the titular saxophonist, composer and music professor at Middlebury College. It was created in 2020 by local Black-Dominican family collective Juniper Creative Arts and is located on the back of the O.N.E Community Center at 20 Allen Street.
“All that Jazz” depicts composer, saxophonist, and Middlebury College music professor Matthew Evan Taylor playing a saxophone in an Afrofuturistic abstract style. The mural features abstract botanical and nature elements typical of Juniper Creative’s aesthetic. Will chose Taylor as the subject of this improvisational design to celebrate and uplift Black creativity. The mural was commissioned by the Champlain Housing Trust for the ONE Community Center.
Juniper Creative Arts is a Black and Dominican family collective with a mission-driven practice of creating art that both involves and celebrates historically excluded communities. Consisting of mural artist and illustrator Will Kasso Condry, creative director and concept designer Jennifer Herrera Condry, and their daughter, visual artist and photographer Alexa Herrera Condry, they use visual art and murals to lift up the voices, images, and people that are often left in the margins. Their work and vibe are inspired by their cultural and spiritual lineages, urban art, Hip-Hop culture, the mystical, and the natural world. They believe in the power of the arts to heal, bring people together, build community, create dialogue, and celebrate Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) lives and stories.
