Malcom X Jazz Arts Festival

East Bay Express calendar listing The theme for this Saturday's fourth annual Malcolm X Jazz Arts Festival in San Antonio Park in East Oakland is "Stop US Imperialism -- Our Struggle Is at Home." To celebrate the birth of free-thinker and revolutionary El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz aka Malcolm X (1925-1965), the EastSide Arts Alliance has assembled an impressive cast of musical and spoken-word performers for a free all-day community event. Renowned poet Amiri Baraka will no doubt have much to say, as an outspoken critic of this government's policies. He returns along with jazz percussionist Kahlil El'Zabar, whose quartet includes master reed player Hamiett Bluiett, violinist Billy Bang, and Umar Bin Hassan of the Last Poets. The Chicago-based El'Zabar helped establish the festival, and his musical vision has informed the progressive roster of artists gracing the two rotating stages. On the local musical front, this festival has served as a forum for Bay Area artists, especially jazz musicians, who often face artistic isolation. This year's local performers include alto sax wiz Howard Wiley and the Latino/world sounds of O-Maya. The Black Dot artists will also be on hand, showcasing the talent bubbling up in Oakland neighborhoods. Throw in a spoken-word summit held on the basketball court, as well as the Electric Church, Marcel Diallo, Eddie Gale, and Marvin X, and let the consciousness-raising begin. The festival brings an additional splash of color to the working-class San Antonio neighborhood, already considered one of the city's most diverse. For a day, banners with the images of Mumia Abu Jamal, Aztec warriors, and Malcolm X adorn normally drab playground fences, while Mexican paleteros lug their ice-cream carts and ring their bells to the sounds of the music. Meanwhile, information booths about community organizations and causes bring into focus the people's struggles of today. It all happens Saturday at San Antonio Park, 19th Avenue and Foothill Boulevard. For information about the EastSide Arts Alliance, 2364 E. 15th St., call 510-533-6629. -- Jesse "Chuy" Varela