“A work for these times, but one deserving of a lifespan well beyond the reach of Trumpian politics. Here’s a work that never sacrifices art for statement, so rich is it in composition, voicings, arrangement, improvisation and the sheer talent of the principals.” — Jazz Right Now
"Ever wonder what 25 musicians improvising a funk-jazz opera score with Asian, African, European and South American instruments sounds like? No? The Afro Yaqui Music Collective wants to change that." — Kaisha Jantsch, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Described as a jazz opera, it begins with a free jazz blast from a saxophone quartet before moving through dramatic spoken word interludes, funk beats and classical arias as well as musical influences from around the world. As the work unfolds, the Collective, who describe themselves as a “25-piece postcolonial big band,” straddles all these styles with grace and vitality, retelling a story based on a Mayan folktale that has strong parallels with the plight of people in 2019.” — Mike Shanley, Pittsburgh Current
“Mirror Butterly: The Migrant Liberation Movement Suite is much more than an album, though. Inspired by the Mayan parable – The Story of the Sword – the project tells a story of Mayan resistance through a tree, a stone, and water. It’s music with a purpose and music meant to challenge. "We did this thinking that we have to get outside of our boxes and try to see how indigenous people see the world," says Rodriguez. "They are the ones that have been protecting their lands for thousands of years and they’ve done it successfully." — Joey Sephar, WYEP 91.3
“For the Pittsburgh-based funk-jazz group Afro Yaqui Music Collective, advocacy is at the core of who they are. Their new album, a jazz opera titled Mirror Butterfly: the Migrant Liberation Movement Suite, is about climate change and mass migration.” — Nick Lippa, WBFO 88.7 NPR Buffalo
“Jazz-fusion fueled activism in the name of unjustly forgotten or silenced voices…tight and cohesive.” — Christian Kriegeskotte, I Care if You Listen
“"With Mirror Butterfly: the Migrant Liberation Movement Suite, the members of Pittsburgh’s Afro Yaqui Music Collective have created something even bigger than themselves. It’s an impressive feat, considering the multilingual jazz band can boast anywhere from a few main members to a 20-plus piece ensemble.” — Jordan Snowden, Pittsburgh City Paper
“This is boundaries being pushed in a well-concieved way.” — Midwest Record
“Arturo Schomburg has been more or less erased from history, and through a collaboration with the Afro Yaqui Music Collective, Magdalena Gómez is working to spread knowledge about the unknown prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance.” — Jordan Snowden, Pittsburgh City Paper
“A one word summary of this concert? Unforgettable. To simply call the event a “concert” would be a misnomer- instead it was a musical journey, blending funk, jazz, hip-hop, rap, African music, Yaqui and Tzotzil-Tzeltal indigenous music from northern Mexico with powerful political messages.” — Dhruva Krishna, FoundSound Music
“A unique blend of music…music is a unverisal langauge.” — Steven Baublitz, The Exponent Telegram
““Music without borders or boundaries; future music from the well of the past.” — Postindustrial
“Percussively driven and mighty.” — WNYC New Sounds
"Fully orchestrated and magnificently realized, Afro Yaqui Music Collective make funk and jazz music uninhibited by rules or expectations. Firmly committed to social justice, the Pittsburgh-based ensemble takes aim at climate change, immigrant issues and dismantling cultural narratives. Mirror Butterfly, the group’s 2019 live jazz opera, is a sprawling narrative that details a chaotic world caught in a state of flux. Musically, the album similarly rises and falls, pairing rollicking, funky bangers with stark spoken-word pieces." — Vermont Seven Days
“Barson’s music brings together a world of divergent sounds, seamlessly casting something even beyond what Ho referred to as Afro-Asian music. Jazz, particularly of the Free variety, is ever present but scored with an orchestral vision informed by the far reaches of Mingus and Gil Evans. Mixing three outstanding lead vocalists, two voice actors, a four-part chorus, four saxophones (including Barson’s) with one doubling bass clarinet, a string quartet that unites the Chinese pipa lute and ancient Kazakh bowed kobyz with standard violin and cello. These instruments are most apparent within the strains of “The Four-Mirrored Butterfly,” an almost hypnotic segment culminating in a behind-the-beat waltz with the soaring operatic voice (at points more Brecht/Weill opera) of Gizelxanath Rodriguez and a riveting obbligato by bari sax. Rodriguez really comes to the fore on “Sisters Unite” which bridges spoken word to several voice stylings.” — John Pietaro, People’s World
“Willing to go where no one had gone before.” — Harry Funk, Mt. Lebanon Almanac