Pianist Julian Davis Reid and Circle of Trust play Berlin, walking through the album 'Mercy We Need' in the Berlin Music & Literature Series.
Julian Davis Reid & Circle of Trust play Berlin on Friday, October 23, at 7:30 PM. The set walks through his album Mercy We Need, a record that leans into grief and the graces of mercy. It's part of the Berlin Music & Literature Series.
Reid is a contemplative, emotionally dynamic pianist and composer from Chicago whose work draws on the worlds of Robert Glasper, Keith Jarrett and Herbie Hancock. He's played across North America and Europe, with stops at the Montreal Jazz Fest, Lollapalooza and the Berlin Jazz Fest. He was a member of Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few before collaborating with Jennifer Hudson, Chance the Rapper, Tank and the Bangas, Andrew Bird and Jamila Woods.
Mercy We Need is a record built around loss. The title track was co-written with Circle of Trust vocalist Tramaine Parker after her mother died. "Not Yet Home" is about four homeless people killed on Chicago's Blue Line, and "Farewell, Hello Again" is a eulogy for his mentor Kenneth W. Louis. Outside the music, Reid is an award-winning writer and artist-theologian; he founded Notes of Rest in 2021, a project in contemplative spirituality, and published essays in Naming the Spirit: Pneumatology through the Arts (2025).
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Tickets are $20 general admission. The show starts at 7:30 PM on Friday, October 23, at Berlin in Minneapolis.
