Author: BRENIKA BANKS

This February marks the 100th Anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance—an explosion of black American cultural pride, artistry and intellect that came out of Harlem in the 1920s. After migrating from southern states that continued to treat them like slaves, many black Americans felt empowered when they arrived in the iconic New York City neighborhood. Many game-changing works of literature, art, music and theater came out of the era. And when it comes to the music of the Harlem Renaissance, we’re of course talking about jazz. That legacy is still very much alive in Harlem in new jazz musicians, hip-hop music and modern-day blues bands.

 

I’m about a hundred blocks south of Harlem, at the Community Service Society’s Full Participation Arts Is A Human Right Conference. The spacious church has about forty people in the audience, including photographers and different people from the community as they wait for the conference to start. This second annual conference highlights the excellence of black musicians, singers, poets and speakers who are addressing concerns, as well as solutions for strengthening the black community. I am here with performance poet, author, educator and public speaker Mo Beasley, who says the Harlem Renaissance has always meant a great deal to him.

 

“When I was younger, it let me know that we had been doing amazing things as human beings first and artist,” he says. “A Harlem Renaissance writer like Zora Neale Hurston firmed my existence. I attended Howard University and we delved into that era. And the wealth of art that came out of it. There in Howard University, they taught me that art defines our existence. We, artist of African descent, had to make sure we articulate our existence like Zora did, like Countee Cullen did, like Langston did.”

 

Day two of the conference brings more musicians to the church’s stage, including the Apache Brown Band, a blues band that occasionally performs with Beasley. Jazz originated from slave work songs on plantations, which were later combined with African Rhythms, blues and ragtime to produce its unique sound. I am in downtown Brooklyn with lead singer, Apache Brown, on a chilly, sunny October afternoon before his band rehearsal. Still excited from the conference, Brown says the jazz music of the Harlem Renaissance reflected a different era than jazz’s “grandchild” hip-hop does now.

 

“I would say back then, I think, during the Renaissance, musicians started to kind of wanted to show more of an intellectual way of musicality,” says Brown. “Today in Harlem, in hip-hop, we may have regressed. You can say what you want to say, it doesn’t even have to sound a certain way.  I think it’s great but… I don’t think it has the same kind of technicalities, the same thought and energy as some of the jazz stuff did back then.”

 

Jazz certainly captured the musical vibes of the Harlem Renaissance. What better place for my next stop than Harlem’s iconic jazz club and restaurant, Minton’s Playhouse. Minton’s Playhouse was founded in 1938 by saxophonist Henry Minton. Since its opening, Minton’s has attracted a very diverse crowd who enjoy live entertainment from jazz bands, including JC Hopkins Biggish Band; they play at Minton’s every Saturday night. When the band finishes, I hang back to speak with Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter and bandleader, JC Hopkins. He says there were some greats from the Renaissance era, no doubt, but that jazz is not dead.

 

“When you think about the Harlem Renaissance, it cuts a wide spot,” says Hopkins. “I think of people like Paul Robeson as being such a brave figure of that time.  But now I feel like there’s a lot of musicians coming out of music school… Young musicians of color are reembracing Jazz, where as before, they were walking away from it. Until it all, maybe, kind of sunk in that it’s more than just, like, the music. It’s the sentiments of the songs, the romance, the style, the look…”

 

Going back to Apache Brown, he says the best way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance is by supporting the artists of today.

 

“Display our music, display our art, display our intelligence. We have a lot to offer. We have a lot of talented people in the [black] community. Definitely visit some Jazz clubs, support local musicians,” Brown adds.

 

Many Renaissance theme-based events and programs have begun since last Fall in Harlem to commemorate the 100th anniversary early next year. The Uptown Cultural Community will continue historic tours, theater, spoken word performances and literature reading programs that will provide various opportunities for Black Americans, especially the younger ones, to reconnect with their own culture.