Guildhall Big Band: Harlem Renaissance

An evening of jazz, blues and gospel celebrating the Harlem Renaissance, the era that marked a major turning point in the cultural and artistic history of New York's African American community. Author and journalist Kevin Le Gendre narrates a journey back to the jazz clubs and cabarets of the 1920s and 1930s, weaving together the social, musical and historical threads of the period. Guildhall Big Band and students from Merton Music Foundation, directed by Matt Skelton, lead the musical exploration of a time when this music spoke to the struggles and triumphs of the African American experience.