Jazz in DC
Jazz in DC
ARTSEDGE: The Kennedy Center’s Arts Education Network
From Fairmont Street to U Street, from the Howard Theater to the Crystal Caverns, take a tour through Washington, DC's jazz history with Billy Taylor and Frank Wess, who lead listeners through their hometown in this 6-part audio series created for middle and high school audiences.
DC's Unsung Heroes of Jazz
Washington, DC saw an influx and outflux of some of Jazz's greatest talent. In the final episode the series, Taylor and Wess talk about the relative anonymity of some originators, including Billy Eckstine and others who enjoyed only a short-lived celebrity.
Feb 23, 2007
7 min
DC Jazz Neighborhoods
The Crystal Caverns, the Howard Theatre, and other venues in Washington, DC allowed the teenage Wess and Taylor opportunities to see their idols in concert. In this episode, they discuss the great musicians who frequented these monuments of jazz history.
Feb 23, 2007
5 min
Bringing Jazz to Europe
Teacher Mary Reese Europe was the sister of James Reese Europe, who brought jazz to France in WWI. In this episode, jazz legends Billy Taylor and Frank Wess expound upon the influence of the two siblings, and Mary Reese Europe's teachings about singer Roland Hayes in prejudiced Germany prove an inspiration to her students.
Feb 23, 2007
5 min
Life in Segregated Washington, DC
Jazz legends Billy Taylor and Frank Wess talk about the upsides and down-sides of being African-American in the segregated Washington, DC of their childhood. Segregated theatres and restaurants, racist neighbors, and predujiced law-enforcement made life in Shaw difficult. Despite this, African American-owned establishments in DC afforded a respite from some of these hardships— one of these havens being the prestigious Dunbar High School.
Feb 23, 2007
7 min
Jazz Teachers, Jazz Masters
Henry Grant was a music teacher who taught in Washington DC's black public high schools. Among his students count luminaries of Jazz history, including Duke Ellington‚ Billy Taylor and Frank Wess, who remember him here.
Feb 23, 2007
6 min
Incubating Jazz in DC
DC jazz legends Billy Taylor and Frank Wess reflect on DC as a jazz incubator-- and Dr. Taylor talks about the first time he saw his idol Fats Waller coming out of the Lincoln Colonnade.
Feb 16, 2007
6 min
Beginnings of Jazz in DC
Billy Taylor and Frank Wess share memories of Dunbar High School, long-gone DC clubs... and jazz legends Jelly Roll Morton and Lester Young.
Feb 7, 2007
8 min