大象传媒

As World War I ends, an African American cultural revolution is taking place in Harlem. Donald Macleod is joined by jazz trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis, as he discovers how Willie 鈥楾he Lion鈥� Smith pioneered a new way to play piano.

The northern Manhattan neighbourhood of Harlem was meant to be an upper-class white neighbourhood, but rapid overdevelopment led to empty buildings and desperate landlords seeking to fill them. In the early 1900s, in what became known as the Great Migration, African Americans from the south moved north to New York in droves, searching for work after the war, and hoping to escape the racial violence tearing through America. Harlem became a centre for Black culture in the city, drawing in poets like Langston Hughes, thinkers like W. E. B. Du Bois and musicians. These musicians pioneered new forms of jazz and blues, subverted the expectations of Black performers and broke through into the mainstream. This week, Donald Macleod is joined by jazz trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis, as he traces the rise and fall of the Harlem Renaissance, transporting us from rent parties to nightclubs to Broadway, as we hear a joyful, soulful explosion of sound.

In Monday鈥檚 episode, Donald explores the music of Willie 鈥楾he Lion鈥� Smith, who learned to play on a rotting organ in his mother鈥檚 basement, but would later help develop a new, more sophisticated way to play piano, called 鈥榮tride鈥�, which defined the music of the Harlem Renaissance. He got his start performing at a gangster鈥檚 club, then made a name for himself at the highly competitive 鈥榬ent parties鈥�, raucous affairs which took place in people鈥檚 tiny New York flats. A flamboyant performer, 鈥楾he Lion鈥� was never seen without his bowler, with a cigar between his lips, and was known for dancing as he played.

Take The 鈥楢鈥� Train
Billy Strayhorn, Composer
Duke Ellington, Piano
Ella Fitzgerald, Vocals
Stuff Smith, Violin
Ben Webster, Saxophone
Alvin Stoller, Drums
Barney Kessel, Guitar
Joe Mondragon, Double Bass

Harlem Joys
Willie 鈥楾he Lion鈥� Smith, , Composer and Piano
Jo 鈥楾he Tiger鈥� Jones, Drums

Carolina Shout
James P. Johnson, Composer
Willie 鈥楾he Lion鈥� Smith, Piano
Jo 鈥楾he Tiger鈥� Jones, Drums

Rippling Waters
Willie 鈥楾he Lion鈥� Smith, Composer and Piano

Echoes of Spring
Willie 鈥楾he Lion鈥� Smith, Composer and Piano

Lion鈥檚 Boogie Woogie
Willie 鈥楾he Lion鈥� Smith, Composer and Piano

Willie鈥檚 Blues
Willie 鈥楾he Lion鈥� Smith, Composer and Piano

The Harlem Strut
James P. Johnson, Composer and Piano

Contrary Motion
Willie 鈥楾he Lion鈥� Smith, Composer and Piano

Finger Buster
Willie 鈥楾he Lion鈥� Smith, Composer and Piano
Puss Johnson, Drums

Pork and Beans
Lucky Roberts, Composer
Willie 鈥楾he Lion鈥� Smith, Piano

Here Comes the Band
Willie 鈥楾he Lion鈥� Smith, Composer and Piano
Puss Johnson, Drums

Produced in Cardiff by Alice McKee

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