The Big Band Jubilee in Harlem celebrates Juneteenth through the neighborhood’s enduring legacy to jazz music.
The celebration started late on June 19 due to weather issues, but opened up sounds of music with rays of sunshine to end the federal holiday. The Big Band Jubilee takes place yearly, showcasing Harlem and its commitment to Black history, particularly on the holiday honoring freedom from enslavement.
The event started in 2020, created by Marija Abney, the founder and executive director of the Soapbox Presents. Abney launched the Jubilee to give Black New Yorkers a place to rejoice and reunite as the Covid-19 pandemic and rise in Black Lives Matter protests took their toll.
“It is a way of saying, ‘No, this is our home, too,’” explained Abney to the New York Times. “We have as much rights to practice our culture as anybody else does.”
The tradition honors the legacy of Juneteenth, while also recognizing the New York City neighborhood’s unique place in Black history through the Harlem Renaissance. Home to renowned Black literary figures, artists, and activists, Harlem represents creativity and revolution, marking its own place in the storied Black holiday.
The Big Band Jubilee wants to not only celebrate Black musicianship, but remind attendees of its importance in jazz music. It recreates the old ways Black residents enjoyed music, with the outside of homes serving as stages for musicians that later became legends.
“This is where it all started,” explained one attendee, Ava Johnson. “This is where our ancestors Dizzy, Louis, Ella and all of them, I’m sure, walked through this neighborhood and played their music. So it’s like coming back home to be here and to celebrate our history on this day.”
Bringing the music to the people remains the most pivotal part, as long-time Harlem residents can walk outside to hear and witness the sounds of community.
“That connection with the people, that stoop experience, where it’s just in the neighborhood,” Aaron Flagg, the chair and associate director of jazz studies at the Juilliard School, told The Times “it’s lost.”
Now, thousands gather in Harlem every year to celebrate the freeing of their ancestors, while enjoying the art that is integral to Black culture.
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