PHILADELPHIA — From Thursday through Sunday, audiences at FringeArts in this city’s historic district heard a saxophone distorted through six effects pedals squealing at peak volume, surrealist absurdism from a heritage jazz ensemble, atonal electric harp, and solo flute played in vehement gusts over a track of looming electronics.
View MoreTag: African American Music
Bunny Sigler, Who Helped Create 1970s Philly Sound, Dies at 76 | AFRO
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Walter “Bunny” Sigler, a singer, songwriter and producer who helped create “The Sound of Philadelphia” in the 1970s, has died.
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Kennedy Center Launches Its First Ever Hip-Hop Season | DCist
“Goal number one is to provide a home for the culture: artists, organizations, and individuals interested in presenting hip-hop related programs…”
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(2011) Art Porter Jr.’s 50th Birthday Celebration
Aug. 3 would have been Little Rock-born jazz musician Art Porter Jr.’s 50th birthday. The saxophonist died in a boating accident in Thailand in 1996, not long after performing at a festival celebrating the reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
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5 Reasons Why You Need To Experience Sweet Honey In The Rock | Affinity
The ensemble is an a cappella group, rooted in African American culture with songs concerning the ideas of freedom, love, and protection of the earth and of each other.
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Mos Def on Retirement: “I’m Always Going to be Creating” | AFRO
ATLANTA (AP) — Hip-hop star Yasiin Bey took the stage at the ONE Musicfest for what appeared to be the last performance of his career.
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Was Lead Belly a protest singer? A conversation with NMAAHC director Lonnie Bunch III | Folkways
Lead Belly is “the hard name of a harder man,” said Woody Guthrie of his friend and fellow American music icon who was born Huddie Ledbetter (c. 1888–1949).
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Esperanza Spalding’s Pop Culture Loves | Smithsonian Magazine
She may not own a television, but the Grammy-award winning musician definitely has her favorite books and films.
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Daily Dose: Lizz Wright, “Barley” | Paste Magazine
‘We sing to remember home and to make ourselves at home in any place.’
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Detroit Jazz Festival delivers jazz for the ages | Michigan Chronicle
And every year, for the past 38 years, Detroit has hosted what has become not only the largest free jazz festival in the world, but also, I would argue, the most authentic.
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