Yearly Archives: 2024

Advocacy

Countdown to Election Day 2024

We are in the final stretch of the 2024 presidential election. Early voting is underway in some states. As of October 20, 2024, 4,522,275 in-person early votes have been cast nationwide, according to the Early Voter Tracker. The in-person early vote total in battleground states:

  • Arizona: 370,443
  • Georgia: 1,377,363
  • Michigan: 1,018,161
  • Nevada: 15,857
  • North Carolina: 952,389
  • Pennsylvania: 787,900
  • Wisconsin: 305,344

With the polls neck and neck, every vote matters. Remember, polls don’t count. It’s the people—you—who decide the election. So, make a plan to vote.

Your vote is your voice. Make some noise.

Jazz Venues

Slim Cooper’s

Slim and Barbara Cooper were the proprietors of Slim Cooper’s Lounge & Restaurant. The Philadelphia Tribune described it as “one of the nicer neighborhood jazz clubs.”

In a post on X/Twitter, Christian McBride recalled the Monday night jam sessions:

When I was in high school, [saxophonist] Tony Williams led a Monday night jam session at Slim Cooper’s in Mt. Airy. I lived in West Philly, Joey DeFrancesco lived in the Glenolden/Folcroft area. We both went to high school in South Philly. In other words, it took EFFORT to get to Mt. Airy and still be home at a respectable hour.

Mr. Williams’ group with Eddie Green on piano, Tyrone Brown on bass and Al Jackson on drums were swinging so hard, the walls would sweat in that place! We knew they would have a jam session later in the evening, but we were too young to be there that late on a school night. Mr. Williams said that maybe if we get there early, like right when the gig starts, he might consider letting us sit in. But because we were underage and not allowed in bars, we had to sneak in. If I remember correctly, they started early. 6? Maybe 7? Joey, Antonio Parker, Fred Goodson and myself would all be waiting by the door.

Mr. Williams would see us and be so excited that so many young cats cared about playing jazz. He would say, “Ok, we’ll play one song, then we’ll let you guys come up and play one – but then you gotta get outta here!” He ALWAYS looked out for us and every young musician that ever came across his radar.

The jazz spot closed in 2000 following the death of Slim Cooper.

Jazz Venues

Durham’s Casbah

Brothers Charlie Lee and Willie Durham opened Durham’s Casbah on May 7, 1946. It was one of the few Black-owned taprooms in the city.

The jazz club was “West Philadelphia’s Glamour Spot” with live music and Saturday jam sessions.

The building was demolished around 2010.

Advocacy, Cultural Heritage, Lee Morgan, Walking Tour

Cultural Week of Action on Race and Democracy

The first annual Cultural Week of Action on Race and Democracy will be held September 27 through October 5, 2024. Organized by Race Forward and Americans for the Arts, the initiative will harness the transformative power of arts and culture to spark dialogue, inspire action, and build community.

All That Philly Jazz’s walking tour, West Philly’s Main Street: A Walk Through Time, is one of the inaugural projects. We will stroll the historic 52nd Street corridor and uncover lost and hidden history. For event details and tickets, please go here.

The walking tour culminates at the former site of the Red Rooster, the jazz club where John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner first crossed paths. Today, the building is home to Steve’s Sports Lounge but the history lives on.

Immediately after the Red Rooster stop, we will gather at the Painted Bride Art Center for a community conversation, Telling Our Stories from “Back in the Day”: A Voices of 52nd Street Memory Salon.

The afternoon will be filled with joy, remembering, and light refreshments. The Memory Salon is free and open to the public. Space is limited so be sure to reserve your spot.

400 Years of African American History, Advocacy, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman

International Underground Railroad Month

International Underground Railroad Month is a designated time to celebrate the history and legacy of the Underground Railroad. Observed annually in September, the month highlights the courage and resilience of the enslaved who used a covert network of antislavery activists and safe havens to escape bondage.

The State of Maryland proclaimed September as International Underground Railroad Month in 2019:

Governor Larry Hogan today proclaimed September as International Underground Railroad Month, which recognizes Maryland as the most powerful destination for authentic Underground Railroad history. It also commemorates all those involved in the Underground Railroad, including Maryland’s courageous Harriet Tubman, the brilliant orator Frederick Douglass, and thousands of freedom seekers

Frederick Douglass embarked on his journey to freedom on September 3, 1838. Harriet Tubman began her escape on September 17, 1849.

Advocacy

National Voter Registration Day 2024

In the sprint to Election Day, you will be told the 2024 Election is the most consequential election since, well, the last presidential election. This election lives up to the hype. The choice is between going back or embracing hope and opportunity.

National Voter Registration Day, the country’s largest single-day voter registration drive, is September 17, 2024. Since 2012, more than five million Americans have been registered to vote on this civic holiday.

Your vote matters. If it didn’t, conservatives would not be trying every trick in the book to block access to the ballot box. You can register to vote here.

If you are already registered, confirm your status to make sure you are #VoteReady. On Election Day, be careful how you vote.

Advocacy, Cultural Heritage, Historic Preservation, Lee Morgan

West Philly’s Main Street: A Walk Through Time

Join us in October and November for a walking tour of West Philadelphia’s 52nd Street, aka “the Strip,” a historic commercial and cultural corridor. The 52nd Street Stroll will uncover the Strip’s hidden past as an entertainment destination for African Americans.

Points of interest along the Strip include:

  • Nightclub frequented by celebrities such as Muhammad Ali, Cab Calloway, Joe Frazier, Teddy Pendergrass and Stevie Wonder;
  • Restaurant where President Bill Clinton ordered soul food;
  • Historic landmark where then-candidate Barack Obama held a campaign rally;
  • First-ever Walk of Fame memorializing African American artists of stage, screen and television;
  • Jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan’s historical marker;
  • Oldest Black-owned bookstore on the East Coast;
  • Free Library branch designed by a Black architect who was also a jazz club proprietor;
  • Sites featured in the 1972 Blaxploitation film “Trick Baby.”

The 52nd Street Stroll will be led by All That Philly Jazz Director Faye Anderson. The walking tour will begin at Malcolm X Memorial Park (52nd and Pine Streets) and end at the Nixon Theatre (.06 mile).

There will be a bonus stop at the jazz club where John Coltrane met McCoy Tyner.

The 52nd Street Stroll was held on October 5, 2024. Check out West Philly’s Forgotten Main Street: A Walking Tour With All That Philly Jazz.

Advocacy, Lee Morgan

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

Sixty-one years ago on August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people gathered for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Jazz musicians were the vanguard of the movement for freedom and civil rights, a fact acknowledged by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival.

Long before Beyoncé was born, tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins recorded “The Freedom Suite” which featured Oscar Pettiford on bass and Max Roach on drums.

Thousands of people from across the country arrived in Washington, DC on the “Freedom Train,” a special fleet of trains chartered by A. Philip Randolph, organizer of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

From Louis Armstrong’s “Black and Blue” to Charles Mingus’ “Fables of Faubus,” jazz musicians talked the talk and walked the walk. Trumpeter Lee Morgan and Max Roach were among the musicians on board the Freedom Train from New York City to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.