ONLINE: Near Christmas in the winters of 1938 and 1939 two historic concerts were held at Carnegie Hall in New York City. These concerts were significant for three reasons. One, they were among the first instances of racially integrated audiences in the city. Second, they were among the first recordings of live concerts. So, we still know today what they sounded like. Third, the concerts traced the history of African American music from the days of slavery up to the big band sound of Count Basie. The second concert in 1939 included Benny Goodman’s racially integrated combo, an unusual event at that time. This course will explain the background and news reviews of these historic concerts, play excerpts from the performances, and describe the performers as well as trace the history of the many releases of recordings up to the 1999 Vanguard issue of three CD’s. | Lecture + Q&A.
Max enrollment: 40.
Class sessions are recorded.
