By Abby Rolland
One of the best parts about working at The Presser Foundation is the opportunity to attend music performances by our grantee partners.
The variety of types of music shared, the artists who perform, the wonderful venues – each and every performance is an opportunity to discover more music.
Recently, I decided to branch out beyond our grantee partners’ offerings when I saw that the Free Library of Philadelphia was offering FREE events spotlighting the contributions and impact of Black individuals and groups on music in the U.S.
The first event, featuring The Renaissance Sextuplet, spotlighted music by Black Philadelphians. A wide range of pieces by John Coltrane, Benny Golson, Monnette Sudler, Charles Fambrough, McCoy Tyner, Grover Washington, Jr., The Stylists, and a medley from the Philadelphia International Records were performed.
I could go in depth about each of these artists and the recording label, but I’d encourage you to do your own research and look into these incredibly talented people and groups. What I do want to share is that the clear strength, talent, and contributions of Black Philadelphian musicians and composers is obvious and is greatly appreciated. From my work at The Presser Foundation, I’ve learned about the rich history of music in Philadelphia; this performance strengthened that understanding and broadened my knowledge about the forte of music created and performed by Black Philadelphians.
The band, led by saxophonist/vocalist Robin Clabby
The second event, at a different library branch, featured a band that performed music by Black Americans across history. From Louis Armstrong to Charlie Parker, from Billie Holiday to Roberta Flagg to Alicia Keys, and from Bill Withers to Pharrell to Leon Bridges, the band showcased the depth and breadth of contributions from Black Americans to music. The spotlights on each of the players in the band was the highlight of the performance for me – every person received a chance to shine during the songs.
While I was able to attend two events, there were many others offered that I was sad to miss. That fact reminds me to be grateful for libraries, their presence in a variety of communities, and their creative ways of engaging people. The line-up of performances highlighted the benefit of libraries – from attending, I saw the variety of people who appreciated the music. Audiences of all ages, white, Black; male, female – libraries and free music/events are a place for all to feel comfortable and welcome (I wonder if other performance spaces could learn a lesson in that way). By looking at the variety of events, I was reminded of the 1) number of libraries in Philadelphia; 2) the fact that libraries are community engines; and 3) free events (in this case, music) are few and far between. How many places can you go, enter for free, learn for free, and receive entertainment for free? (Not many, I’d imagine).*
I realize that The Presser Foundation does not fund libraries, but I am grateful for their music programming. I remembered and learned about the deep, meaningful, and absolutely necessary contributions of Black Americans, and Black Philadelphians specifically, to music. And not only did Black individuals contribute to American music, they developed it and powerfully shaped it, and indubitably, American music and culture would not be the same without them.
Thank you for the Free Library of Philadelphia for sharing that message to me and others during Black History Month.
*We recognize the essential role that government funding and philanthropy provide to make free events at and access to libraries possible.
