Suzanne Cloud
Trapeta Mayson
As Philadelphia's fifth Poet Laureate, Trapeta Mayson merges her love of art with her love of community through words often accompanied by jazz music. Her poems often reflect her life story: born in West Africa, raised in North Philly, and now a licensed clinical social worker residing in Germantown.
Tyrone Brown
Shirley Scott
Hasaan Ibn Ali
Jonathan Whitney
Arturo Stable
Michelle Lordi
Yesseh Furaha-Ali
Sonia Sanchez
Jymie Merritt
Uri Caine
Coltrane Watch:
Interventions surrounding the Coltrane House over the last decade—from nearly all quarters of the Philadelphia jazz community—prove how anguished advocates have been over the condition and the future of the property.
Keep Going, and It Will Happen
This is a time-honored tradition of how the art of jazz is transferred from one generation to the next. The elder gives from a position of experience and honesty. The younger receives with a spirit of openness and humility. This process is essential to preserving the integrity and quality of the music while allowing space for it to grow and evolve.
Ernest Stuart
Monnette Sudler
In 1992, Jack Lloyd, entertainment writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote, “A funny thing happened to Monnette Sudler on her way to becoming a folk singer.” That “funny thing” was her immediate induction in the early 1970s into the cutting-edge, free-jazz funky group “Sounds of Liberation” with fellow Germantownians vibist Khan Jamal and saxophonist Byard Lancaster...