Jazz Day

Jazz Day

Picture book
Jazz and Harlem. Peanut butter and jelly. Raggedy Anne and
Andy. Some pairs go together so well it's hard to imagine one without
the other.
Back in '58 jazz buff Art Kane had an idea. How about doing a
photograph of as many jazz musicians as possible in front of a Harlem
brownstone? With an American jazz issue in the works, Esquire
magazine was the journalistic big fish that took the bait. Kane
located the right building, arranged with the police to have the
street blocked off, borrowed cameras, put the word out on the street,
and waited.
No telling who, if anyone, would show up. Jazz musicians
traveled a lot. Many worked late nights and slept well into the
morning.
Roxane Orgil's Jazz Day: The Making Of A Famous Photograph
captures this piece of history beautifully in free verse that can't be
read aloud without a jazz beat. Readers get to see famous musicians
up close and personal. But they aren't the only ones in the hood on
that momentous day. There are the dozen little boys sitting on the
stoop, watching and finding a way to participate in the event.
Jazz Day is a great read aloud for the bitter cold days we'll
get in the part of Maine where I review books in the weeks and months
ahead or grey, rainy days for those of you in more temperate climates.
On a personal note, Sunday there were only six of us in Universal
Fellowship choir. But we totally owned the anthem: Do You See What I
See?
A great big shout out goes out to both my choir families.
jules hathaway


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