© Iman R. Abdulfattah
This old dive in Harlem has been shuttered for about as long as it had been open. Yet Minton’s Playhouse will always be known as the cradle of bebop, where the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker jammed into the night….Efforts to revive Minton’s Playhouse, on West 118th Street in Harlem, have sputtered throughout the years. – from Hoping a Good Meal Revives a Harlem Jazz Spot By Kia Gregory for The New York Times, Published: January 6, 2013
Up At Minton’s (1980) taken by Iman R. Abdulfattah @ Flomenhaft Gallery
Romare Bearden (September 2, 1911 – March 12, 1988) was an African-American artist and writer. He worked in several media including cartoons, oils, collage. Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bearden moved to New York City at a very young age and went on to graduate from NYU in 1935. – Wikipedia
There is lilt
Tempo
Cadence
A language of darkness
Darkness known
Darkness sharpened at Minton’s
Darkness lightened at the Cotton Club
Sent flying from Abyssinian Baptist
To the Apollo.– Excerpt taken from Walter Dean Myer’s epic poem, Harlem (Caldecott Honor Book) 1997, beautifully illustrated by his son Christopher Myers.
- Harlem, Walter Dean Myers taken from LaGuardia Community College (CUNY) website
