How did the music of the Harlem Renaissance come to define the era? Jazz and blues exploded onto the scene, with long improvisational numbers and beautiful women who sang in dimly lit clubs. In this episode, we’ll learn about how the music of the Renaissance was part of a larger boundary-breaking nightlife that involved gambling, speakeasies and places for people to express gender and sexuality in new ways. We’ll learn about the art that depicts these vibrant scenes of celebrations and secrets that remain in our minds many decades later.
Learn more about the exhibition at metmuseum.org/HarlemRenaissance
Objects featured in this episode:
James Van Der Zee, [Person in a Fur-Trimmed Ensemble], 1926: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/895670
Jacob Lawrence, Pool Parlor, 1942: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/488043
Archibald Motley Jr. paintings: 
https://archives.nasher.duke.edu/motley/project/the-liar/index.html
https://archives.nasher.duke.edu/motley/project/the-picnic/index.html
Guests:
James Smalls, art historian and professor
Richard J. Powell, art historian and professor
Christian McBride, Grammy Award winning musician and composer
Original poem: Carl Phillip’s “At the Reception”
For a transcript of this episode and more information, visit metmuseum.org/HarlemIsEverywhere
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Harlem Is Everywhere is produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in collaboration with Audacy's Pineapple Street Studios.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.