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“Spreadin’ Jam Joy & Jive – A Sweet R&B Ride on the Soul of My 45’s”TM A Multi-media Celebration of 1960’s and 1970’s Soul Music through Art, Literature and Performance

Posted May 25, 2024

Spirit in Sunset Productions is excited to present “Spreadin’ Jam Joy & Jive – A Sweet R&B Ride on the Soul of My 45’s”TM A Multi-media Celebration of 1960’s and 1970’s Soul Music through Art, Literature and Performance.  The program will start on June 6, 2024, and continue into next year.  Artistic Director, Nikki Williams is paying homage to the music that she grew up listening to and the 45 records that she still has in her collection.   Williams is weaving visual art, poetry, performance, and creative commentary, into a multi-layered tapestry, in tribute to a time when music through dance and dialogue, connected and brought people together.

 

 Starting on Thursday, June 6, 2024, the renowned National Jazz Museum in Harlem will host the kick-off presentation of “Spreadin’ Jam Joy & Jive – A Sweet R&B Ride on the Soul of My 45’s.”TM   The Museum will host an Art Exhibition, Artist Talk, and a Community Engagement program consisting of a Creative Writing and Performance Workshop.  An Artist Talk will take place on Friday, June 7, 2024, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., with Artist and series Producer Nikki Williams.  The Art Exhibit will run from June 6, 2024, to June 29, 2024.  Williams who created, conceived, and is the Director of the performances associated with “Spreadin’ Jam Joy & Jive….” also serves as the Artistic Director of Spirit in Sunset Productions.  Ms. Safiya Bandele, Performance Artist, Writer, Activist, and former Director of the Women’s Center at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, is serving as Guest Curator for the Exhibit.   On Friday, June 14, 2024, from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Williams will present the first of a series of uniquely designed creative writing workshops entitled, “Pass the P’s (Like they used to Say)” – Poems, Prose & Performance in Celebration of Soul.”  The creative writing segment of “Spreadin’ Jam Joy & Jive….” is in honor of Williams’ deep love of James Brown’s music.  The public is invited to write and then share their memories, narratives, and thoughts about the Music in the form of poetry, prose, and performance pieces.  A Harlem Community Soul Singalong will be part of the evening’s festivities.

In addition to the scheduled line-up of events, “Pass the P’s,” will also be presented on the following Fridays: July 12th, July 26th, August 2nd, and August 9th, 2024, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.  The workshops will be held at EmblemHealth Neighborhood Care, located at 215 West 125th Street in Harlem.  Those interested in attending the Workshops at EmblemHealth can call (866) 469-0999 for more information.  Space is limited.  EmblemHealth requires all attendees to pre-register for the workshops.  The public can register online by using the following link provided: https://www.emblemhealth.com/about/neighborhood-care/events  Those who have not pre-registered will be admitted providing that there is available space.  The workshops are Free, Accessible, and Open to the public.  The exhibit and workshops will also be held in Brooklyn during the month of August at FiveMyles Gallery and the Macon Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.  These programs do not require pre-registration.  More information is provided by contacting Spirit in Sunset Productions by telephone and/or email, Instagram, or found on their website.

Known for its brand of producing original, one of a kind, and out-of-the-box programming that encompasses the arts and artists in multi-genre form, Spirit in Sunset Productions is also presenting one of its trademark Literary Marathons.  Like earlier Literary Marathons that pay Tribute to the works of Black Writers such as Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and Nikki Giovanni, Spirit in Sunset Productions will host what it calls a “Soulathon.”  A public reading will take place where the Creative Community, as well as those who took part in the workshops, share, and perform their writings in back-to-back, marathon style, in celebration of Soul Music.  The event is slated to take place in October before the series moves outside New York City.  Details of where the event will be held are currently being finalized.  

 

Williams, an award-winning Artist, and Writer is honored that this June, the month known as Black Music Month, the National Jazz Museum in Harlem is supporting her exhibit and programs that celebrate Soul Music of the 1960’s and the 1970’s found on 45 records.  The mission of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem (NJMH) is to preserve, promote and present jazz by inspiring knowledge, appreciation, and the celebration of jazz locally, nationally, and internationally.  DJ Brother Mister, the alter ego of eight-time Grammy award-winning bassist Mr. Christian McBride, was quoted as saying that he considers “classic R&B, soul, and funk on original analog vinyl, the ‘sweet spot’ of dance music, from 1966 to 1986.”

 

The National Jazz Museum in Harlem is located at 58 West 129th Street between Malcolm X Boulevard (formerly known as Lenox Avenue) and Fifth Avenue in Harlem.  The Museum is accessed by any train or bus going to 125th Street but closer to the #2 and #3 trains.  The events are free and open to the public however, limited seating is available.  More information and reservations regarding the exhibit and its accompanying programs can be made through the National Jazz Museum in Harlem can be contacted at (212) 348-8300 or you can visit their website at www.jmih.org.   For additional information, you can also contact Spirit in Sunset Productions at (917) 675-7255, byojbringyourownjoy@aol.com. Facebook: Spreadin’ Jam Joy & Jive, and at www.byojbringyourownjoy.com.  Please use the following link to pre-register for the creative writing and performance workshops at EmblemHealth: https://www.emblemhealth.com/about/neighborhood-care/events