‘Music that lifts the soul’

From the aftermath of the First World War - when James Reese Europe and his all-Black regimental band toured France to raise morale - through the exuberance of the 1920s, when jazz and dance music offered release, vitality and collective joy, this concert traces jazz’s unique role as a healing force in modern history. It explores how African American musicians forged identity and artistic freedom during the Harlem Renaissance; how swing and popular song sustained spirits through the hardships of the Great Depression; and how the music of figures such as Bing Crosby and Glenn Miller accompanied troops overseas during the Second World War. Moving from the sacred and spiritual worlds of Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, to the elegance and escapism of Hollywood dance and song associated with Fred Astaire, The Healing Power of Jazz reveals how blues, swing, and song offered consolation, resilience, joy and hope - music not as background entertainment, but as emotional sustenance in turbulent times.

Martin Litton - piano; Lewis Taylor - trumpet; Graham Hughes - trombone; Robert Fowler - reeds and Tom ‘Spats’ Langham - guitar and vocals, and with Janice Day - vocals.