Established in 1979, Black Music Month celebrates the profound impact and global influence of African American musicians, songwriters, and producers on the cultural fabric of the world. It is also a celebration of the places that hold their stories.
Philadelphia’s Uptown Theater was one of the premier music venues in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. It was a stop on the “Chitlin’ Circuit,” the network of performance spaces that provided opportunities for African American entertainers during the Jim Crow era. Opened on February 16, 1929, the 2,040-seat Art Deco theater began life as a movie palace.
During its heyday, the Uptown rivaled Harlem’s Apollo Theater as the place to hear great music on the East Coast. Jazz legends who graced the Uptown stage included Miles Davis, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, Gloria Lynne, Cannonball Adderley, Nancy Wilson, Ramsey Lewis, Oscar Brown Jr., Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, and Jimmy Smith.
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