By Ramona Prioleau
The frigid night air on the last Friday night in Black History Month 2023 was no match for the warmth and artistry that enveloped patrons who attended The Director’s Cut: The Look of Jazz at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem
Hosted by Tyson Hall (Godfather of Harlem (Starz), Raising Kanan (Starz)), the event featured the visual art of Mr. Hall with music by Emanuel Casablanca and Daniel Simmons. As a cinematic treat, Hall screened an excerpt from Samuel Harps’ haunting short film Eric Dolphy – Left Alone.
The evening’s performances kicked off with violist Daniel Simmons performing Lift Every Voice and Sing, which he ended with a playful melodic twist.
A sophomore at Columbia University, Daniel is also a student in the prestigious Julliard program. Mr. Simmons is a classically trained violist, having performed far and wide notably at the Heifetz International Institute of Music and Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of The United States of America. For the evening’s performance, Simmons entertained the audience with selections from Bach’s First Suite, Chopin Nocturne No. 2, and All of Me by John Legend in addition to the Black National Anthem.
After a brief intermission and sound check, Brooklyn-born and Morehouse-educated, Emanuel Casablanca took to the stage with his band and electrified the room. In doing so, he transformed the museum into a down home blues joint and had the audience clamoring for more when he closed his set!
Mr. Casablanca is a multi-instrumentalist, who sings the kind of emotive vocals that make you pay attention. He has toured the world as a singer and lead guitarist. Casablanca performed music from his latest album, Blood On My Hands; and in a hat tip to his own eclectic artistry, he asked violist Simmons to sit in with his band for the final song of the evening.
Casablanca thrilled the crowd with a bit of flashback Friday flair when he performed his 2018 soulful blues ballad Just to Feel Whole. The song’s provocative lyrics spin a passionate tale of profound love while Casablanca’s vocal runs tantalize the senses. It is a song around which films are written and babies are made. To the filmmakers among us, there is a leading man waiting to stroll on scene with Just to Feel Whole as his theme music!
Throughout the evening, Hall’s fine art and fashion line were showcased.
As Hall noted to end the event, the evening reflected “the whole idea of allowing this many people to come in a room and share in an experience during Black History Month and to be able to hear people who you’ve never heard of before…to be able to embrace and enjoy a new sound or familiar sound and get familiar with another artist.”
(c) MOSAEC
