Welcome to Philadelphia Jazz Project
What Is Cool?
Nov 4, 2013
Cool is that quality that people appreciate in others and wish they had themselves. It's definitely the opposite of Corny, or Whack, or Uncool. The very first person considered to use the word, Cool like we use it now, was the saxophonist, Lester Young sometime in the 1930s. Young nicknamed Pres, [short for President] by Billie Holiday, whom he nicknamed "Lady Day" was an important figure in Jazz history and Jazz folklore. An innovator on the tenor saxophone, you could say he went left when the entire world went right. Playing his instrument with his head tilted to the side, Young established a technical and sonic approach to the instrument that influenced younger musicians like Charlie Parker and Dexter Gordon. Later, young musicians like Miles Davis would add new ideas to the concept of Cool. Soon, people from Harlem to Holland from Texas to Tokyo are walking and talking, dressing and confessing like these Cool artists.
On Monday, November 11th at 6:30 p.m.
Philadelphia Jazz Project Presents Community Conversations
Cool Like What?: A Conversation on the History of Cool
At First District Plaza
3801 Market Street in West Philadelphia
Our special guests are:
Cultural Anthropologist; Dr. Brent Luvaas of Drexel University
Historian/Curator of the Charles Blockson Collection; Dr. Diane Turner
Fashion Designer; Ron Wilch
Professor of Fashion Design; Alphonso McClendon of Drexel University
Rapper/Provocateur; Dice Raw
FREE admission, but you must RSVP.
FREE raffles & refreshments.
Please RSVP at rsvp@philajazzproject.org
PJP's Community Conversations brings together the general public to discuss pertinent cultural topics. Hosted by Homer Jackson, the process is informal and everyone is encouraged to dialogue on equal footing. Come on out and share your thoughts.
Community Conversations are produced by the Philadelphia Jazz Project, a sponsored program of the Painted Bride Art Center, with funding provided by The Wyncote Foundation.
