Beyond the Frames: A Series in Jazz featuring Avery Sharpe

Beyond the Frames: A Series in Jazz features three performances that, through jazz, musically illuminate the remarkable lives and legacies of Sojourner Truth, William and Martha Brown, and Frederick Douglass, the subjects of the Great Hall’s newest portrait installations. The performances will captivate jazz fans, history buffs, artists, poets and storytellers, and, well, everyone!!

Series and individual performances tickets are available. Buy Tickets

Celebrated bassist and composer Avery Sharpe will deliver a performance of his music album Sojourner Truth—‘ain’t I a woman,’ inspired by and based on Truth’s incredible life story.

Joining Avery Sharpe are Zaccai Curtis on piano, Jonathan Barber on drums, Charles Langford on saxophones, and Haneef Nelson on trumpet. Vocalist Maya Sharpe’s powerful voice is a fitting companion to Truth’s powerful words.

www.averysharpe.com

Sojourner Truth was born into slavery in 1797 in Swartekill, New York, escaping to freedom with her infant daughter in 1826. Her accomplishments include winning her son’s freedom through a court case; recruiting Black troops in the Civil War; tirelessly championing land rights for the formerly enslaved and, in mid-life, she became an outspoken advocate for abolition, temperance, civil and women’s rights, religious tolerance, and pacifism.

In 1851, she famously delivered the impactful speech, “And Ar’n’t I a Woman” at a women’s rights convention held in Akron, Ohio.

Avery Sharpe’s album music evokes the passion, conviction, and experience of Sojourner’s life. Her image in the new portrait is imbued with stature and strength, more typically depicted in male portraits in the 19th century.

Host or Publisher Mechanics Hall