JMNJ, JEWS, AFRICAN AMERICANS & JAZZ – October 18, 2015

JEWS, AFRICAN AMERICANS & JAZZ – October 18 to December 13, 2015 extended to January 31, 2016

This collaborative exhibit explores the connections among Jews and African-Americans in the performance, production and promotion of Jazz music. Utilizing visual materials (photographs, documents and text) it tells the story of how Jews and African Americans influenced one another in making a new kind of music that came from the margins of society to occupy a central place in the American musical and cultural landscape.

With emphasis on the history of jazz in Newark, the exhibit will examine the cooperative and sometimes contentious relationships of Jews and Blacks in the Jazz community, addressing the interplay of racial/ethnic and spiritual identities that helped give rise to this innately American art form.  

This exhibit is the product of a joint effort among the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), the Rutgers University Institute for Jazz Studies, Congregation Ahavas Sholom and the Jewish Museum of New Jersey.