Arts
GALLERY
George W. Russell Jr. & Co.: "Clap Your Hands"
George W. Russell Jr. & Co.: "Clap Your Hands"
Jazz Pianist George W. Russell Jr. has been bringing his original program, "Clap Your Hands" to The Pike School every year since 1992. Under the auspices of Young Audiences of Massachusetts, which has been a link between Massachusetts schoolchildren and the region's most accomplished artists for forty-five years, George W. Russell Jr. & Co. have been demonstrating the rise and function of gospel music in the African-American community.The group visiting Pike this year comprised the George W. Russell Jr. Trio, with Russell on keyboard, Wesley Wirth on bass, and Sean Skeete on drums. They were joined by vocalists Wannetta Jackson and Emily Russell.
In a highly interactive hour-long program, the group explained gospel's roles as a cryptic means of communication on the Underground Railroad and as an important unifying element during the Civil Rights Movement.
Russell is an Associate Professor of Harmony at the Berklee College of Music, and is the former Chairman of the Jazz Department at the New England Conservatory's Music Extension Division.
Listen to a short selection from a familiar gospel song that was actually advice to escaping slaves for keeping the bloodhounds off their trail.
Hear a rousing rendition of "This Little Light of Mine."
Click on a thumbnail to see an enlargement.
