Acclaimed musician turned director, Ahmir-Khalib Thompson presents us with “A Qwestlove Jawn”. After a slew of assassinations including John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, a free concert series called the Harlem Cultural Festival was started by Tony Lawrence and held at Mount Morris Park in Harlem on Sundays from June 29 to August 24, 1969.
Hal Tulchin shot it and dubbed it “the Black Woodstock”, but unfortunately the footage would remain in a basement for fifty years. Questlove chose to resurrect this concert series for his directorial debut. Watching acts including Stevie Wonder, The Chambers Brothers, B.B. King, Herbie Mann, Nina Simone, Mongo Santamaría, The 5th Dimension, Sly and the Family Stone, The Edwin Hawkins Singers, and Gladys Knight & The Pips was such an immersive experience!
With no budget for filming, the stage was creatively placed west for natural lighting. There were endless angles capturing the audience and musical acts. It’s miraculous that they were able to pull this off.
Highlights included Mahalia Jackson’s voice reverberating so strongly despite saying that she wasn’t feeling well. Also, David Ruffin who had just left The Temptations belted out “My Girl”, hitting notes I’ve only heard come out of Mariah Carey and Minnie Riperton.
Qwestlove’s film also provided for social context. The documentary covered writer Charlayne Hunter who listened to her community and started to refer to her people as black when the current nomenclature was negro. Local resident Willie Tyler also talked about the moon landing which occurred right in the middle of the concert series; he was livid that the government would spend money to send people into space when it could have gone to starving citizens on Earth.
The Harlem Cultural Festival was such a positive experience. I can’t recommend Summer of Soul strongly enough. Now, are you ready?