LISTENING SESSION AT NATIONAL JAZZ MUSEUM

Harlem Bespoke:  The Studio Museum in Harlem, in collaboration with the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, invites you to celebrate the release of Kwami Coleman’s new soundscape, “Echoes | Gestures | Abolition.”

SEE: DOCTOR ALGERNON EDWARDS IN THE KNICK

The period series called The Knick has had us fascinated since it premiered last week because of the Harlem Knickerbocker connection but now one character also stands out amongst the rest. Clive Owens has the acting chops here to make a commanding lead riddled with a secret addiction but it is the struggles of a new staff member that gives the show the most depth.

 Dr. Algernon Edwards is an African American surgeon who is Harvard educated but faces discrimination every corner of an unofficially segregated New York City circa 1900.  Blacks of all social classes could only live in the so-called colored neighborhood located in midtown which was known as The Tenderloin.  This was before a large migration uptown to Harlem within the next couple of decades and the show does a great job showing the day to day struggle of an educated professional in a city that was technically free to all but at the same time divided.  There are also the Irish characters and a few remote scenes in Chinatown which provides are larger look at a city that is known for its diversity but has not always been portrayed as such within period pieces similar to The Knick.