Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Donald Macleod is joined by Wynton Marsalis, as he discovers how the poetry of Langston Hughes inspired the music of the Harlem Renaissance.

Donald Macleod is joined by Wynton Marsalis, as he discovers how the poetry of Langston Hughes inspired the music of the Harlem Renaissance.

The northern Manhattan neighbourhood of Harlem was meant to be an upper-class white neighbourhood, but rapid overdevelopment led to empty buildings and desperate landlords seeking to fill them. In the early 1900s, in what became known as the Great Migration, African Americans from the south moved north to New York in droves, searching for work after the war, and hoping to escape the racial violence tearing through America. Harlem became a centre for Black culture, drawing in poets like Langston Hughes, thinkers like W. E. B. Du Bois and musicians. These musicians pioneered new forms of jazz and blues, subverted the expectations of Black performers and broke through into the mainstream. This week, Donald Macleod is joined by jazz trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis, as he traces the rise and fall of the Harlem Renaissance, transporting us from rent parties to nightclubs to Broadway, as we hear a joyful, soulful explosion of sound.

As a young man, Langston Hughes dreamed of being a poet in Harlem, a place he had come to think of as 鈥渢he greatest Black city in the world鈥 - but his father had other ideas. He wanted Langston to pursue engineering, not believing an African American man could succeed as a writer. Despite his father鈥檚 wishes, Langston did make it to Harlem, where he would become one of the defining voices of the renaissance and his writing would inspire a generation of musicians.

Good Morning/Harlem
Langston Hughes, Composer and Vocals
Charles Mingus and the Horace Parlan Quintet

Mamie鈥檚 Blues
Jelly Roll Morton, Composer and Piano

Dippermouth Blues
King Oliver, Composer
Fletcher Henderson, Arranger
Louis Armstrong, Cornet
Lil Hardin Armstrong, Piano
Bill Johnson, Banjo
Baby Dodds, Drums
Johnny Dodds, Clarinet
Honore Dutrey, Trombone

Good Morning Blues
Count Basie, Composer and Piano
Jimmy Rushing, Vocals
Buck Clayton, Trumpet

Motto/Dead in There
Langston Hughes, Composer and Vocals
Charles Mingus and the Horace Parlan Quintet

Same in Blues/Comment on Curb
Langston Hughes, Composer and Vocals
Charles Mingus and the Horace Parlan Quintet

The Weary Blues
Langston Hughes, Composer and Vocals
Leonard Feather鈥檚 All-Star Sextet

Boogie: 1.AM
Langston Hughes, Composer and Vocals
Charles Mingus and the Horace Parlan Quintet

Could Be/Bad Luck Card/Bad Man
Langston Hughes, Composer and Vocals
Leonard Feather鈥檚 All-Star Sextet

Consider Me
Langston Hughes, Composer and Vocals
Charles Mingus and the Horace Parlan Quintet

Minstrel Man/Dream Variation/I, Too
Margaret Bonds, Composer
Malcolm J. Merriweather, Vocals
Ashley Jackson, Harp
The Dessoff Orchestra

Produced in Cardiff by Alice McKee

59 minutes

Music Played

  • Langston Hughes, Charles Mingus & Horace Parlan Quintet

    Good Morning / Harlem

    • FINGERTIPS : 809236180124.
    • FINGERTIPS.
    • 19.
  • Jelly Roll Morton

    Mamie's Blues

    • UPBEAT : URCD231.
    • UPBEAT.
    • 23.
  • Louis Armstrong, Lil Hardin Armstrong, Bill Johnson, Warren 鈥淏aby鈥 Dodds, Johnny Dodds & Honor茅 Dutrey

    Dippermouth Blues

    • Louis Armstrong and King Oliver.
    • Milestone Records.
    • 7.
  • Count Basie, Jimmy Rushing & Buck Clayton

    Good Morning Blues

    • DECCA : 6785018.
    • DECCA.
    • 13.
  • Langston Hughes, Charles Mingus & Horace Parlan Quintet

    Motto / Dead in There

    • FINGERTIPS : 809236180124.
    • FINGERTIPS.
    • 13.
  • Langston Hughes, Charles Mingus & Horace Parlan Quintet

    Same in Blues / Comment on Curb

    • FINGERTIPS : 809236180124.
    • FINGERTIPS.
    • 20.
  • Langston Hughes & Leonard Feather'S All-Star Sextet

    The Weary Blues

    • FINGERTIPS : 809236180124.
    • FINGERTIPS.
    • 3.
  • Langston Hughes, Charles Mingus & Horace Parlan Quintet

    Boogie: 1 AM

    • FINGERTIPS : 809236180124.
    • FINGERTIPS.
    • 15.
  • Langston Hughes & Leonard Feather'S All-Star Sextet

    Could Be / Bad Luck Card / Bad Man

    • FINGERTIPS : 809236180124.
    • FINGERTIPS.
    • 7.
  • Langston Hughes, Charles Mingus & Horace Parlan Quintet

    Consider Me

    • FINGERTIPS : 809236180124.
    • FINGERTIPS.
    • 11.
  • Margaret Bonds

    Minstrel Man

    Performer: Ashley Jackson. Singer: Malcolm Merriweather. Orchestra: The Dessoff Orchestra.
    • AVIE : 24-13.
    • AVIE.
    • 12.
  • Malcolm Merriweather, Ashley Jackson & The Dessoff Orchestra

    Dream Variation

    • AVIE : 24-13.
    • AVIE.
    • 13.
  • Malcolm Merriweather, Ashley Jackson & The Dessoff Orchestra

    I, Too

    • AVIE : 24-13.
    • AVIE.
    • 14.

Broadcast

  • Wed 16 Nov 2022 12:00

Vaughan Williams Today

Vaughan Williams Today

Programmes, concerts and features celebrating Vaughan Williams's 150th anniversary.

Beethoven Unleashed 鈥 the box set

Beethoven Unleashed 鈥 the box set

The complete set of Radio 3 Beethoven Unleashed podcasts, with Donald Macleod.

What was really wrong with Beethoven?

What was really wrong with Beethoven?

Georgia Mann and neurosurgeon Henry Marsh examine the composer's numerous health problems

Composers A to Z

Composers A to Z

Visit the extensive audio archive of Radio 3 programmes about Composers and their works.

Who knew? Five eye-opening stories from Composer of the Week

Who knew? Five eye-opening stories from Composer of the Week

The production team reflects on 5 of Donald Macleod鈥檚 best stories from the last 20 years

Five reasons why we love Parry's Jerusalem

What is the strange power of Jerusalem which makes strong men weep?

A man out of time 鈥 why Parry's music and ideas were at odds with his image...

The composer of Jerusalem was very far from the conservative figure his image suggests.

Composer Help Page

Find resources and contacts for composers from within the classical music industry.