Photo by McGaha

Presented with support from The University Of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences and the University of Pennsylvania Department of Music

Pianist, composer and professor Guthrie Ramsey brings his book, ‘Soundproof: Black Music, Magic and Racial Intimacies’, alive with an ensemble of musicians and poets that revisits music from the past through current styles like gospel, jazz, soul and hip-hop. This multi-media concert explores how enslaved African Americans used music as proof of their humanity, as a soundtrack for paranormal events like spirit possession and as a melting pot in which diverse African cultural groups became an African American people. Black music is a powerful cultural transaction with magical qualities; it can occupy the past, present and future. This musical presentation makes explicit how black music “makes” social bonds and community values.