The World Famous Harlem Gospel Choir
Blue Note131 West 3rd Street, New York 10012
The World Famous Harlem Gospel Choir brings a WBGO Presents Brunch performance to Blue Note. The bill identifies the act as a choir, with singers and musicians drawn from Harlem’s Black churches and the New York Tri-State area. Expect a program of modern gospel classics in the tradition heard in Harlem churches today, presented as an afternoon set alongside Blue Note’s brunch offering.
Rooted in Harlem and the surrounding New York region, the choir carries forward a gospel tradition that Blue Note notes helped shape blues, soul and rock and roll. It has shared stages or collaborated with Bono, Diana Ross, Pharrell Williams, Dee Snider and Sam Smith, and has performed for Presidents Obama and Carter as well as Nelson Mandela. Blue Note calls the ensemble “the most renowned gospel choir in America” and a “preeminent gospel choir worldwide.”
Blue Note Jazz Club is a dedicated listening room in the heart of Manhattan's jazz district, where the music is the focus and the space is designed to let the sound fill the room. The club features a stage with a small audience area, and the atmosphere is one of quiet concentration on the music. Shows typically begin at 8:00 PM with a second set at 10:30 PM, and the audience sits on chairs close to the stage. The club has a bar, and drinks are available. The experience is primarily about listening to live jazz, with occasional gospel and soul performances, and the audience often stays to talk and enjoy the music after the sets.