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| 'Harlem Speaks' with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar National Basketball Association Hall-of-Famer and leading scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Harlem Speaks special guest on December 21, 2006 at The Museum of the City of New York, has had a long love affair with jazz, which began in his youth-- his father was a Juilliard-trained jazz trombonist and vocalist. The Harlem born and bred giant, who moved back home recently, is completing a documentary that explores the relationship between jazz music, hip-hop and basketball titled, On the Shoulders of Giants. "We want to show how hip-hop, which kind of fuels today's basketball stars, is directly related to jazz. When we show that connection we find that things haven't changed at all.""One of the professional teams that was considered to be the best team played out of Harlem, " Abdul-Jabbar recently told Hoopsworld.com. "They played out of the Renaissance Ballroom and Casino, which was a dance hall and a place where prominent jazz musicians played. The Renaissance team would play before the main attraction when they played their home games. They would play one half of the game, then they would have one minor band, then they would play the second half of the game and then they might have Duke Ellington until 3am." The documentary, which will feature a soundtrack by Herbie Hancock, is slated for release in February 2007. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |