Jason Moran: Bathing the Room with Blues
Jazz in Colorado

Located on Level 1

Harlem of the west

Jason Moran discusses the importance of the Five Points neighborhood in Denver on jazz history and why he wanted to interweave this history in his exhibition.

ENGLISH

Museum of Contemporary Art Denver · Harlem of the West - Jason Moran

Transcript:

Hi, this is Jason Moran. Five Points is an important neighborhood in Denver, a neighborhood where Black businesses were thriving, Black music was thriving, where the community is engaged with one another, empowering one another. These neighborhoods are also across the country, but Five Points was also called the Harlem of the West. As I'm recording this, I'm sitting in my apartment in Harlem and thinking about what it meant for African Americans during the great migration to be moving out West. Denver was a point where many people decided to stay. The music thrived in Denver and many great musicians were performing in Five Points at a club called the Rossonian. I think it's important to include this history as a companion history to a club like the Three Deuces in New York, that these communities were in conversation with one another separated by thousands of miles.

Español

Transcripción: 

Esta es una traducción al español de las palabras de Jason Moran. Five Points es un barrio importante en Denver, un barrio en donde los negocios Negros eran exitosos, donde la música Negra era exitosa, en donde la comunidad se involucraba, donde la comunidad se empoderaba. Hay de estos barrios a lo largo del país, pero Five Points era también conocido como el Harlem del oeste. Mientras grabo esto, estoy sentado en mi departamento de Harlem pensando sobre lo que significaba para personas Negras mudarse al oeste durante la época de la gran migración. Denver fue un punto en donde muchas personas decidieron quedarse. La música triunfó en Denver y muchos grandes músicos tocaban en el barrio de Five Points en un club llamado El Rassonian. Creo que es importante incluir en esta historia la historia paralela del club Three Deuces en Nueva York, ya que estas comunidades estaban en conversación a pesar de que estaban separadas por miles de kilómetros.

Meet Terry Nelson

Charleszine “Terry” Nelson is the special collection and community resource manager for the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library. Terry's personal experience and the resources available at the Blair-Caldwell were instrumental in the Denver and Five Points research for Bathing the Room with Blues.

[Image Description: Black and white photograph of a shop in 1940's Denver. Rifles line the walls and Black men are seen standing and discoursing.]

Rockin' with Leroy Smith's Rhythm Record & Sporting Goods

Terry Nelson discusses her introduction to jazz music through records sold at Rockin' with Leroy Smith's Rhythm Record & Sporting Goods and others like it.

[Image description: A photograph of a small gallery in MCA Denver. All three walls are lined with weathered wallpaper with white flowers and light teal cloth between them. On the walls are three paintings by Jason Moran.]

THE SENSATIONS OF EARLY FIVE POINTS

Terry Nelson paints a picture of what it was like growing up in the Five Points neighborhood of Denver.

English

Transcript:

It was the kind of neighborhood to me as a youngster [where] we would come out of the swimming, and Macklin Bakery is where KUVO used to be. And you could smell all the wonderful bread after you came out of the swimming pool, so we liked that. We'd go up the street to Hacienda, there was a laundry up there. You could smell the Clorox from all of the bleach, from them cleaning up. Then you get here to the Welton piece, and you'd smell all aromas of the restaurants. And somebody's cooking chicken, somebody's cooking fish. Somebody is doing hotdogs, but the food was always a part of this community, in addition to all the business things that happened.

So it had a very warm, lively feeling. Many kids would say, "Well, my daddy is going down on The Points" -- they called Five Points "The Points." And if somebody would come down, the kids could come, and there would be places for them to play all around in the area. And mom and dad could be here doing business or whatever they had to do for their families. So it's a pretty self-contained area with all those wonderful aromas. I can remember the aromas more than anything else. Smelled good. Food and clothes, and just lots of activity.

Español

Transcripción: 

Esta es una traducción al español de las palabras de Terry Nelson. Para mi era el tipo de barrio en donde nadábamos cuando éramos jóvenes, y en donde estaban K.U.V.O. y la Panadería Macklin. Podías oler el maravilloso pan cuando salías de la piscina, así que eso nos gustaba. Caminábamos por la calle hasta la Hacienda, y ahí había lavanderías. Podías oler el cloro de la lavandería. Después hasta la pieza del Welton y ahí podías oler los aromas de los restaurantes. Alguien cocinaba pollo, o alguien cocinaba pescado. O alguien cocinaba salchichas, pero la comida siempre era parte de la comunidad, además de todos los negocios y las demás cosas que ocurrían.

Así que tenía sentimientos muy cálidos, muy alegres. Muchos niños decían, “bueno, mi papá va a bajar a Los Points” – al barrio Five Points le llamaban “The Points”. Y si alguien iba para allá, los niños también iban, y ahí había lugares en donde podían jugar. Y papá y mamá podían estar en los negocios o haciendo cualquier cosa por sus familias. Así que era una zona muy contenida y con todos esos aromas maravillosos. Me acuerdo de esos aromas más que de cualquier otra cosa. Olía muy bien. Comida y ropa limpia, y muchísima actividad.

SHOP THE EXHIBITION

[Image description: Three magnets with black and white photos of historic Denver.]
Historic Denver Magnets - $8 each or all 3 for $20

[Image description: Photo of a hand holding up the official Jason Moran MCA Denver poster.]
Jason Moran Exhibition Poster - $20

[Image description: Photo of the cover of a book titled "Vinyl Freak: Love Letters for a Dying Medium" by John Corbett]
VINYL FREAK: LOVE LETTERS TO A DYING MEDIUM - $26.95

Jump to:

Black lives matter. We hear you and we see you and we stand with you. Read our full statement
Interested in winning free art? Check out the Octopus Initiative