A Great Day 1

Drop me off in Harlem, any place in Harlem,

There's someone waiting there, who makes it seem like

 Heaven up in Harlem.

—Duke Ellington 

Drop Me Off in Harlem (1933)

Musicianship was on display in one of the more famous photographs of the last century: the gathering of jazz greats, including Count Basie (sitting on curb with the youngsters), Mary Lou Williams, and Sonny Rollins (whose archive is at the Schomburg), captured on a stoop in the picture commonly known as “A Great Day in Harlem.” This photograph was recreated in 1998 by the magazine XXL and captured by famed photographer Gordon Parks. Known as “A Great Day in Hip-Hop,” the image features famed rappers and hip-hop pioneers, including longtime Harlem resident Fred “Fab 5 Freddy” Braithwaite, whose grandfather had been a follower of Marcus Garvey in the 1920s.