When Harlem School of the Arts founder Dorothy Maynor was raising money to build the facility, New York City was a much different place. “They really wanted to create this safe haven with this oasis on the inside,” said Eric Pryor, president of Harlem School of the Arts. The funding from the Herb Alpert Foundation will fix some issues, such as air conditioning, but it’s the 18,000 square foot glass curtain wall set to be installed in the front of the building that will transform HSA. “It’s going

Theater Critic Michael Bourne is always busy rooting for his hometown St Louis Cardinals, but baseball is also in his spotlight off-Broadway in a new play about a woman playing pro ball in the 1950’s. Toni Stone is Lydia R. Diamond's play about first woman to play professional baseball. Stone played in the early 50’s in the Negro Leagues. Toni Stone runs at the Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre August 11.

Day-O is one of the most widely heard songs of modern times. It recently debuted on the Broadway stage in a musical based on the movie Beetlejuice . For years it’s been played at sports stadiums and was even used as a wake-up call for astronauts. Day-O was written by Brooklyn-born Irving Burgie, who turned 95 last Sunday. WBGO’s Jon Kalish reports on Burgie's struggle for recognition of his accomplishments.

You may have heard about NJIT Engineering student Angel Plaza. His viral LinkedIn post sparked attention after NJ Advance Media covered him standing at MLK Boulevard, handing out his professional resume to motorists...with hopes of landing a job. WBGO’s Charisma Lyles sat down recently with Plaza who got his inspiration from a well-known rapper, the late Nipsey Hussle. Plaza is the kind of individual who may be reserved at first, but once you get to know him, he opens up like a book. He says

Get ready for the November debut of the Focus Features film, Harriet, based on the life of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery and led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom on the Underground Railroad. The movie stars Cynthia Erivo (Broadway's The Color Purple ) and Leslie Odom, Jr. (Broadway's Hamilton ) In preparation of the movie release, WBGO’s Marcellis Counts spoke with two local historians who have spent time concentrating on slavery in New Jersey and its ties to the

Walter Wade worked for WBGO for more than 20 years, several of them as host of the popular Filet of Soul program. Wade remembers listening to his eventual radio colleague Rhonda Hamilton early in her career when she hosted an evening program on Jazz 88 called Ancestral Streams . "I was like a nightly listener because at that point in time she was on at night. Alot of that stuff (she played) was breakthrough for radio. It was the perfect night-time show and it was the perfect voice for such a

Astor Piazzolla wrote and performed some of the most affecting music of the 20th Century - rooted in the tango tradition but expanded and renewed by elements from European classical music, klezmer, and jazz. As a result, what was once dance music in Buenos Aires has become, reimagined by Piazzolla, part of the repertoire of chamber groups and symphonic orchestras around the world. A new musical biography of the legendary Argentine composer is written by Lesley Karsten and Stephen Wadsworth, and

This year's Lincoln Park Music Festival takes place this weekend in Newark. The festival now in it's 14th year has grown to become the largest in the state with more than 50,000 attendees and counting. WBGO's Alexandra Hill recently sat down with Festival Director Kim Ford and Executive Director and Founder Anthony Smith to talk about this year's star studded line up and their mission to help transform and develop the Lincoln Park neighborhood into a comprehensive arts and cultural district.

Statistics from the US Census Bureau show massive growth in the senior population around the world, with that number expected to double by 2050. In Japan, it’s possible that nearly forty percent of the population will be over the age of 65 in 30 years. “We just don’t have enough people to care for the older population,” said Derek Holt, president of K4Connect, a startup focusing on technology that empowers older adults and people living with disabilities. Using Amazon Alexa, the company

Award-winning contemporary American Sculptor, conceptual and visual artist, painter and printer Willie Cole was born in Newark but his artwork is loved worldwide. Cole, who now lives in Mine Hill, New Jersey and part-time in Los Angeles, is excited about his latest project that will eventually end up in a Newark school. He'll be using 16 and 8 ounce water bottles to create a 30-foot kid sculpture. It's not the first time he used water bottles in an artistic way. "Now that Newark is in a water