Alhambra Ballroom

William James "Count" Basie was born in Red Bank, New Jersey in August 1904. Both of his parents played instruments: his dad on mellophone, his mom on piano. He dreamt of traveling, heavily inspired by touring carnivals. However, he spent…

At the start of the twentieth century, many Black Americans, facing racism and discrimination across the country, moved to a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan: Harlem. This neighborhood became a cultural center in the early 1900's, fully…