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Kwesi Mensah Wali

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@ Weeksville Heritage Center

Kwesi Mensah Wali

Description

Wali was born in Panama, but moved to Brooklyn with his family at the age of 13. His earliest memories of jazz in his everyday life include living in walking distance from club Continental, the Blue Coronet, Baby Grand, La Marchal, and the Arlington Inn. Around 1967, he met Jitu Weusi & Al Vann around the Oceanhill-Brownsville teacher’s strike, when a new curriculum was created for African-American youth at the East. It was right around the time that he was in highschool, and he became involved as a book-agent for artists that performed at the East. He also eventually ran the center’s co-op. He talks about some of the artists that he brought in – Leon Thomas, Eddie Gale, James Spaulding, Sam Rivers, and Sun Ra.
Type:
Oral History
Contributors:
Willard JenkinsWeeksville Heritage Center
Created Date:
August 23, 2010
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From Collection

Lost Jazz Shrines

Record Contributed By

Weeksville Heritage Center