CELEBRATION (SUMMER OF SOUL)

Six concerts, 28 artists, over 300,000 attendees - the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969 was a huge celebration of African, Carribbean and Latin American culture.

So why has it remained largely hidden in the annals of music history until now?

That is the question the Roots drummer, Questlove (Ahmir Thompson) poses in his stirring documentary 'Sunmer of Soul (.. Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)'.

Described as "the Black Woodstock," the festival in Harlem's Morris Park received the backing of the then Republican Mayor John Lindsay and came at a turbulent time in US history.

The Vietnam War was raging, with many African American soldiers dispatched to fight.

Drugs had started to take hold in many poor African American communities including Harlem.

Race relations remained a tinderbox with the assassinations of President John F Kennedy, Malcolm X, the Reverend Martin Luther King and Senator Robert Kennedy hitting hard.

With fears high that Harlem could erupt, a festival celebrating black and brown culture and music was organised over the course of six weeks with free concerts and the line-up was remarkable.

Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, BB King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, the Staple Singers,  David Ruffin of The Temptations, Hugh Masekela, the Fifth Dimension, the Edwin Hawkins Singers, Mongo Santa Maria, Ray Barretto and Herbie Mann were just some of the acts who performed.

And it was all captured on 40 hours of videotape by TV producer Hal Tulchin for New York's WNEW-TV which broadcast hour-long specials.

However attempts to turn the footage into a film never materialised until now, despite the critical and commercial success of David Wadleigh's Oscar winning documentary of that other great festival of the era 'Woodstock'.

Questlove's documentary quickly succeeds in restoring the Harlem Cultural Festival concerts to their rightful place in musical history with a thrilling mix of footage from the concerts and testimony from some of the fans who attended and artists themselves. 

Among those interviewed are Sheila E, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Gladys Knight, Hugh Masekela's son Sal and the Reverend Al Sharpton.

What emerges is a film that comfortably forces its way into contention for the title "the greatest concert movie ever made" alongside Wadleigh's 'Woodstock,' Martin Scorsese's 'The Last Waltz' and Jonathan Demme's 'Stop Making Sense'.

Brilliantly weaving news coverage of the festival with footage of the gigs and interviews with the help of film editor Joshua L Pearson, Questlove sets out the cultural context.

Anger was simmering over the Vietnam War.

Mayor Lindsay was seeking re-election.

The Black Panthers were making their mark and provided security for the event, with the New York Police Department keeping a low profile.

The American moon landings were commanding most of the world's attention but in Harlem, we see locals tell a news reporter the festival is just as, if not more significant.

To them, space exploration is a waste of money that could be better spent tackling poverty and racial disparity.

"Never mind the moon, let's get some of that cash in Harlem," one man remarks.

But the director also elicits some remarkable observations about the festival and its significance from those who took part or attended.

Nightclub singer Tony Lawrence is memorably described as "a hustler in the best sense" with a personality that could persuade entertainers, politicians and a company like Maxwell House to help stage the festival.

New York Times journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, one of the first two African American students to enrol in the University of Georgia, recalls how listening to Nina Simone's albums in her dorm room helped her drown out the sound of white girls trying to intimidate her out of there by beating her doors and ceiling.

Hunter-Gault also tells a story about how she had to embarrass the liberal New York Times into dropping the word "Negro" from its news coverage.

Others recall how the festival was like "a flower pushing through cement" and some of the best moments in 'Summer of Soul' come from performers and concertgoers watching the footage of themselves or the gig 50 years later.

Sly Stone is brilliantly described as "a proto Prince," with some interviewees recalling how stunned they were to see a black women playing the trumpet in his band and a white drummer.

Mavis Staples recalls her pride at performing alongside the legendary gospel singer Mahalia Jackson who requested her help after not feeling well.

They deliver one of the most stirring performances captured in the film of 'Precious Lord, Take My Hand' - the hymn the Rev Martin Luther King requested before he was gunned down.

Marilyn McCoo reminisces about the significance for her group Fifth Dimension about being warmly received by the audience at the Festival because they had often been criticised for "not being Black enough".

Best known for their recording of 'The Age of the Aquarius' from the musical 'Hair,' Billy Davis amusingly recalls how a chance encounter involving a lost wallet in a taxi led to them seeing the hit Broadway show and eventually recording the track.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and his father Luis talk emotionally about what it meant for Latin American music to be recognised at the festival.

And then, there's Nina Simone who we see singing 'To Be Young, Gifted and Black' like "an African Princess" - a song that seems to best sum up the spirit of the Harlem Cultural Festival.

'Summer of Soul' is a hair raising experience.

if you cannot see in a cinema, see it on the biggest TV possible and crank up the volume.

Questlove's film is a glorious moment of celebration - resurrecting a hugely significant moment in American musical history and ensuring it cannot be buried forever. 

It may be a belated celebration but better 52 years late than never.

('Summer of Soul' was released in UK and Irish cinemas on July 16, 2021 and was made available for streaming on Hulu in the US on July 2, 2021 and on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland on July 30, 2021)

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