Teaching the world through jazz.
It’s 1961, and football star Harold Bradley, Jr. founds a cultural nexus. Two years earlier, Bradley left a championship NFL career to study art in Italy. The sports world thought he was crazy, but those who knew Bradley knew he loved painting more than football. He acquired a basement workshop in the Via Garibaldi and immersed himself in the art and culture of Rome.
Word spread about the Black American making paintings. Curious young people, artists, and fellow expatriates watched Bradley at work. His studio became the gathering place to discuss art, politics, and social activism. Bradley named his workshop Folkstudio, where by day he continued to paint and engage in conversation. He encouraged his onlookers to get involved in society. There was no room for bystanders.
At night, Folkstudio was a musical hub, where patrons first heard Americans Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, and Odetta, and jazz artists Gil Evans, Sun Ra, and Lee Konitz. Jazz and Blues, Bradley believed, was the perfect introduction to Black culture, history, and values. Folkstudio, as Time Magazine wrote, “was greeted like Springtime,” and fast became the most popular club in Rome. It was the epicenter of Europe’s burgeoning jazz and blues scene. Eventually, the Folkstudio record label was founded to further the careers of European jazz players.
The importance of Bradley’s creation did not go unnoticed. Citing Folkstudio’s cultural impact, the Italian government offered Bradley a stipend. Folkstudio was the subject of magazine articles, documentaries, and two books. And, on the 25th and 50th anniversaries of its founding, the City of Rome honored what it dubbed, “Bradley’s most important achievement.”
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