"Heaven in a Nightclub" Performance and Discussion to Explore Christian Roots of Jazz

MEMPHIS - While African and European music blended in the New World to give birth to jazz and other American rhythms, it was really a marriage made in Heaven, according to pianist/theology professor William Edgar and vocalist Ruth Naomi Floyd. The duo will perform and discuss "Heaven in a Nightclub: the Christian Roots of Jazz" on Saturday, April 21, at 7 p.m. at the University of Memphis Fogelman Executive Center.

The evening of “harmony, rhythm, heritage and redemption” is presented by MCUTS, the Memphis Center for Urban Theological Studies, as part of its Faith and Culture Series.

In this presentation, praised for being as entertaining as it is informative, Floyd and Edgar vividly demonstrate the nature and composition of jazz and then celebrate how the genre has firm gospel-centered roots. The narrative of deep misery and deep hope in the history and music of African-Americans emerges in spirituals, ragtime, jazz, and blues.

“Historically, the Christian religion has permeated the experience of African-American people and their cultural expressions,” Edgar writes in an article based on Heaven in a Nightclub and published in the current issue of byFaith magazine. “In studying the emergence of jazz, it is impossible to extricate the religious element without completely altering the history of its formation.”

Dr. William Edgar first began presenting a solo version of Heaven in a Nightclub as part of the Veritas Forum series that began at Harvard in 1992 and spread to 75 campuses throughout North America. He studied at Harvard University (Honors B.A. in Music), Westminster Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and the University of Geneva (D.Th.). He is a professor of apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, where he gigs regularly with a professional jazz band.

Ruth Naomi Floyd is an accomplished vocalist-composer, who has been creating vocal jazz settings that express Christian theology for more than 13 years. Her 5th CD, Root to the Fruit, was released in November 2006 on the Contour Records label.
Tickets for Heaven in a Nightclub are $25, and are available from the MCUTS office at (901) 324-2014. Co-sponsors of this event include Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Mid-South Jazz Foundation of Memphis, Cultural Development Foundation of Memphis, Hope Christian Community Foundation, Crichton College, Memphis Leadership Foundation, Elliot Perry, and the Reggie Howard Foundation.

About MCUTS:
The Memphis Center for Urban Theological Studies (MCUTS) provides urban pastors and church leaders with the opportunity to continue their educations through a program that is affordable, accessible and relevant to the urban context. Undergraduate degree programs in biblical studies and urban youth ministries are provided through Crichton College in Memphis and a master’s program in religion is available through the Reformed Theological Seminary. MCUTS was formed in 2000 through the collaborative effort of the Memphis Leadership Foundation, Neighborhood Christian Centers, Hope Christian Community Foundation, Second Presbyterian Church and Hope Presbyterian Church.
Visit MCUTS online at www.mcuts.org