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In Harlem, a Juneteenth Celebration Revels in the Rhythms of Jazz

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Music and dancing filled the streets Thursday night as residents turned out for the fourth annual Big Band Jubilee.

A large crowd gathers in the street in front of brownstones to watch people dance and play music.

June 20, 2025, 3:00 a.m. ET

The sound of horns and percussion permeated Harlem, causing neighbors to poke their heads out of windows to listen to the colorful sounds of jazz.

It was Thursday night — Juneteenth — and the sun was shining after a brief downpour. The Big Band Jubilee, an annual live music celebration, had been delayed for a bit by the weather. But now it was in full swing, and musicians and dancers had taken to the streets.

Ava Johnson, 62, rocked to the rhythm of the music next to her sister, Peggy Salano, and a sea of people. Before the event, Mrs. Johnson had stood in the rain under a covering for an hour, anticipating a night of jazz in a historic Manhattan neighborhood.

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Big band music, as performed on the stoops of Harlem’s famed brownstones.Credit...Kent J. Edwards for The New York Times

“This is where it all started,” Mrs. Johnson said. “This is where our ancestors Dizzy, Louis, Ella and all of them, I’m sure, walked through this neighborhood and played their music. So it’s like coming back home to be here and to celebrate our history on this day.”

Marija Abney, the founder and executive director of the Soapbox Presents, the event’s host, said she had established the organization in 2020 to provide Black people relief from the coronavirus pandemic and from the anger touched off by the police killing of George Floyd that year.