The Ebony Big Band

The Ebony Big Band is a Berlin-based large ensemble led by director, curator, and saxophonist Fuasi Abdul-Khaliq, dedicated to telling the story of African American resilience, creativity, and cultural triumph from the era of the Harlem Renaissance through the end of World War II (1920s–1945). Through music, narration, archival images, and video, the ensemble brings history to life—transforming sound into memory, and performance into living testimony.
At the heart of the program is the music of visionary composers and bandleaders such as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Anna Mae Winburn, and Benny Moten—artists whose music shaped the sound of an era and laid the foundation for modern jazz. Their voices are joined by the great singers of the time, including Herb Jeffries, Al Hibbler, Jimmy Rushing, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Lena Horne.
The Ebony Big Band is more than a performing ensemble—it is a cultural organization committed to the preservation and dissemination of Jazz as African American Classical Music. Based in Berlin, Germany, its mission reaches from the earliest roots of jazz in the early 20th century to its global presence today, embracing composers from across the African American tradition and the wider African Diaspora.
The birth of jazz unfolded alongside powerful social and political movements, including the philosophy of Marcus Garvey, the Pan-African vision of W. E. B. Du Bois, and the literary flowering known as the Harlem Renaissance. This cultural awakening found its epicenter in Harlem, particularly along the stretch once known as “Jungle Alley,” and most famously inside the Cotton Club—a venue emblematic of both artistic brilliance and racial contradiction, where African American musicians created revolutionary art for segregated audiences.
Through the sounds of Ellington, Basie, Calloway, and Fletcher Henderson, and extending forward to voices such as Charles Mingus, Horace Tapscott, Gerald Wilson, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie, the ensemble traces a continuum—showing how the music evolved while carrying its original spirit forward. The story is told not only through sound, but through spoken word, dance, and a carefully curated multimedia presentation of photographs and film.
The Ebony Big Band consists of 18 instrumentalists, 3 vocalists, and 1 dancer, forming a complete theatrical and musical experience designed for concert halls, festivals, educational institutions, and cultural centers. The ensemble is available to share this history with communities throughout Europe and beyond—inviting audiences to listen, reflect, and connect.
All inquiries are welcome. Contact: fuasi7@gmail.com