Charles Neville, Concert & Panel Discussion

This program of jazz standards and original tunes was followed by a discussion, moderated by Prof. Marc Howard, Director of the Prisons and Justice Initiative at Georgetown University. Panelists included Georgetown professors Ben Harbert and Maurice Jackson, Beth M. Bienvenu of the National Endowment of the Arts, and Claire Schwadron of Project Youth ArtReach.

Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Charles Neville, one of the four Neville Brothers known for their embodiment of the New Orleans sound, led this music and social justice residency, a collaboration between the Georgetown University Music Program, the Prisons & Justice Initiative, and Film & Media Studies Program.  

Neville has performed with with artists including Allen Toussaint, Fats Domino, James Booker, Little Walter, Jimmy Reed, Big Maybelle, James Brown, B.B. King, Clarence Carter, Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock, Dr. John, Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, the Grateful Dead, and more. Here at Georgetown, he also spoke about the African American entanglement with prisons and how he discovered music to be a critical social resource in dehumanizing conditions.

The residency featured two free public events with Neville on Georgetown University’s main campus.