“Jazz is about improvising in the moment,” says Loren Schoenberg. “When our esteemed guest for November 10, John Levy, postponed due to illness, we put together a jam session band for the pleasure of our audience.”

A group of young musicians, several from the Juilliard School of Music, played marvelously at the offices of the Jazz Museum in Harlem on November 10, 2005 despite never having performed together previously. During “Body and Soul” tenor saxophonist Mark Mommaas and trombonist Chris Crenshaw shared chorus after chorus of inspired camaraderie. There were also many wonderful moments from trumpeter Keyon Harrold, bassist Pete Coco, and drummer Jerome Jennings. Melba Joyce, the very first Harlem Speaks honoree, joined the instrumentalists for Rodgers and Hart’s “My Funny Valentine” and Gershwin’s “’S Wonderful,” which aptly describes how swell she sang: with consummate control and exquisite depth of feeling. The group concluded by swinging “What Is This Thing Called Love.”