Soul of Jazz exhibit coming to Downtown Disney celebrates Black history
A new music exhibit coming to Downtown Disney that pays tribute to Black history in America and the Oscar- and Grammy-winning animated film “Soul” explores the legacy of jazz in New Orleans, Harlem, Kansas City and across the United States.
The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure touring exhibit will run from June 1 through July 4 at the former ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney as part of Disneyland’s continuing Celebrate Soulfully campaign. Admission is free to Downtown Disney visitors.
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Joe Gardner — the central character in Pixar’s 2020 “Soul” animated movie — takes visitors on a jazz tour across America in the new traveling exhibit that celebrates the musical art form originated by African Americans.
The touring exhibit started out at the American Adventure attraction at Disney’s Epcot theme park in Florida and has made stops at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, American Jazz Museum in Kansas City and National Jazz Museum in Harlem.
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Walt Disney Imagineering worked with the cultural institutions and music experts to create the exhibit. Imagineering tailored the exhibit to reflect local jazz history and culture at each stop with each museum adding artifacts from its unique collection.
At stops along the tour, the exhibit has included artifacts from legendary jazz musicians Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie.
The touring exhibit includes a pair of Imagineering maquette scale models of “Soul” pianist Gardner and saxophonist Dorothea Williams. Visitors can snap photos with standees of Gardner, Williams and the other jazz musicians who play the Half Note Club in the Pixar film.
The Play Disney Parks mobile app offers visitors a chance to test their jazz knowledge and learn more about the exhibit.
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The Soul of Jazz exhibit runs during Black Music Month as part of Disneyland’s Celebrate Soulfully campaign — which celebrates the work of Black artists through music, dance, food and stories.
Throughout the exhibit run, R&B, jazz, funk, Motown and doo-wop groups will play during the evening on the Downtown Disney stage next to the former ESPN Zone and Star Wars Trading Post.