Ron Williams meets Harry Belafonte
"My black role models include people who, with their voice, their courage, their attitude or their life's work, have helped an entire country to question or even overcome entrenched racist prejudices. One of them, a really great one, is Harry Belafonte," says Ron Williams, a gifted interpreter of Harry Belafonte's music. With hits such as "Banana Boat Song", "Island in the Sun", "Jamaica Farewell", "Matilda", "Mama Look at Boo Boo" and of course "Angelina", to name but a few, Harry Belafonte, one of America's most popular entertainers, introduced the world to Caribbean calypso music and conquered an international audience. But he was also active as a civil rights activist in the USA in the 1950s and helped the young Martin Luther King Jr. through his numerous contacts in politics and show business.
In this extraordinary concert evening, Ron Williams and the Jörg Seidel Trio dedicate themselves to the repertoire of their great role model and wonderfully manage to illustrate the connection between Belafonte's music and his social commitment with moments of humor. The songs full of power, rhythm and beauty radiate harmony and hope, and stories from his father, who got to know Belafonte personally in New York, bring the audience closer to this outstanding artist in a special way. Ron Williams, who already felt a strong affinity for Harry Belafonte in his youth, thus creates a touching, very personal evening whose intensity will resonate with the audience for a long time.
This content has been machine translated.