The Jazz Balls interactive art/sound installation playfully depicts Harlem Jazz history. It will introduce future generations to Harlem’s glorified tradition in a fun and educational way.

The artwork will be installed at a playground in Riverside Park in Morningside Heights. It aims to introduce the children and visitors of Morningside Heights to the jazz history of neighboring Harlem in a playful manner. It will evoke interest in one of the most significant roots of Harlem that have been overshadowed by the other mainstream reputation of the neighborhood. The installation is made of ten sound modules that are installed along a railing of an appropriate height for children to interact. Each module will be made of a plushie ball and a rope, with electronic parts secured along the top of the speaker and along the rope. The visual side of the installation is inspired by musical notes -the foam balls on a cord. They are arranged in a way that hints at the tempoand the pitch of the sound module.

Each ball contains a unique sound ofdifferent chords, tempos and instruments used in a common jazz progression. Children can activate the installation by pulling the plushie ball at theend of the rope, which will play the individual sounds from the speaker. Theaccumulation of children playing couldcreate the sound of an improvised jazzsession.

Children could play these modules individually to familiarize themselves withthe musical progression, or basic drumbeats, or history of jazz. They couldalso stack them together to create theirown unique piece of jazz. The installation is accompanied by a brochure thatdescribes the installation, a brief jazzhistory of Harlem and several notablefigures.