Celebrate USA 250 at East End’s Calvary Presbyterian Church
Featuring a musical listening session hosted by jazz aficionado Jesse Ray, Jr.
Beginning at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 12, 2026, Calvary Presbyterian Church, an inclusive, historic congregation, will celebrate the semi-quincentennial of the founding of the United States.
Among the special events will be a musical listening session hosted by jazz aficionado Jesse Ray, Jr., who will draw from his extensive personal collection of 33-1/3 RPM black vinyl LPs that cover a wide range of jazz history.
Jazz is among the most notable cultural contributions of African Americans in the United States, one that has had a continuing impact on other forms of popular music for well over a century. Every genre from opera to hip hop reflects various elements of jazz. Its distinctive rhythms, syncopation, modulation, tonalities, instrumental solos and variety of vocal styles are performed on brass and strings, piano and drums, even guitar and harp and xylophones. Music lovers of every age hear the echoes and new interpretations of jazz, on the streets of New York and LA, inside an opera hall or concert venue, or in today’s dance clubs.
Mr. Ray has accumulated his collection through a combination of his own purchases, his late mother’s albums, and gifts from his uncle, Larry Williams, a professional DJ in Winston-Salem, NC. His original interest in jazz came from his cousin Clara Greer when he was a boy of eight or 10 years old. Ms. Greer was living in New York but returned to Asheville to care for her mother, and she often kept Jesse while his parents conducted funeral services. He recalls lying on the carpet listening to the music she loved to play, and he clearly loved it, too.
When Jesse was in college at Lincoln U. in Pennsylvania, the campus radio station, WDAS, played a lot of jazz, further inspiring him to continue building his collection. And now the entire community will have an opportunity to enjoy a sampling of it.
Calvary Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), led by Rev. Patricia Bacon, has a rich history of community outreach, social justice, and support for recovery groups in the Asheville area. Calvary Presbyterian Church is located at 44 Circle Street in Asheville, NC.
