On December 23, 1938 legendary record producer and social activist John Hammond presented a concert at Carnegie Hall dedicated to the recently passed blues great Bessie Smith and entitled From Spirituals to Swing. Much as Whiteman had tried to bring popular music into the classical concert hall, Hammond’s goal was to bring jazz, blues, and gospel into a concert setting and introduce mainstream New Yorkers to these largely marginalized African American genres. Grounded by Count Basie’s orchestra and featuring the likes of Mead Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons, James P. Johnson, Sidney Bechet, Helen Humes, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Mitchell’s Christian Singers, the show was a smashing success. He did it again in December, 1939, adding the Benny Goodman Quintet and the Golden Gate Singers. Ken Peplowski and company close OFAM 2009 with an abridged and updated version of these legendary concerts.