Har-You Percussion Group

An offshoot of the Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited (aka Har-You), a social activism organization founded by Dr. Kenneth Clark in 1962, the Harlem Youth Percussion Group encouraged creativity and expression and offered a way for young African-Americans to get in touch with their musical heritage and learn about music. Jamaican-born percussionist Montegro Joe was asked by Julien Euell (executive director of the arts and culture division of Har-You Percussion) to teach Afro and jazz percussion. After four years of training, these 11 young men, age 16-19, created an album, Sounds of the Ghetto Youth, in 1967. Album royalties from the project went into a scholarship fund for the students. The group was reunited on the Cu-Bop label in 1996.