
Some works carry history in their very first note. Gerry Bryant’s “Song to the Dark Virgin”, released on May 15, 2025 and featured on his album When? When? is one of those rare pieces that refuses to live in a single era. By revisiting Langston Hughes’ poem and Florence Price’s original composition, Bryant situates himself inside a legacy of Black artistry that defined the Harlem Renaissance, while still finding fresh ways to push it forward.

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What makes this reimagining stand out is its instrumental daring. Instead of setting Hughes’ words to a vocal line, Bryant hands the melody to violinist Mark Cargill, whose performance is both lyrical and haunting. The violin doesn’t just “play” the poem, it sings it, bends it, and breathes it into new form. Each phrase carries the emotional weight of Hughes’ verses, even without a single lyric spoken aloud.
Musically, the piece lives in the Third-Stream tradition, where jazz improvisation, classical form, and modern crossover meet. There are classical echoes of Price’s foundation, but also the reflective flexibility of jazz—a kind of open dialogue between past and present. This is not a museum piece; it’s alive, questioning, and deeply moving.
The release of the accompanying music video adds another layer of reverence and accessibility. Watching Cargill’s violin become the “voice” of Hughes’ poem is a reminder of how timeless art can be, how Florence Price’s composition and Langston Hughes’ words still feel urgent, poignant, and resonant in 2025. Bryant himself calls it a tribute that Hughes and Price “would be proud of,” and it’s hard to disagree.
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This single is not built for background listening. It’s for playlists where music and literature intersect, where reflection matters, jazz fusion, modern classical crossover, Black heritage, and poetry-inspired works. It’s as much an education as it is an emotional experience, and that’s what makes it so powerful.
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