Perhaps Bob Marley said it best in his classic anthem, “No Woman, No Cry”:
“In this bright future, you can’t forget your past.” — Dr. Pamela D. Reed, The Daily Voice
Let us give applause to Savannah’s black musical heritage, not only in February (Black History Month), but June (Black Music Month) and September (Savannah Jazz Festival), at Christmas, on Sunday, and lazy nights during the full year. Unknown slaves first brought the African, black, Negro, colored, spiritual, and washboard minstrel here. Jazz and blues music are alive every day because the slaves sang and played the music of their souls.
Longtime Savannahian Benjamin Mayer “Ben” Tucker was the invited guest bassist at, playing with the famous Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis a few years back in Savannah’s Johnny Mercer Theatre. It was also Tucker who began teaching jazz appreciation classes in Savannah. Edith and Isadore Karpf (owners of Punch & Judy shop in Habersham Village, and the parents of Chatham County Senior Judge, Michael L. Karpf) were among Ben’s first students. They joined Tucker, Teddy Adams and others to co-found Coastal Jazz.
Today the Coastal Jazz Hall of Fame honors the musical heroes and heroines of jazz in Savannah. We cannot copy their web site content, but we surely want to point you to them and the rich stories there. The list is long and distinguished!
WHERE ELSE IS THE AFRICAN MUSIC HERITAGE IN SAVANNAH?
How many Sunday congregations and choirs will be singing traditional songs passed from one to another as folk songs from memory? Whitney Phelps tells of old Negro spirituals, which use only five black notes – the “slave scale” found in America’s most beloved hymn – Amazing Grace. The words were written by John Newton, an English slave ship captain. The music composer, officially recorded as “Unknown” is sure to be a West African slave chant. Listen to the Phelps story and powerful performance.
Then, mosey along Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard. Stand for a moment of respect at the memorial plaque of jazz great Joe Oliver (514 MLK Jr. Blvd.). Ride a Black Heritage Tour through Frogtown. Walk the South Laurel Grove Cemetery. Browse the African-American art exhibit of Dr. Walter Evans at the SCAD Museum of Art. Riding across the Savannah River, can’t you picture, too, the plantation slaves singing in the nearby rice paddies, and plantation cotton and collard fields? Walk through City Market and listen for the echoes of hawking – free blacks and slaves selling fresh vegetables, seafood, fowl, and fruits. Dr. Jamal Toure, historian, who leads the Day Clean Journeys tour chants the hawking.
FOLLOW THE MUSIC!
Little Johnny Mercer, whose family heritage is Scottish, German and Italian followed those street hawkers, walking from his family home on East Gwinnett Street, through Forsyth Park, and over to West Broad Street (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard) to listen to “race records” in music shops. In that day, it was THE Savannah busy corridor of shops, theaters, rail and trolley car transportation. Mercer was born in 1909, so already – before the 20th Century – music from the “black quarter” of Savannah was catching root. He was fascinated with the soulful blues and jazz, which took secular root from religious Negro spirituals. He was fascinated with the river folks, and he spoke their Geechee language. In Blues in the Night, Mercer penned and sings, “My mammy done told me, when I was in knee pants…” capturing the simple ways of the African-heritage people he so admired.
Vibrant today in Savannah, the Coastal Jazz Society keeps the rich musical heritage alive with weekly “Music across the River,” hosting the Savannah Jazz Festival in September annually, and the Coastal Jazz Orchestra playing year around. Occasionally there’s a Blues and Barbecue Festival at the Georgia Railroad Museum. We hope there are far more!
Yes, the music revival continues in Savannah, the city where Jazz was King in the early 1900s.
Get away to Savannah, Georgia, to experience world music, being sure not to miss places and happenings that pay tribute to African-American heritage in Savannah, GA. Enjoy being near the rich black history in Savannah, while lodging at one of the historic Savannah Inns – Green Palm Inn, Zeigler House Inn, Azalea Inn and Gardens, or Dresser Palmer House. Each is a unique experience, and you’ll be near some of the best African American places of interest.
Diane McCray, Green Palm Inn
Tags: African American Heritage, african american history, African American History in Savannah, African American Music, African Heritage, Black History, black history month, Blues, Blues and BBQ, Coastal Jazz, GA, Jazz, Jazz in Savannah, Jazz musicians, Negro Spiritual, Savannah, Savannah Blues and Barbeque, Savannah GA black history
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