DOC ON TRUMPET VIRTUOSO AND JAZZ LEGEND WHO RESURRECTED DETROIT JAZZ

On tonight’s show we’ll be joined by jazz singer, songwriter and co-producer Joan Belgrave to celebrate the debut of director Timashion Jones’s new film ...And Damn He Could Play, a documentary homage to Ms. Belgrave’s late husband and musical partner, the great trumpet player and jazz legend, Marcus Belgrave. Belgrave’s influence in developing a musical jazz renaissance in 1980’s Detroit, and dozens of brilliant young jazz musicians drawn there to work with him, exceeds even the perfection of his brilliant sound through decades of collaborations with Charles Mingus, Ray Charles and bringing his jazz trumpet to scores of Motown hits. The trumpet master Terence Blanchard calls Belgrade “a musician’s musician” – which he translates as “a musician who makes you . . listen.” The film features appreciations from Wynton Marsalis, Charlie Gabriel, Endea Owens, Don Was, Marion Hayden, Robert Hurst, Regina Carter, Sheila Jordan , Geri Allen and many more.

Joan Belgrave, sang gospel in the Baptist church as a young girl in Michigan, went to Hollywood, established herself as a critically acclaimed performer, recording artist and songwriter of tunes that included her tribute to Billie Holiday, Emotional Blue and its follow-up, Variations. Returning to Detroit, she met her musical soulmate, Marcus Belgrave, who became her professional partner after hearing her sing at a jam session at Bert’s Marketplace. The couple later married and released their first of two collaborations with New Orleans saxophonist Charlie Gabriel, You Don’t Know Me: A Tribute to New Orleans; Ray Charles; the Great Ladies of Song; and a reprise, Marcus, Charlie, and Joan … Once Again. Joan’s solo career resumed with Excitable, re-released by Detroit-based Blue Rivers Records, as was Please Send Me Someone to Love by Blue Note Records president Don Was.

After Marcus Belgrave’s death in 2015. Joan founded the Belgrave Scholarship Fund for young musicians and the Marcus Belgrave Legacy Ensemble, which has played to rave international reviews at the sold-out shows of From Detroit to the World for the Winter Jazzfest in New York City.

Hosted by Janet Coleman and David Dozer