MSH Black Heritage Museum April Newsletter


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NEWSLETTER

Our Current Museum Hours Are:

Tuesday - Friday: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Monday, Saturday & Sunday: CLOSED

National Jazz Appreciation Month

April 2021

From fashion to the Civil Rights movement, Jazz music had a huge impact on American culture in the 20th century. Jazz Appreciation Month (known as "JAM") was created by the National Museum of American History in 2001 to recognize and celebrate the amazing heritage and history of jazz for the entire month of April.

The roots of jazz can be found in the blues. The exciting history of jazz takes us through the deep south along back roads and into the big cities all across the United States and then the world. The thrum of the bass and sizzle of the snare make the nightclubs dazzle just a little more against the brass and lights.

(nationaldaycalendar.com)

Remembering Two Local Jazz Artists

With the many jazz enthusiasts in New Smyrna Beach, it is no wonder that many residents remember and recognize the contributions made by two of their own – Harold A. Blanchard and Johnny Lee Logan. Contributions they have made to the music culture in New Smyrna Beach, Volusia County, as well as on the national and international stage, have not gone unnoticed.

They have been featured in several publications.

Harold A. Blanchard

Harold A. Blanchard was known as New Smyrna Beach’s “Ambassador of Jazz.” Over the years, he has been called “Resident Jazz King.” He was a renown classical and jazz pianist, composer and performer. Music lovers were always delighted with his jazz interpretations, compositions and recordings. His trademark was his ability to incorporate his classical piano background into his jazz interpretations which resulted in a seamless, virtuoso style.

Harold Blanchard was born to musician parents in Harlem, New York. His musical education started at an early age. He studied at the Julliard School of Music. As a teenager he started playing with several jazz quartets. Additionally, Harold enjoyed a longtime friendship with jazz legend George Benson and recorded with the legendary Quincy Jones and other legendary jazz artists. Harold enjoyed performing throught world. Those who were fortunate enough to hear him, described the experience as unforgettable. He played for such dignitaries as Prime Minister Harold McMillan. He played and recorded with jazz pianist Chick Corea. He performed solo as well as with his band, “The Harold Blanchard Trio.”

New Smyrna Beach honored Harold Blanchard by proclaiming “Harold Blanchard Day.” “Harold Blanchard Day” was officially recognized during the New Smyrna Beach Jazz Festival in 2008. He will long be remembered as one of the greatest classical and jazz composers of all times. He was guided by his strong faith and fellowship as a Jehovah’s Witness.

Johnny Logan, Jr.

Johnny Logan's story started in New Smyrna Beach where he was born on January 17, 1940. His parents were John and Annie Logan. His father worked for the East Coast Railroad and his mother was a domestic worker. Johnny attended the public schools in the area and graduated from Chisholm High School in 1958. He worked at the Mizell Meek’s store as a teenager.

Johnny played saxophone in the high school band. Johnny started a high school jazz band and they played for Chisholm dances. They also played on weekends at Paradise Inn (PI), Roosevelt Inn in Daytona, George Ingram Hotel at Bethune Beach, and other locations to appreciative audiences around town. His jazz band became a regular attraction at the Quarterback Club in Orlando.

After high school, the best saxophone player in town, Johnny Logan, packed his bags and headed for college on the hill – FAMU (Florida A&M University) with his saxophone in tow. While at FAMU, he was declared the best saxophone player on campus performing with the Marching 100. It was at FAMU that he earned the nickname “Gig Man”. He would pick up a gig with various local bands to earn a few bucks. Johnny’s talents landed him an internship with Mr. Kernaa McFarlin, band director, Stanton High School in Jacksonville. To get an internship at Stanton with Mr. McFarlin was no small feat. Only the best was granted this honor.

Johnny wanted to embark on a new adventure with his saxophone. The bright lights and big city were calling. Johnny moved to New York City in 1961. Breaking into the music industry was not easy, but Johnny Logan’s great musical talents landed him a position in the Lionel Hampton Band. He finally made it to the top with his saxophone. He played alongside some of the greatest jazz legends of the era. To play with Lionel Hampton was a dream come true.

Johnny Logan’s New Smyrna Beach classmates and friends could not say enough about his achievements as a saxophonist. He was recognized as one of Chisholm’s Most Distinguished Alumni by the Chisholm Alumni Association. According to Mike Williams, Johnny Logan will always be remembered as the best jazz saxophonist to come out of New Smyrna Beach.

Podcast

Our Seat, Our Table: Leadership Lounge is a community broadcast curated to share the stories of Central Florida’s Black influencers in the arts. Host Barbara Chandler, manager of the Hannibal Square Heritage Center, Winter Park, Florida, recently reached out to Ann Harrell, board chair of the Mary S. Harrell Black Heritage Museum, to share the vision of why Mary Harrell saw the need to create a museum dedicated to the African American History of New Smyrna Beach. Also, featured in the podcast is New Smyrna Beach artist and a museum board member, Shyraika “Shy” Morris of Peace Arts. Shy is the creator of several murals around town, and she maintains a community garden which she uses to connect students to history and art. Enjoy the podcast; click on the PLAY button below to follow the link.

PLAY

April Black History Facts

1. April 4, 1968: - Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. In the following week riots occurred in at least 125 places throughout the country. (see first picture)

2. April 7, 1712: A slave insurrection occurred in New York City, resulting in the execution of 21 African Americans.

3. April 8, 1974: Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run to become the all-time leading hitter of home runs. (see second picture)

4. April 19, 1947: Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play major league baseball.

5. April 24, 1944: The United Negro College Fund was founded. (see third picture)

Famous Black Jazz Musicians From The 20th Century

Louis Daniel Armstrong

Using his talents as a trumpeter, composer, and vocalist, Louis Daniel Armstrong made a name for himself as one of the most well-known jazz musicians. His lengthy career spanned from the 1920s to the 1960s. Armstrong began his career strong as a member of the most popular jazz band of the time, King Oliver’s band. He later went on to lead a jazz recording band, The Hot Five, under his own name.

Miles Davis

With a career that spanned over 5 decades, Miles Davis is one of the most influential jazz musicians in history. After starting his career in 1945, he made many contributions to the music scene. Perhaps his most notable work was his album, Birth of the Cool, which played a large role in developing the cool jazz genre.

John Coltrane

John Coltrane began his career as a jazz musician by playing the alto saxophone in a navy band. After switching to tenor saxophone, he began playing in nightclubs and on the recordings of other jazz musicians. However, it wasn’t until he joined Miles Davis’s quintet in 1955 that his career really took off. However, due to his unreliability, the band fired him in 1957. During this time, he started recording songs under his own name and developed his renowned improvisational style known as “sheets of sound.”

Charlie Parker

Also known as “Yardbird,” Charlie Parker is one of the greatest saxophonists of all time. His love for music developed after receiving his first saxophone at 11 years old. Without any formal training, he taught himself how to play the instrument by listening to other musicians—Lester Young being his favorite. It wasn’t long until his passion drove him to drop out of high school and join the local musicians’ union at just 15 years old.

(blacknews.com)

Sarah Vaughan

At age 19, Vaughan took the Apollo stage as an amateur performer. She won the top prize of $10, and opened for Ella Fitzgerald in 1942, and later toured with jazz pianist and band leader, Earl Hines. Vaughan went on to join another band, this time led by jazz and pop singer Billy Eckstine. Vaughan went solo in 1946, and in 1947 landed a surprise pop hit with “Tenderly.”

Dinah Washington

The “most popular black recording artist of the 1950s” was Dinah Washington, who amassed more than two dozen R&B top 10 hits between 1948 and 1955. Washington was born Born Ruth Lee Jones in Tuscaloosa, Ala. in 1924, and was raised in Chicago. She started out singing in gospel choirs and by 1941 Washington began playing Chicago night clubs and later the Garrick Stage Bar where Billie Holiday performed.

Bille Holiday

Holiday began singing in Harlem nightclubs as a teenager, and recorded her first song at age 18. She signed with Brunswick Records in 1935 and was hired and later fired as in Count Basie’s band in 1938. A month after her firing, Holiday was hired by Artie Shaw, making her one of the first black singers to lead an all-white orchestra.

Ella Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald made her debut on the Apollo Theater in 1934 taking the top prize of a weeklong residency which was never awarded to her likely because of her disheveled look. Nonetheless, the performance would be the first in many milestones in Fitzgerald’s then budding singer career. Fitzgerald was signed by bandleader Chick Webb and was invited to join Webb’s orchestra with whom she recorded multiple hits including “A-Tisket, A-Tasket.”

(Vibe.com)

April 5, 2021

Bethune Beach

Bethune Beach, a former Black-owned resort that opened in the 1940’s, provided beach access to Blacks when most of Florida’s beaches were closed to them. During segregation, Blacks were not allowed on the same beaches as Whites. Bethune Beach was named after Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of Bethune-Cookman College, now known as Bethune-Cookman University, located in Daytona Beach, FL. Dr. Bethune and wealthy investors purchased 2.5 miles of beach property south of New Smyrna Beach and created a resort community and recreation area. On Dec. 9, 1945, Dr. Bethune and others founded the Bethune-Volusia Beach Corporation. Back in the day, people came from everywhere to go there. It was the only place they could go and have a good time on weekends. It was a very popular summer spot. It was reported that Bethune Beach attracted over 5,000 visitors on July 4, 1950. With integration in the 1970s, all beaches in the surrounding area were accessible to everyone. The history of Bethune Beach is very important to everyone because it is now everybody’s beach.

More information on Bethune Beach can be found at the museum. Also, on sale in the museum’s gift shop is a book, Bethune Beach, by Annie Pearl Knighton, $15. You may order by phone or stop by and purchase a copy. (386-478-1934)

HISTORY CORNER

April 5, 2021

Emancipation Day

Florida – let us be historically correct about our Emancipation Day. Formerly enslaved people in Florida were emancipated on May 20, 1865, a full month before the people in Texas were emancipated on June 19, 1865. Florida Senate Bill 490 attempts to recognize the event of emancipation. Its logic says because Black folks in Texas have made their celebration on June 19, 1865 an annual event – Juneteenth – that the rest of the nation should recognize that as the date all enslaved persons in the United States were emancipated. This is historically incorrect. Time should be taken to educate about Emancipation history in Florida and beyond to ensure Florida’s history is correctly presented and recorded. Emancipation Day in Florida is traditionally celebrated on May 20 to recognize the emancipation of African American slaves, as proclaimed in Tallahassee on May 20, 1865, just eleven days after the end of the American Civil War and two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was first issued by President Abraham Lincoln. We should not want our children taught incorrect history nor our Florida statue and other legal documents to be incorrect. Let’s get it right! - Emancipation Day in Florida, May 20, 1865.

History matters – more so for a race whose voices and writings have not been in the mainstream for years. Now that more is happening in this arena, care needs to be taken to ensure that historical writings are correct. The Senate Bill 490 is stated incorrectly.

VOLUNTEER CORNER

Joe and Angie Kovitch

It was in 2011 when a young, retired couple rolled into the coastal town of New Smyrna Beach from Mentor, Ohio. It did not take them long to get acclimated to a community that supports the arts, protects the environment and preserves local history. Shortly after moving to the area, they visited the Mary S. Harrell Black Heritage Museum, and the rest is history. They fell in love with the small community museum and made it their second home. Their primary home was located only a few feet from the Hidden Lakes Golf course. Both were nominated and served on the museum Board of Directors. Angie came with extensive knowledge of bookkeeping and quickly found a volunteer role in the office organizing the financial records and serving as the treasurer of the Board. Even though Joe had spent most of his working years in sales and international customer service, he became tech savvy in a short period of time. He spent countless hours selecting computer hardware and software for the museum and taught others how to use the newly installed software. Not only did they volunteer at the museum, but they were also very faithful parishioners of the St. Peter the Fisherman Episcopal Church in New Smyrna Beach where they volunteered their time and talents.

Fast forward to year 2021, ten years after moving to Florida, Joe and Angie made a tough decision to relocate and move back to Ohio to be near their children and grandchildren (and to shovel snow). Their family was glad to hear the good news, but their museum family was saddened. Even though it was not what we wanted to hear, we are grateful for the time they have spent with us, the many visitors they have greeted, and all the contributions they have made to help us carry out the mission of the museum. They were amazing volunteers and made a tremendous impact, not only at the Mary S. Harrell Black Heritage Museum, but in the community as well. Thank you and the best of luck to each of you. May the Lord be with you!

Ann Harrell, Board Chair