In Detroit, and across the globe, the late trumpeter Marcus Belgrave was a reputed world-class jazz musician and mentor. His resume boasts stints with jazz royalty like Ray Charles and Ella Fitzgerald and recording sessions with Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy and Max Roach.
In addition to his massive work and recording history, a large chunk of the Kresge Eminent Artist's legacy rests with the musicians he mentored over his 50-plus year career, especially those who participated in his Jazz Development Workshop established in the 1970s.
Belgrave also co-founded the Jazz Studies Program at the Detroit Metro Arts Complex and taught at Oberlin College and Conservatory among other universities. Many of his protégés like violinist Regina Carter, saxophonist Kenny Garrett, and bassist Robert Hurst have successful careers and credit him with nurturing them during their formative years of their careers.
Although Belgrave built a bullet-proof reputation as a performer and jazz mentor, few familiar with his ocean of accomplishments knew he was also a prolific composer. His passion for schooling generations of jazz musicians often overshadowed the music he composed during his storied career.
Only until recently his original compositions were unavailable to the public. Marcus' widow, vocalist Joan Belgrave, is on a mission to change that with the publication of the "Marcus Belgrave Songbook.”
"My purpose for doing the songbook and putting Marcus' compositions out there is so that when people go to universities across the country and the world, just like they teach Miles Davis's music, Horace Silver's music, Thad Jones's music, they will have access to Marcus's music," Joan Belgrave tells Model D.
The book, filled with 153 pages of music, photos, and stories about the trumpeter, will house all his original compositions, including and the music he wrote for the group Tribe in the 1970s. Another feature of the book is its inclusion of E-flat and B-flat parts to the compositions because a songbook typically only has concert parts. Belgrave said she felt it was her loving chore to honor her late husband by getting his music recognized.
"His compositions are so beautiful, and it tells a lot about him, especially the difficulty of the compositions," she says. "He was such advent about teaching, but he would teach everyone else's music and not his own. So now all his people can share his music and share his story," she says.
Marcus Belgrave died in 2015, and ever since then his wife has been working tirelessly to preserve his legacy. She began working on the songbook and a documentary about his life in 2020, but shortly after starting the projects, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and begun chemotherapy. Despite the severity of her illness, she believed the songbook had to be completed.
She worked with Sue Levetsky and Julie Pincus, the creators of the booklet for Belgrave’s Kresge Eminent Artist award. Levetsky had cancer, and the songbook was finished shortly before her passing. Detroit pianist Michael Malis did the transcriptions.
Joan Belgrave is also completing a documentary about Marcus Belgrave which is being directed by Timashion Jones and scheduled for release next year.
Shortly before Marcus Belgrave’s death, he told his wife that he was happy with his legacy, that he did what he was supposed to do with his life, and that he was okay with dying.
From her point of view, Joan Belgrave says her husband was too modest, and never much of a self-promoter. He believed his work and commitment to the perpetuation of jazz spoke volumes. His wife is adamant his time has come.
“Well, now's the time for his story to be told and for people to learn that what you get from giving will come back to you in due time,” she says.
The Songbook will be published by Multiverse on June 15 and available digitally and in print. A share of the proceeds from the book will go towards a scholarship fund that Belgrave set up.
Joan Belgrave is hosting two concerts to celebrate the songbook's release. One performance took place at the Blue Llama Club in Ann Arbor on June 8th, and the second one June 15th at Trinosophes in Detroit.
Thanks to Belgrave’s commitment to her husband’s legacy people will be able to experience another piece of Belgrave’s legacy, all his original compositions.
"I want people, not just in this Detroit area, not just in the Michigan area, but people around the world to teach and learn and understand that one person with the right mindset can make a difference."
The Marcus Belgrave Songbook can be purchased
here.
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