New Program of Music and Narration About Joe Brazil to Premier August 10
Vital Family Records
Zodis Brazil (Joe's brother) lived at 17531 Cherrylawn St, Detroit, MI, 48221-2507 in 1983. He died in 1998.
In 1940, Joe (11) lived with his brother Zodis (14), mother Ida (34), and maternal grandfather Harrison Hill (72) at 5947 Rivard Street in Detroit. Joe's father Hilliard (43) lived alone at 536 Holbrook Avenue and worked as a chipper at Dodge Bros (source: 1940 Census).
In 1931 a Mrs. Ida Brazil lived at 1025 Adelaide, Detroit MI (source: City Directory)
In 1930, Moses Brazil (20) (Joe's uncle) lived with wife Trulia (19), daughter Dolores (7 mo), mother Mary (50), and brother Hilliard (33) (Joe's father) at 13526 Lumpkin Street, Detroit, MI (source: 1930 Census)
Zodis Brazil was born 6 May 1924 in Georgia. Joe was born 25 Aug 1927 in Detroit so their mother must have moved from Georgia to Detroit between 1924 and 1927.
Joe's parents, Hilliard Brazil and Ida Hill lived on farms in adjacent counties in Georgia about half way between Savannah and Atlanta, just south of the path that General Sherman took on his March to the Sea during the Civil War.
Hilliard Brazil married Ida Hill ?? Dec 1926 and divorced 1 Apr 1940 in Wayne, MI (source: Michigan Divorce Records).
A gravestone for Mrs. Ida Breazeal in Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery in Laurens County, GA lists a death date of 12 Oct 1951.
Hilliard Brazil was born 6 Sep 1895 in Georgia, and died 13 Mar 1980 in Oakland, CA. His mother's maiden name was Hardy (source: California Death Index).
In 1940, Joe (11) lived with his brother Zodis (14), mother Ida (34), and maternal grandfather Harrison Hill (72) at 5947 Rivard Street in Detroit. Joe's father Hilliard (43) lived alone at 536 Holbrook Avenue and worked as a chipper at Dodge Bros (source: 1940 Census).
In 1931 a Mrs. Ida Brazil lived at 1025 Adelaide, Detroit MI (source: City Directory)
In 1930, Moses Brazil (20) (Joe's uncle) lived with wife Trulia (19), daughter Dolores (7 mo), mother Mary (50), and brother Hilliard (33) (Joe's father) at 13526 Lumpkin Street, Detroit, MI (source: 1930 Census)
Zodis Brazil was born 6 May 1924 in Georgia. Joe was born 25 Aug 1927 in Detroit so their mother must have moved from Georgia to Detroit between 1924 and 1927.
Hilliard Brazil married Ida Hill ?? Dec 1926 and divorced 1 Apr 1940 in Wayne, MI (source: Michigan Divorce Records).
A gravestone for Mrs. Ida Breazeal in Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery in Laurens County, GA lists a death date of 12 Oct 1951.
Hilliard Brazil was born 6 Sep 1895 in Georgia, and died 13 Mar 1980 in Oakland, CA. His mother's maiden name was Hardy (source: California Death Index).
Hilliard Brazil was enlisted in the US Army 22 Aug 1918 and released 10 Dec 1918 (source: Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death Files).
Hilliard Brazil living at 536 Holbrook registered for the US WWII draft 27 Apr 1942 in Detroit, MI (source: US Draft Registration Card).
Charlie Brazeal married Mary Lou Hardy on 11 Jul 1893 in Laurens County, GA.
Charlie Brazeal (born Jun 1869) lived with his wife Mary Lou (born Jul 1872), daughter Queen (born 1894), son Hilliard (born Sep 1894), and son Isaac (born Apr 1900) lived next door to Charlie Hardy (born Jul 1845), wife Jane (born Jun 1854), daughter Anne (born Mar 1882), daughter Arlisie (born Mar 1882), son Oscar (born Oct 1887), and daughter Meula (born x 1891) in the Harvard District, Laurens County, GA (source: 1900 Census).
Charlie Brazeal (40) lived with his wife Mary L. (34), daughters Queen (16), Mary L. (8), and sons Hillard (14), Moses (5) in Harvard, Laurens County, GA (source: 1910 Census)
Charlie Brazeal (born 22 Jul 1878) registered for the WWI draft on 17 Sep 1918. He lived at 708 Decater, Dublin, Laurens County, GA. His occupation was Yard Man at a Power Plant. His nearest relative was Annie Lee Brazeal (source: US Draft Registration Card).
A Charlie Brazeal (born May 1877) lived next door to a farmhouse of 7 Brazeals (3 generations) in Hampton Mill, Laurens County, GA (source: 1900 Census).
In 1910, a Charlie Brazeal (28), wife Lou (25), and daughter Annie Lee (6) lived in Toombsboro, GA (Wilkenson County) (source: 1910 Census).
In 1940, a Charlie Brazil (58) and wife Lena (45) lived on Decatur Street, Dublin, GA (Laurens County). Charlie is listed as a laborer at a rim factory (source: 1940 Census)
A Charlie Brazeal died 8 Mar 1969 in Laurens, GA. A gravestone says he was born in 1875.
In 1880, Harrison Hill (17) (Joe's maternal grandfather) lived with his father John (57), mother Bettie (52), brother Jack (20), and brother Monroe (14) on a rented farm in Bluff, Twiggs County, Georgia (source: 1880 Census).
In 1910, Harrison Hill (45), wife Mariah (42), their daughters Bessie (20), Daisy (14), Bettie (11), Ida (9), Bertha (7), and sons Burke (19), Holliman (17), Freddie (16), Harrison Jr. (12), John (4), Albert (2) lived on a farm in McDonalds, Twiggs County, Georgia (source 1910 Census).
Jerry Heldman RIP
 |
| Seattle Times photo |
Coltrane in Detroit
I'm trying to track down when John Coltrane and Joe Brazil might have met. According to The John Coltrane Reference, Coltrane worked in Detroit on the dates below. Joe Brazil was born in Detroit and owned a house there from 1951 to 1962. Paul Chambers lived with Brazil in the early 50's. Coltrane may have learned about Brazil from Chambers while they both played in the Miles Davis Quintet. Coltrane was recorded from Brazil's basement in September of 1958. There were 9 times before that when Coltrane could have been at Brazil's house and 5 times after. There are tapes of Coltrane from Brazil's house from December, 1959, November 24, 1960, and February 1961. In an interview with Paul de Barros, Brazil says Coltrane stayed with him whenever Coltrane was in town as a leader.
- Jul 24-29 w/ Miles Davis
- Nov 22-27, 1960 as leader
- Jul 31-
Felton Jones
I spoke with Felton Jones by phone. Felton (trumpet) and Eddie Chambliss (tenor) used to hit the afterhours sessions at Joe Brazil's basement in Detroit. Even though they were young and not as skilled as many of the musicians there, they were accepted as peers.
Felton says it was dark in the basement with a light only on the piano. About 20 people fit in the room standing shoulder to shoulder.
When you went up to play with the light on you it "felt like being in jail. You had fear if you played. It was CLASSICAL... HARD... BEBOP!"
In the 1950's many of the Detroit musicians formed a club. Joe Brazil was president. They acquired a beer and wine license, rented churches, charged $1 admission and sold hotdogs and chips to audiences during performances.
Felton says it was dark in the basement with a light only on the piano. About 20 people fit in the room standing shoulder to shoulder.
When you went up to play with the light on you it "felt like being in jail. You had fear if you played. It was CLASSICAL... HARD... BEBOP!"
In the 1950's many of the Detroit musicians formed a club. Joe Brazil was president. They acquired a beer and wine license, rented churches, charged $1 admission and sold hotdogs and chips to audiences during performances.
Detroit Neighbor
John Miller was seven years old when he lived two doors down from Joe on Fleming Street. Last weekend at the Detroit Jazz Festival Talk Tent, he mentioned Joe's name to some of the musicians there and saw their faces light up. He went home and Googled "What happened to Joe Brazil?" and found this blog. We spoke by phone and hope to look up more neighbors and visitors to Joe's basement.
Donald Byrd's Workshop at BAM
This is from "Four Measures of the Blues and a Bar to Spare: A BAM Line Review Supplement" by Kelly-Marie Berry.
April 9, 1974
Donald Byrd's Workshop was that of the educator-musician which is what Byrd has evolved into but I perhaps the reverse order: Musician-Educator. For years, a leading trumpet soloist and recording artist, in 1967 he received his doctoral degree in college teaching and administration from Columbia Teachers' College of Columbia University in New York.
Informative and thought provoking, Byrd's workshop was straight up lecture format and the contents of his lecture dealt with some fundamental aspects of educational philosophy. His remarks/direct and pointed:
"When you got to school, the reason why they teach you white Western history is because it is supposed to be part of your heritage. So when they talk about Beethoven they are not just talking about him because he was suppose to be a great musician, but because he was also German. And that is part of the German culture and heritage.
"When you go into a Black situation and you talk about Beethoven and Bach, well the students aren't supposed to relate to it because it is not part of their heritage. So people wonder why Black people are turned off by classical music. They are supposed to get turned off. It's alien. There is nothing absolute about Western history. Whites in this country get you to believe that everything that they teach you is absolute as if it were written by some divine person. So what the mistake is that by training Black people in the white tradition, the presumption is that their grand and great grandparents came from Europe. And that's not true. It's an alien thing."
April 9, 1974
Donald Byrd's Workshop was that of the educator-musician which is what Byrd has evolved into but I perhaps the reverse order: Musician-Educator. For years, a leading trumpet soloist and recording artist, in 1967 he received his doctoral degree in college teaching and administration from Columbia Teachers' College of Columbia University in New York.
Informative and thought provoking, Byrd's workshop was straight up lecture format and the contents of his lecture dealt with some fundamental aspects of educational philosophy. His remarks/direct and pointed:
"When you got to school, the reason why they teach you white Western history is because it is supposed to be part of your heritage. So when they talk about Beethoven they are not just talking about him because he was suppose to be a great musician, but because he was also German. And that is part of the German culture and heritage.
"When you go into a Black situation and you talk about Beethoven and Bach, well the students aren't supposed to relate to it because it is not part of their heritage. So people wonder why Black people are turned off by classical music. They are supposed to get turned off. It's alien. There is nothing absolute about Western history. Whites in this country get you to believe that everything that they teach you is absolute as if it were written by some divine person. So what the mistake is that by training Black people in the white tradition, the presumption is that their grand and great grandparents came from Europe. And that's not true. It's an alien thing."
UW History of Jazz Lecture Notes
These lecture notes were taken by Ken Soapes for Music 331A "History of Jazz" taught by Professor Joe Brazil.
Monday, April 8, 1974
Today in class we were fortunate to have Donald Byrd as a guest lecturer. Mr. Brazil and he grew up together and played together in Detroit. He left for New York when he was 18. Since that time he has played with a number of jazz artists such as Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane (with whom he has done many albums), and Herbie Hancock who he helped introduce to the scene. Dr. Byrd has had a very diverse past - besides being a musician he has also been an airplane pilot, a law student; he studied in Europe for four years, attended law school, is currently head of the Black Music Studies Department for the School of Music at Howard University, and is one of the foremost historians on Black Music and its ramification in society.
Directly before coming to class Dr. Byrd was notified by promoters that the concert he flew out from the East Coast to do had been cancelled.
Dr. Byrd, as noted above, has become highly educated by the standards of Western academia. He stated that he was put on the defensive by the "standards" of the academic society and had to become the "Super-Nigger." He has now grown tired of that game. Henry B. Durham once asked him why he said "Shit" all the time because he should know better with the advantage of so much education. Byrd's reply was that he does it because he does know better. He stated he has been uptight for 40 years and if he makes other people uptight that will be too bad. Academia in his eyes is an extension of Western philosophy.
Monday, April 8, 1974
Today in class we were fortunate to have Donald Byrd as a guest lecturer. Mr. Brazil and he grew up together and played together in Detroit. He left for New York when he was 18. Since that time he has played with a number of jazz artists such as Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane (with whom he has done many albums), and Herbie Hancock who he helped introduce to the scene. Dr. Byrd has had a very diverse past - besides being a musician he has also been an airplane pilot, a law student; he studied in Europe for four years, attended law school, is currently head of the Black Music Studies Department for the School of Music at Howard University, and is one of the foremost historians on Black Music and its ramification in society.
Directly before coming to class Dr. Byrd was notified by promoters that the concert he flew out from the East Coast to do had been cancelled.
Dr. Byrd, as noted above, has become highly educated by the standards of Western academia. He stated that he was put on the defensive by the "standards" of the academic society and had to become the "Super-Nigger." He has now grown tired of that game. Henry B. Durham once asked him why he said "Shit" all the time because he should know better with the advantage of so much education. Byrd's reply was that he does it because he does know better. He stated he has been uptight for 40 years and if he makes other people uptight that will be too bad. Academia in his eyes is an extension of Western philosophy.
Bob Antolin
In an 2000 article in Northwest Asian Weekly, Bob Antolin talks about Joe Brazil.
"At the University of Washington, he studied with Joe Brazil.
'He was a good influence,' says Antolin. He would bring Bill Evans, Joe Henderson, Dexter Gordon, Chico Hamilton... (to class)... (when) they came to town to play in local pubs.... It was quite an occasion to see them and hear them up close and in person.'
Antolin laments about losing contact with Brazil, who was not tenured by the university following a huge controversy.
'Joe had a direct connection with the musicians. In terms of academic environment, what better way to (learn) than by bringing in (those) musicians like he did.'
Fortunately, Antolin took lessons with Brazil while he was still there.
'He was introducing all the jazz bebop vocabulary.... It was a very enriching situation.'"
Ken Kubota
In a 2011 issue of International Examiner, Ken Kubota mentioned Joe Brazil.
"Kubota initially started piano lessons in second grade and began saxophone in fourth grade. He continued to study saxophone with University of Washington Professor Joe Brazil, who was a great influence, he noted.
"I learned so much from him," said Kubota.
Brazil would invite musicians travelling through town to speak in class, like McCoy Tyner.
"I always appreciated that," he said.
"Kubota initially started piano lessons in second grade and began saxophone in fourth grade. He continued to study saxophone with University of Washington Professor Joe Brazil, who was a great influence, he noted.
"I learned so much from him," said Kubota.
Brazil would invite musicians travelling through town to speak in class, like McCoy Tyner.
"I always appreciated that," he said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)