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Last Updated:
May 13th, 2008 - 11:31:26 |
An Ode To Black Bottom
Regina Carter Helps Us Remember
Both prior to and following the Depression of the ‘30s, Detroit’s Eastside was a bustling neighborhood filled with both well-to-do and struggling African-Americans. It was infamously tagged as Black Bottom. The Detroit River to the south and Vernor Highway to the north roughly bounded the area, while Gratiot Avenue separated it from the neighboring area of Paradise Valley.
Despite financial status, the populace connected with a cultural fervor and a strong sense of community. During this time, the residents of these adjoining neighborhoods discovered a mutual love of music — particularly jazz. Black-owned jazz clubs featured all of the day's touring talent, including many would-be legends, who performed well into the night.
In the early-'60s, the Black Bottom community’s fabric was torn asunder due to urban expansion and the construction of the I-75 freeway. Although Black Bottom is a formative part of what cultural Detroit has become today, its story is a hidden gem many are unaware of in Detroit and throughout Michigan. “Black Bottom has such a powerful and rich history,” former Detroiter Regina Carter affirmed. “It is such an intriguing part of Detroit’s history.”
Regina Carter, a world-traveled and celebrated violinist, has released five recordings with Atlantic Records. She has also recorded with legends such as Patti Labelle, Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige, Lauryn Hill and many more influential artists. Carter has performed with jazz celebrities Ray Brown, Marian McPartland and several others.
Carter first learned of Black Bottom as a child. “I always heard so much about it from my mother — she was born and raised in Black Bottom and so were many of her close friends.” Carter recounted stories of both successful business owners and poverty-stricken people who lived in trenches with cardboard boxes as a roof.
The Black Bottom Project emerged when New York’s Lincoln Center commissioned Carter for a piece a year ago. Carter went back to her Detroit roots to express the emotion of the community through music. As jazz was the musical taste in the days of Black Bottom, Carter classifies her piece to be similar. “Stylistically, I tried to mimic the sound of the music from that time,” stated Carter.
Joined with Detroit-native poet and storyteller, Leslie Reese, the stories of people who grew up in the neighborhood will come back to life. “[Reese] made quite a few phone calls to some people who grew up in Black Bottom,” Carter included, “I tried to create music, or feeling, to go along with those stories. When we performed it at Lincoln Center, we didn’t have photographs, but I was able to collect some really powerful photographs from Walter Luther Library and also from the Detroit Main Library this time.”
There is great historical value behind Carter bringing her performance to the Jazz Series at Orchestra Hall. In the ‘40s, Orchestra Hall, then called Paradise Theater, housed powerful jazz performances from icons Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr. and countless others. The Black Bottom-inspired material is only half of the fun Carter is bringing to Detroit. The first half of the concert features another former Detroiter, Carla Cook, alongside the Regina Carter Sextet. The group and the accomplished jazz singer and songwriter will perform material from Carter’s most recent release, I’ll Be Seeing You: A Sentimental Journey.
Carter shared, “I just hope people will come out even if they aren’t familiar with Black Bottom or even if they are not familiar with me and just … experience the music.” | RDW
Regina Carter Sextet: Black Bottom • 5/15 Orchestra Hall
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