[Dixielandjazz] the Selma to Montgomery March; jazz connections

[Charles Suhor]

Last week was packed with excitement here in Montgomery and nearby (40+ miles) Selma. Tens of thousands were in the area for the commemoration of "Bloody Sunday" at Pettus Bridge a week ago yesterday (Sunday). During the week, re-enactment of the march to the capitol building for voting rights. Very moving, and an economic boon. Hotlels and Motels in the two host cities, Mobile, and Birmingham were booked solid.

Some historical jazz connections--Some accounts have Bessie Smith being discovered buy John Hammond in Selma. Nat King Cole was born ion Montgomery but left for Chicago at an early age. His birthplace is a house that's preserved on the campus of Ala. State U here. Hawkins was a student at ASU (then a teachers' college) in Montgomery, and his big band started here. Benny Powell, Joe Newman and Vernell Fournier were at ASU with Hawkins. There are probably other connections--thee are the ones I'm familiar with. 

There's zero OKOM here, sad to say. I started up a group several ago, but all we got was a few gigs each year around Mardi Gras time. And players were hard to find. A good trumpeter, Charlie Higgins, was in the combo, playing well into his 90s but he died recently. I stopped playing a few years ago. There's a little modern jazz here but it's mostly a blues, rock, and C&W town.

Charlie