Black Fires

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Anthology of Black Canadian Music 1911-2008

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Essence:

2-CD set, 50-60 archival and contemporary recordings celebrating Canada’s Black musical heritage. An anthology from the earliest to the newest, a spectrum from country to jazz to hip-hop. Launch date 2007 or 2008.

Super Project

Of all sixteen projects proposed, this one has ignited the most energy. Everyone we interviewed, from the Nathaniel Dett Choir members to Joe Sealy and Farley Flex in Toronto to Max Johnson in Edmonton to Leon Bibb in Vancouver to Gary Beals in Halifax -- and many others -- unanimously love the idea.

Multi-Media Package:

Preliminary discussions have been held with management at the merchandising division of CBC Records, and there may be potential for future collaboration.

Goal:

Commemorate and celebrate Canada’s Black musical heritage.

Five points from consultations across the country...

1. BIG ZEST: Overwhelming response from all concerned.
2. VACUUM/NEW TERRITORY: Little research done. No experts here. No overall chronology or serious study of the history of Black Canadian music. No one has drilled down into the musical heritage and produced a definitive guide like Ken Burns’ “JAZZ” or Canada’s Alex Barris’s “Making Music”.
3. TIMING: The occasion of the 400th anniversary of Blacks in Canada is perfect. Black culture has never been more loved. Sponsors, government, funders, researchers need a lead time -- we have to start now.
4. MULTIMEDIA PACKAGE: CD/book/TV show/radio series/educational toolkit - great possibilities.
5. SUBSTANCE: Uncatalogued. There appear to be so many artists, stories, incidents, recordings, connections that are unknown, unheralded, or unwritten about. From Underground Railroad folk songs in the 1800s to Jazz bands in the 1930s (including Cy McLean’s Big Band, from Sydney, N.S.) to Calypso bands in Toronto in the 1950s. Blacks were barred from the Toronto’s musicians’ union until 1944. Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong were barred from hotels in Halifax and Toronto (Duke Ellington’s second wife was from Africville). Evelyn Blondell (from Vancouver) starred in Fats Waller’s only Broadway musical in New York in the 1940s. There is Shawn Jackson’s virtually unknown masterpiece “Hey Babe” from the 1980s and Sheldon Brooks’ “One of These Days” and “Dark Town Strutter’s Ball” (to be honoured at the 2005 Juno awards). Oscar Peterson to Dan Hill to the Buddha Brothers to Measha Bruggergosman to k-os.
   
   
   

Recommendation:

Budget/Action Plan:

Because this is a massive and fun project, we could not realistically determine a real budget. Recommendation: the Black Fires project should be done in two phases: first a research phase, then a construction/delivery phase. Spearheaded, organized and watchdogged by Da Costa 400.

Phase 1

There is much research that needs to be done - it could be endless, go on for five to seven years. Recommendation: recruit a qualified historian-researcher with a time cell of one year to do field research and archival research - deliver as much as possible in a report of professional historical standards. “The Definitive Guide to Black Canadian Music” can wait until later - the basic guide can go now. The report can be used as the basis for the multi-media package including the CD set and a book.

Step 1:
A one-day meeting in Toronto of Black music stakeholders/others (CBC is interested). A brainstorm/minds around a table. Issues discussed. A search committee formed to choose researcher or group of researchers. Funds applied for. Spring 2005 (a roundtable was already held in Halifax in January 2005).

Step 2:
Search committee does an inventory of potential candidates. Outreach/call for applicants posted to universities and others.

Step 3:
Researcher hired. Fall 2005.

Step 4:
Report delivered Fall 2006.

Phase 2:

Step 5:
CD / TV show/ Radio series/ book /educational kit . Fall 2007

CD/TV show/radio series/book/educational kit. Fall 2007. Da Costa 400 will coordinate with broadcasters, book publishers, departments of education, record companies, entertainment firms, etc. to deliver these media assets. Issues like sales from books and CDs, copyrights and royalties from artists and estates, packaging, marketing, and the researcher ownership of data will have to be determined. The educational outreach package should be sent to schools all over Canada.

Final thought: No other art carries the culture or makes people more conscious and more positive toward Black culture than music. It is Black culture’s gift to the world.

copyright - Da Costa 400