Joan Belgrave Honors Dinah Washington

Oct. 26, 2014

Second Offering Showcases Variety of Dennos Season

Detroit vocalist Joan Belgrave’s music combines R&B, soul, jazz and pop. It’s a perfect fit for the Dennos Museum’s eclectic 2014-15 season, which features a variety of acts that will engage a wide spectrum of audiences. It includes folk, blues, world music, comedy and puppets.

On Nov. 1, Belgrave will add her unique voice to this diverse season with a tribute to Dinah Washington, one of the most popular African American female vocalists of the 1950s.

Belgrave says many people noted similarities in their voices when she returned to performing after taking a 15-year break to raise a family.

"When I came back, people said I sounded like Dinah," she said. Though familiar with Washington, Belgrave had never consciously emulated her, instead taking inspiration from another icon. "When I was younger, I listened to Billie Holiday, not Dinah." When a recording session engineer also said she reminded him of Washington, Belgrave decided to listen more closely.

"He said, "˜Dang, you really sound like Dinah.’ I decided if I sounded like her on a song I wrote, God is trying to tell me something, and I’d better listen."

As she studied Washington and her music more carefully, Belgrave discovered numerous similarities and connections between them.

"We both grew up singing in church. We both listened to Billie Holiday. Dinah had a connection with Detroit. Marcus [Joan’s husband, trumpet legend Marcus Belgrave] played with JC Heard and she [Dinah] had a relationship with JC’s brother. Marcus’s cousin Cecil Payne was one of her musicians. She did "˜When a Woman Loves a Man.’ I had no idea she’d recorded it when I did mine," she explained.

Also like Washington, Belgrave considers herself part of the band, rather than the main attraction. "I consider myself a musician, part of the ensemble–not a diva."

"The Dinah Washington Story" will include Belgrave’s originals, as well as music associated with Washington. The band will showcase her husband on trumpet, a number of Detroit-area jazz musicians, local pianist Jeff Haas and the Lisa McCall Dancers.

Belgrave says the dancers offer a natural connection to her music. "When jazz started out, it was dance music," says Belgrave.

Belgrave’s Nov. 1 concert is the second show of the Dennos’ season, which kicked off Oct. 24 with the return of the Golden Dragon Acrobats. The rest of the season will feature:

The African Guitar Summit, Nov. 22. The Juno award-winning group performs music from such countries as Kenya, Ghana, Madagascar, Guinea, Rwanda and Mali. The Summit is a collection of the premiere African guitarists living in Canada.

The Best of The Second City, Jan. 3. The comics from Chicago’s Second City take the stage with sketches and improvised bits based on today’s headlines, as well as classics from the group’s 50 years of comic hijinks.

Rockin’ Johnny Band, Jan. 31. Originally from South Carolina, guitarist Johnny Burgin traveled to Chicago to form one of the windy city’s most beloved blues bands. Rockin’ Johnny plays modern Chicago blues and ventures into funk, rock and swing, as well.

Scythian, Feb. 21. These classically-trained musicians seamlessly blend kicked-up Celtic, folk and world music with the driving rhythm of jazz percussion–all delivered with an in-your-face sensibility. Scythian belts out a high-energy, adrenaline-peddling, interactive brand of music with one goal in mind: to get people on their feet dancing.

The Cashore Marionettes – Simple Gifts, Feb. 28. With Cashore’s signature virtuoso manipulation, these remarkable marionettes are showcased in original vignettes set to music by composers such as Vivaldi, Strauss, Beethoven and Copland. With theatrical illusion and great artistic insight, the show provides an entertaining and sensitive vision of what it is to be human.

Tab Benoit, March 7. Guitarist-singer Tab Benoit was born and raised on the Louisiana bayou. He’s a traditionalist and an innovator at the same time, grafting elements of rock and soul to the indigenous sounds of the bayou.

Mike and Ruthy, March 28. Storytellers, singers and poets Ruth Ungar and Mike Merenda are one of the country’s foremost acoustic music duos.

Nagata Shachu, April 17. Using a vast array of Japanese taiko, gongs, bells, wooden clappers, shakers and bamboo flutes, Nagata Shachu aims to rejuvenate and redefine the ancient art of Japanese folk drumming.

Tickets for Joan Belgrave are $27 in advance, $30 at the door and $24 for museum members plus fees. Tickets for this show and all others in the series may be purchased by calling the Museum box office at 231-995-1553 or online at dennosmuseum.org or mynorth.com.