Today we’d like to introduce you to Margaret Murphy-Webb.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Margaret. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a retired Chicago Police Officer and a Professional Musician/Vocalist. I decided three years ago to start a non-profit organization that will bring free live jazz performances and music education to under-served areas of the south side. I was trained in jazz by Dr. Earl Lavon Freeman, a legendary tenor sax man who decided to stay in Chicago and sponsor free weekly jam sessions so singers and musicians could come together and nurture their love of music. I decided to continue the legacy of “Von” and the South Side Jazz Coalition was born. To date, we have produced several large-scale shows featuring the best in Chicago jazz. Orbert Davis and the Jazz Philharmonic performed “DuSable to Obama” produced by the South Side Jazz Coalition at the historic South Shore Cultural Center. At DuSable Museum of African American History, the “SSJC” produced “Gone But Not Forgotten” which highlighted the great jazz venues which were located on the south side from 1940 to 1980. Once a month, the SSJC sponsors a free jazz jam, inviting musicians and vocalists from all over the city to come and jam in honor of Von Freeman. The SSJC also annually recognizes south side advocates of education and music legends with a program entitled “A Jazzy Evening in Red”. Every year, four south side icons are presented with awards and serenaded by an up and coming young jazz artist. Also, this year I was recognized as Chicago’s Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalists of America for my work in producing live music programs. The icing on the cake, as a vocalist, I had the pleasure of performing with my husband Chuck Webb at the 2018 Chicago Jazz Festival.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road is still very rough. We have had a problem with grants and funding to keep our programs going because no one knew who we were. I am pretty well known in the city because I have been singing professionally for over thirty years, but the SSJC was and still is fairly new.
Our organization really wants to go to school with music education, but no funding has come our way. But, since my award from the JJOA, I have received some recognition and with recognition comes funding. I expect 2019 to be a good year for the SSJC as we expand our programs and find more partners. A grant writer has contacted me as well as a social media expert to help bring light to our goals. I am learning to work with city politicians hoping for partnerships.
We’d love to hear more about the organization.
We are a non-profit whose main goal is to bring back and sustain jazz music on the south side. I don’t believe there is another non-profit who has the same mission as the SSJC which makes us unique. What we do, we do for the love of the music, we desire to keep the legacy of jazz and make sure the history of jazz is passed down to younger generations. Jazz is sometimes called “American Classical Music”. It is a style that is uniquely American, music that reflects the diversity we love so much in this country.
I am proud that with little or no money, we have survived and we are becoming a household name on the south side. Our FREE Tuesday jazz jam started with 25 to 50 people. Now, every month we have over 200 guests. The words are spreading.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I believe Chicago is the ideal place for south side jazz! New York, New Orleans, and Chicago were the hot spots for jazz in the 40s until the 70s. There were jazz clubs from 35th street to 79th street, with live performances from national acts nightly.
Jazz still lives on the south side, though there are no clubs dedicated to that music genre. That will soon change.
In Chicago, a young jazz musician will be in the best hands learning the genre here. There are many organizations, The Jazz Institute of Chicago, The Merit School of Music for example who have bragging rights on young nationally known musicians who cut their teeth in Chicago. The city can always put more funding into public schools, bring back band and instruments into elementary schools. I learned how to play and read music from 2nd to 8th grade in band. FREE. An instrument in a child’s hand will keep a gun out of it.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9156 South Essex Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60617
- Website: www.southsidejazzcoalition.com
- Email: southsidejazzcoalition@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSouthSideJazzCoalition/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SSJCCHICAGO
- Other: www.margaretcmurphy.com
Image Credit:
Margaret Murphy-Webb, Crystal Dorsey
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