Overture to Overtown Festival at the Betsy celebrates South Florida’s jazz legacy

“What do you know about jazz ?” Grammy nominated spoken word artist and poet Rebecca “ Butterfly” Vaughns knows plenty. A native Miamian, she heard many stories about jazz and the entertainers who frequented her father’s barber shop on Northwest Seventh Street and Second Avenue in Overtown.

Butterfly’s father, Nathaniel Vaughns,“Nat, the barber,” was known as “the barber to the stars.” He cut, groomed and styled hair of a certain generation. The conk hairstyle, popularized by Cab Calloway, was a favorite of Nat “King” Cole, Billy Eckstine, Little Richard, James Brown, Sammy Davis, Jr., and several local residents.

During the days of Jim Crow, Black entertainers hired to play at hotels on Miami Beach were not allowed to eat or sleep where they entertained because of the color of their skin. This was the era when restrictive social practices and racial segregation laws limited Black people in every phase of life.

As a result of the restrictions, after finishing their performances, Black entertainers headed back across the railroad tracks to Overtown’s hotels to sleep and eat. Upon arrival in the early morning hours, residents and tourists were waiting with requests for a performance or two. The entertainers did not disappoint, and the jazz sessions continued until daybreak.

From the 1940s to the mid 1960s, musicians including Duke Ellington, Nat “King” Cole, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Josephine Baker and Count Basie were among those who entertained in Overtown night clubs located mostly on Northwest Second Avenue between Sixth and 11th streets. It was known as “the strip.”

Some called the strip “Little Broadway” because of its version of New York City’s nightlife including flashing neon signs and 24/7 activities of residents as well as Black and white tourists.

Personally, I thought of it as “the Harlem of the South,” a winter retreat for Harlem Renaissance artists as well as Black entertainers, scholars and sports legends. In the afternoon, they could be seen walking to restaurants, beauty and barber shops, and retail stores in Overtown.

By request, they performed in churches and schools. While in elementary school I was an eyewitness to Langston Hughes reading poetry at Mount Zion Baptist Church. Nat “King” Cole and others I read about in Ebony and Jet magazines, The Pittsburgh Courier and The Miami Times newspapers visited our neighborhood schools: Dunbar Elementary, Douglass Elementary, Phillis Wheatley Elementary and Booker T. Washington Junior and Senior High.

Hotel honors South Florida’s jazz legacy

Fast-forward to 2020, over a half century later, “Butterfly” Vaughns performed in a video about the history of Overtown recorded live at The Betsy Hotel on Miami Beach. Since The (New) Betsy Ross opened its doors in 2009, the hotel has been committed to jazz performances as an essential part of its arts and culture program. Two years later, The Betsy’s Overture to Overtown Festival was established.

Deborah Plutzik Briggs, the Festival’s founding producer, curator of Live Jazz at the Betsy and The Betsy’s Writers Room, is the hotel’s principal community engagement officer. Her family owns and operates The Betsy Hotel. In an email, Briggs wrote, “Many people know the ‘macro’ story of the historic American jazz circuit and the challenges so many musicians across the USA overcame to practice their art. Yet because we live in South Florida, we felt it was important to champion the particular struggles of artists and residents in Overtown, who gave so much (to the world), yet (in the end) ended up with so little (back at home). And so we initiated a project (the Overture to Overtown Festival) to honor that story — and legacy that grew out of it.”

This year, 2022, there were performances inside the Betsy on Miami Beach on the Drive Promenade, between 14th street and 14th Place. The festival culminates April 30 (International Jazz Day) with a solo performance by legacy jazz pianist Danny Mixon followed by the Aaron Burnett Trio. An encore outdoor concert featuring the Danny Mixon Trio follows on May 1.

Danny Mixon, known worldwide as a jazz piano virtuoso, has worked with legendary performers including Lionel Hampton, Joe Williams, Frank Foster and many others familiar to jazz enthusiasts. Mixon’s music provides a living link between Overtown and Harlem.

Carole Ann Taylor in the spotlight

Another link between Harlem and Overtown is Miami jazz singer Carole Ann Taylor. As a young vocalist she “got her feet wet” in Harlem with great legacy artists such as Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. A Miami resident for several decades, she is also a consummate business and civic leader.

For the past two years, Taylor has collaborated and co-produced the festival with Briggs. The principal Florida International University partner for the second year is Miami Beach Urban Studios (MBUS), led by Dr. John Stuart. FIU’s Dr. Valerie Patterson, director of African and African Diaspora Studies, provides guidance for community outreach programs. Rosie Gordon-Wallace, president and curator at the Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator, Inc. and art consultant to GMCVB, Art Of Black Miami, curates public art and community conversations.

Recorded lectures by Timothy A. Barber, executive director, historian, archivist and curator at The Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater, and FIU psychology professor emeritus and historian Dr. Marvin Dunn provided historical overviews for the developing program.

The 10th Annual Overture to Overtown Jazz Festival celebrates National Jazz Appreciation Month through May 1 on Miami Beach with over 40 live performances and curated outdoor exhibits. Located in the heart of the Art Deco District, The Betsy Hotel presents weekly live performances throughout the year. The annual festival and weekly performances add value to South Florida’s jazz legacy.

Dorothy Jenkins Fields, public historian and certified archivist, is the founder of The Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater Cultural Arts Complex. She can be reached at DJF@bellsouth.net

This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 12:00 AM.