Authors team up for sharp look at history and future of DC jazz scene

You probably know that Duke Ellington was a Washington native. But would the iconic jazzman be the best cover subject for a book about local jazz? The new book Washington, DC, Jazz, by Regennia N. Williams and the Rev. Sandra Butler-Truesdale, has a photo of saxophonists Ron Holloway and the late Buck Hill on its cover, and that choice makes it clear, in a way that Ellington wouldn’t, that this book tells a local story — as well as, in the words of Williams, “an American story.”

The book is part of the Images of America series published by Arcadia books, whose sepia-toned covers are immediately recognizable in your local bookstore. (Disclosure: I am the co-author of an Arcadia book on Washington area movie theaters.) Much as music unites people from all walks of life, the book project brought together two authors originally from different cities.

Williams, an Ohio native, left a tenured position at Cleveland State University in 2015 and moved to the Washington area the following year to begin her study of the Duke Ellington papers at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Her research was meant to lead to an article in an academic journal — or so she thought. “That’s a limited audience,” Williams says. “Ellington belongs to the ages — millions of people love him! And they would appreciate an Arcadia book.“

Williams explains that she “was so stuck on Duke Ellington when I started this project” that she’d never heard of much-loved DC singer Eva Cassidy, who died in 1996. So a colleague at the University of the District of Columbia put her in touch with Butler-Truesdale. A true historian with a head for dates, Williams can tell you the precise day they met: Dec. 7, 2016 — the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Despite that infamous date, a partnership was formed, with Butler-Truesdale helping to carry the project into the living tradition of jazz.

A Washington native and a former school board member, Butler-Truesdale has been involved in the regional music scene for more than half a century. She currently hosts the radio program Don’t Forget the Blues on WPFW-FM and is chair of DC Legendary Musicians, a service organization that provides support to local artists who need a hand. “I’ve seen the destruction of musicians through drugs and injuries,” she says, which inspired her to form the organization. She can tell you stories that suggest a whole series of books about local musicians, like the time she spent singing in a choir with Marvin Gaye at Cardozo High School, or the period she spent on the road with James Brown — as his hairdresser.

Butler-Truesdale introduced Williams to Holloway — one of the saxophonists in the book’s cover photo — and took her to the funeral of tenor sax legend Buck Hill. When she and Williams joined forces, Butler-Truesdale was hoping to work on a book about Gregory Gaskins, a Washington native who played guitar for Elvis Presley and the Manhattans. Butler-Truesdale says she convinced Williams to go beyond Ellington to feature such local musicians as Ron Holloway, who along with the late saxophonist Carter Jefferson played in the R&B group El Corols, known for the 1968 hit “Chick Chick.”

Like DC Jazz: Stories of Jazz Music in Washington, DC,  a 2018 book by multiple authors, Washington DC, Jazz is history as teamwork. Williams and Butler-Truesdale similarly put the music in the context of civil rights in DC and begin with such early music legends as Ellington and James Reese Europe. The authors also make a point of demonstrating the importance of women musicians in local jazz.

Within the photo-heavy Arcadia format, the authors have put together an eminently browsable book that will keep readers checking YouTube and Spotify — or perhaps their own record collection. Each chapter includes vintage photos mixed with portraits of younger musicians working in the DC area, and only the most dedicated local jazz fans will be familiar with all of them. But as Williams admitted to me, some of the musicians included have a somewhat tenuous connection to the city — for instance, Alton, Ill.-born Miles Davis, featured in a photo that appeared in The Washington Star in 1978, or longtime Ellington collaborator Billy Strayhorn, who was from Pittsburgh.

Still, there’s plenty to discover right here at home and in the present day. Butler-Truesdale named a few local musicians she thinks deserve to be better known, like drummer Nasar Abadey, whom she describes as “such a spiritual and fine gentleman,” and pianist Mark G. Meadows, currently starring in the musical Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Arlington’s Signature Theatre.

The future of jazz is bright in DC, and the book ends with a pair of young musicians, both 15 years old — guitarist Je’Lan Harwell, who attends Gwynn Park High School in Brandywine, Md., and singer Nia Elaine Marie Alsop, a student at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Washington, DC, Jazz is a welcome companion to DC Jazz: Stories of Jazz Music in Washington, DC, and as in the music community, each plays its part in a rich, living history.

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The Rev. Sandra Butler-Truesdale will sign copies of her book in a program organized by DC Legendary Musicians on Thursday, Feb. 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Fish & Richardson law firm, 1000 Maine Ave. SW.

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Washington, DC, Jazz by Regennia N. Williams and the Rev. Sandra Butler-Truesdale was released by Feb. 11 by Arcadia Publishing as part of its Images of America series. A 128-page paperback edition with 192 black-and-white photos is available for $21.99 at the Arcadia website, through online book retailers and at area bookstores.

This post has been updated to clarify that Regennia N. Williams left Cleveland State University in 2015 and moved to the Washington area the next year, and that the Rev. Sandra Butler-Truesdale introduced her to saxophonist Ron Holloway, not DJ Rusty Hassan.