“Through these portals pass the world’s finest musicians” read the sign above Henri’s bar on Indiana Avenue. A Who’s Who of jazz history walked under that sign, including music legends like Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan, Billy Eckstine, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Cab Calloway, Louis Jourdan, Illinois Jacquet, Lionel Hampton and Miles Davis. Most often, these music luminaries would make their way over to The Avenue after entertaining the gentry of Indianapolis’ high society at A-list venues like the Circle Theater, the English Theater, and the Indiana Roof Ballroom. These nationally famous jazz acts most often appeared in “The Black Man’s Downtown” (as The Avenue was known) to jam with local legends on a tightly packed, slightly elevated stage that was smaller than a modern day walk-in closet.
Who did these stars come to see, rub elbows and perform with? Circle City legends like Wes Montgomery and his brothers Monk and Buddy, Erroll “Groundhog” Grandy, Killer Ray Appleton, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Coe, Slide Hampton, LeRoy Vinnegar, Pookie Johnson, David Baker, J.J. Johnson, and one of my personal music heroes, mandolin virtuoso Yank Rachell, to name but a few. These guys would gravitate to Henri’s after playing gigs at Indiana Avenue landmark clubs like the Cotton Club, The Missile Room, The Flame, The Galaxy Ballroom, Scotty’s, Jeff’s, The Place to Play, The Rainbow Tavern, and the Sunset. During the 1940s and 50s, there were no less than 20 jazz clubs on The Avenue.
Indiana Avenue, located just northwest of downtown near the White River, was the central business and entertainment district for African-Americans in Indianapolis. To be geographically correct, “The Street of Dreams” was specifically located in the 500 block of Indiana Ave. between North St., Central Canal, Michigan, and West streets. In its time, our city’s jazz district could rival, and was every bit as important, as Beale Street in Memphis, the French Quarter of New Orleans, Harlem in New York City, 12th and Vine in Kansas City and the Stroll in Chicago. Indiana Avenue was the place where established stars came to learn the hottest new riffs straight from the source. After all, if it could play in Naptown, it could play anywhere.
But “The Avenue” was not limited to “peeping” only music stars. On any given day you might see Madame C.J. Walker, America’s first female millionaire, or a young preacher named Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. eating lunch at Ike’s Real Chile Parlor or maybe even the greatest boxer of his era, Sugar Ray Robinson playing stickball with Crispus Attucks schoolkids near the 12th Street bridge. But make no mistake about it, Indiana Avenue was jazz.
What, you’ve never heard of it? Well, you have the opportunity this weekend to learn anything and everything your heart desires about jazz in Indianapolis from the man who wrote the book on it, literally. This Saturday (Feb. 15th) at 2 p.m., you can meet author David Leander Williams at Bookmamas bookstore (9 S. Johnson Avenue in Irvington). Mr. Williams will be signing and discussing his new book Indianapolis Jazz (The History Press) and you can meet him in person.
Williams, a longtime collector of memorabilia, historical artifacts and information about African-American history, specializes in the fields of slavery and music history and it shows in his writing. More importantly, he does not just talk the talk, he walks the walk when it comes to “The Avenue.” Williams grew up on The Avenue, attending and graduating from Crispus Attucks High School before going on to attain both his bachelor’s and masters degrees in lofty subjects that might intimidate most mortal men: African/Middle Eastern political history, Brazilian slave history, foreign languages, biology, medicine and music production. Not shaking yet? Well, his collegiate undergrad was Spanish and Portuguese literature which required David to be proficient in Arabic. Boom!
In Indianapolis Jazz, David Leander Williams charts the rise and fall of Indiana Avenue, a major stopover on America’s “Chitlin’ Circuit” where jazz musicians, great and small, earned their chops and made their bones with dreams of Tinseltown. Williams tells the story of jazz in the Circle City as artfully easy as W. C. Handy or Noble Sissle could ink out a two-beat. There ain’t no clams or clinkers in these pages, daddy-o.
Williams draws the reader into The Avenue within the first few pages by painting such a vivid depiction of the area’s proud residents, vibrant businesses and bootleg cabs that the reader can almost take a virtual tour in their mind. Reading this book, it is easy to imagine this defiant little neighborhood thumbing their noses at the injustices of Indianapolis segregation by perfecting what many believe to be the only true American musical art form: jazz. Through this book, the reader watches as the Avenue comes alive.
It becomes a living, breathing entity all its own on hot Hoosier summer nights in the days before air conditioning. Strolling up one side and then down the other, the music spills out through the open windows and propped open doors of Indiana Avenue clubs. In between the clubs sat restaurants, pool halls, barber shops, shoe shine stands, pharmacies, doctors’ and lawyers’ offices, apartments, houses and of course, the centerpiece of The Avenue, the Madame Walker Theatre. But wait, let David tell it, “Down this mesmerizing stretch of concrete and humanity, people could behold the sights, sounds, smells, music and people that gave Indiana Avenue its upbeat, creative character.”
Williams, a native of the Circle City born in 1931, makes the reader pine for the days when music was king on The Avenue. He blends the history of The Avenue beat into the history of the African-American community in a way that only a person who lived it could. “The historical events that occurred on Indiana Avenue during the past century were tightly intertwined with the entertainment industry in general and music in particular. In short, music was a metaphor for trials and tribulations that African-Americans encountered. Contained within the lyrics of songs of many genres were the stories that reflected the history of Indiana Avenue.” writes Williams.
“The stretch of concrete and asphalt that winds serpent-like from Tenth Street to the north to Capitol Avenue to the south has been one of the keystones of Indiana history and lifeblood of the African American community predating the Civil War,” Williams continues, “Since the days that the first former slaves tumbled into the city with barely shirts or dresses on their bodies or bread crumbs in their pockets in search of food and shelter, the definition of Indiana Avenue began to develop. Many of the slaves endured unspeakable cruelty and atrocities during slavery and were in search of an oasis of hope where they could quench their thirst for freedom.”
But that’s just the start of the journey. David Leander Williams introduces you to Indiana Avenue legends who performed for noted Hoosiers ranging from the famous (Hoagy Carmichael) to the infamous (John Dillinger). Williams traces the roots of The Avenue from its beginnings in Ragtime through the Civil Rights era to the ultimate demise of The Avenue hastened by the development of the interstate highway system in the 1970s.
But cool it, pops, you don’t have to flip your wig about the bringdown of the Indiana Avenue music scene. Come to Bookmamas this Saturday and rap awhile with Jazz master Williams about the spirit of the beat. Drop some Jazz Age slang on him by asking him which blower had the best balloon lungs? What joker was the craziest finger zinger? Which hepcat’s freaklip was out of this world? Who had the jumpinist licorice stick? And which skins player beat the wildest sticks? If anyone can answer those questions for you, David Leander Williams can. Take it from me, this book’s off the hook daddy-o.
Al Hunter is the author of the “Haunted Indianapolis” and co-author of the “Haunted Irvington” and “Indiana National Road” book series. Contact Al directly at Huntvault@aol.com or become a friend on facebook.
