As the still-blazing mid-August sun ebbed into twilight last Saturday in downtown Cambridge, muggy air added a sultry ambience. The scene was perfectly set for the stellar musical stylings of vocalist Hazel Mitchell-Bell and the Vince Evans ensemble against the backdrop of Michael Rosato’s larger than life “Take My Hand” mural.
The stirring open-air performance, billed as “Jazz at the Mural”, the fifth in a monthly series launched last April by Program Director Linda Harris at the now iconic landmark facing Cannery Way at the Harriet Tubman Museum and Education Center, 424 Race Street, drew the largest crowd to date.
Mitchell-Bell and musical director/pianist Evans, headliners at DC jazz venues Westminster and the Old City Winery, as well as the Kennedy Center and jazz festivals near and far, appeared through the auspices of the Phillips Agency’s Jazz Beyond Borders in conjunction with the Tubman Museum.
Evans opened the night’s set with Duke Ellington’s “Take the A Train.” Accompanied by trumpeter Kenny Rittenhouse, drummer J.C. Jefferson, Jr., and bassist Herman Burney, Evans brings a wealth of experience as musician, producer, and educator working with Al Jarreau, George Benson, Luther Vandross, Phyllis Hyman, and Prince. (Rittenhouse, Jefferson, Jr., and Burney are each steeped in skills honed playing alongside a pantheon of jazz greats, as well.)
Mitchell-Bell opened with the 1966 Sarah Vaughn composition “Four Women,” offering a tribute to Tubman and the ongoing struggles endured by generations of African American women, which appeared on the first of two CDs created in partnership with Evans, “Stronger Than Ever” (2018) and “Sack Full of Dreams” (2021). She described the venue’s unique experience as “spiritual.”
She primarily draws musical inspiration from her personal “A Team” of favorites including Nancy Wilson and Dinah Washington. But Mitchell-Bell’s musical playbook spans R & B, bossa nova, blues, show tunes, and Great American Songbook classics. In crafting her unique take on Willow Weep for Me, I Can’t Make You Love Me, I Wish You Love, One Note Samba, This Bitter Earth, and others, she always begins by paying homage to the original rendition before refining through her own vocal interpretation. She also tries to select less well known songs from some artists’ repertoires, such as Curtis Mayfield’s tribute to motherhood reflections, The Makings of You. Overall, George W. Harris of Jazz Weekly described her style as “classy and uptown soft swing and soul.”
It was at Westminster that Mural Event guru Harris first met kindred spirit Mitchell-Bell, who, like her was embarking on a long-awaited next chapter in an eventful life; this time, rooted in and flowing from a love of music.
Born in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, Harris had traveled extensively as part of a military family before enrolling in The University of Maryland. Her dad was a singer/songwriter guitarist performing in Tops in Blues during his military service. He transmitted his love of jazz to his six children, hoping they might also perform. When he passed in 2012, Harris promised in her eulogy to fulfill his dream.
With a successful career as real estate broker, investor, and consultant, from 1987 to 2019 Harris owned Carson Properties (today her son Jason is at the helm.) Shortly before retiring, Harris spent several weeks delightfully delving into jazz workshops (notably with the New York Jazz Academy.) The experience provided a springboard to writing, recording, and performing, and her aptly titled podcast, “My New Jazzy Life,” chronicled her creative deep dive.
Primed to finally embark on concert and study trips to Japan and Uganda, the Covid lockdown instead presented her with a period of prolonged and pivotal self-examination. At the same time, George Floyd’s brutal murder and the widespread civil rest following brought home to her the need for a fresh focus on the meaning of freedom. A book on Harriet Tubman, given to her by her father when she was young, beckoned to her and brought forth answers which have resonated for her and others she’s inspired to #findtheHarrietinyou.
In Fall of 2020 Harris led a group of mainly novice female hikers walking “in the footsteps” of Tubman from Cambridge to Kennett Square, Pa. (A second trip is planned for this October.) She’s taken part in additional distance treks to retrace the historical steps of Tubman and other freedom fighting pioneers around the country, and has added her voice in encouraging others to physically explore the history lurking in their own backyards.
“My dad was not an educator, he simply believed we should know our history. He used to say, ‘none of us are free until all of us are free.’ And we can’t know what freedom is supposed to feel like in a civil society until we explore our history. To me, Harriet Tubman embodied a quest for freedom in its purest form,” Harris recalled.
Seeking to draw others into the Tubman site, she developed the idea of a monthly performance/event at the Mural, starting with musicians she’d developed relationships with. Mitchell-Bell was among those answering the call.
Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina to a musical family, she grew up in the NW Capitol Hill area of DC, recalling how H Street burned down after Dr. King’s 1968 assassination. But other early memories were happier ones, including pretending as a child to be a singer, using a soda bottle for a microphone.
After long careers with the federal government and in professional modeling, she lost her daughter in 2009 and her husband in 2011. She then devoted her energy to raising her granddaughter all the way through to attending Virginia State University.
At the prompting of friends, and the long-deferred urging of her heart, Mitchell-Bell gradually got back to her first love of singing. A musician friend introduced her to Vince Evans who accompanied her performances. After an initial concert, she nervously asked Evans for a critique. He replied that the audience had provided it, with a standing ovation, and request for CDs.
Reflecting on her journey back to music, Mitchell-Bell credits a strong faith in God and a belief that there’s an original blueprint laid out in each of our lives. Life’s distractions can postpone our mission but following what you love will eventually lead you back, she noted, no matter what age or stage of life.
“When you retire, you’re not destined to sit in a rocking chair for the rest of your life. The possibilities are endless, and the journey continues. The universe is ours,” she added.
These programs are free to the public with suggested donations of $20 to support ongoing future Tubman Center educational programming and outreach endeavors. For more information call 410-228-0401.
Upcoming mural events include:
– September 11, vocalist Reggie Upshaw and the Terry Koger Quintet during a weekend celebrating the third Day of Resilience in Cambridge.
– October 9, Saxophonist Paul Carr and friends will appear following a lantern making workshop.
– November and December, African American Quilts Guild from Texas joins the Tubman Museum and Dorchester Arts Center with artisan crafted jazz themed quilts.
Paula Phillips says
This story is fantastic. How did you learn so much in so short a time? Thank you!