Good evening, everyone:

Because we all have watched pretty much every streaming show now available on Hulu, Netflix, and Gabbahorma (a new one you all may not have seen) . . . . and because Paramount, Netflix, and Warner Brothers are about to go to hostile-takeover-war . . . . and because it would be terrific if we could find something to stream over the holiday that actually bears on our work at Kresge . . . .

I thought you’d like to know that “Best of the Best: Jazz from Detroit,” a ninety-minute film chronicling the origins, evolution, and future of jazz in Detroit, is now streaming on Prime Video.

The film is a wondrous explanation of why it isn’t possible to understand or tell the story of jazz without understanding and telling the story of Detroit. The film – which Kresge took the lead in underwriting – is the brainchild of Mark Stryker, a former Free Press arts and cultural reporter and the author of the definitive work on jazz in Detroit: Jazz from Detroit (2019).

Our connection to the film goes beyond helping with its underwriting. Beginning with his tenure at the Free Press, Mark has long been one of the most important chroniclers of arts and culture in Detroit. And for even longer than that, he has been one of the most ardent champions of the city’s jazz traditions.

I remember vividly more than a decade ago Mark visiting me to make a pitch for Kresge to find a way to preserve and strengthen Detroit’s endangered jazz clubs. We tried every which way, but just couldn’t figure out how to do that.

But it isn’t in Mark’s character to take a “no” for an answer. He simply redirected his energies.

He applied for and received a Kresge Artist Fellows grant, which enabled him to finish his monumental, endlessly fascinating Jazz From Detroit.

And then, probably still stinging from my failure of imagination about jazz clubs, Mark decided that his book could readily be translated into a film. So, he made another trip to Kresge. This time, it was clear that we could help . . . should help . . . would help. We joined with the Erb Foundation – a great supporter of jazz – and others to underwrite Best of the Best.

It has always been Mark’s – and our – hope that the film would be picked up for widespread public distribution. Mark worked heroically to get the film placed in festivals throughout the country. And voila, here it is on our very own Smart TV’s.

I find that so very exciting. The world needs to understand the greatness and genius of jazz from Detroit that lifted the national scene – indeed, lifted the entire world jazz scene – beginning largely in the 1950’s. And the world also needs to know about the remarkable act of cultural self-determination that characterized the Detroit jazz scene in the 1970’s and beyond with almost no institutional support.

Marcus Belgrave

When Detroit boomed, jazz musicians from Detroit boomed even louder. But when the city economy faltered, when legacies of racism and disinvestment left it unmoored, Detroit jazz musicians refused to be quieted . . . refused to pick up and move somewhere else . . . refused to turn their back on their legacy.

Wendell Harrison

Instead, Detroit jazz musicians extended their hands . . . their wisdom . . . their craft . . . and their hearts to successive generations. Indeed, that commitment to passing the torch is what Kresge Eminent Artist and playwright Bill Harris called “the Detroit Way.” The film casts in bright relief just how powerful that Detroit Way has been, and continues to be, in building a richer . . . prouder . . . more soulful Detroit.

So, I hope you can find a moment to tune in. And our thanks to Mark for his imagination, his tenacity, and his skill in telling a remarkable story.

Rip

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