Eubie Blake Will Recieve Final Tribute at his unmarked Gravesite

Eubie Blake Will Recieve Final Tribute at his unmarked Gravesite

(PRWEB) January 19, 2004 --While working on a research project at Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, genealogists, Julius and Joysetta Pearse, discovered that the ashes of the great African American composer, James Hubert Eubie" Blake, were buried in there, in an unmarked grave. The Pearses were appalled, and from that moment were committed to the Eubie Blake Memorial project.

At the next meeting of the African Atlantic Genealogical Society (AAGS), the group voted to afford this great man of music an appropriate memorial. They began by obtaining the cemetery record that confirmed the burial of Eubie Blake at that site. It was then necessary to conduct a genealogical search to determine if he had any descendants whose permission would be required before cemetery administrators would allow placement of a memorial. The research concluded that he had no natural children with his first wife, Avis Lee, nor with his second wife, Marion Thomas Gant.

The marker chosen for Eubie is a work of art by sculptor, David Byer-Tyre. It will be unveiled at a brief ceremony at Cypress Hills Cemetery, 833 Jamaica Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, at 10:00 a.m., on February 7, 2004 (the 117th anniversary of Eubies birth). The administrator at Cypress Hills Cemetery has agreed to name the intersection near the gravesite Eubie Blake Corner". A street sign bearing the name will also be unveiled on February 7th.

After the unveiling, at 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m,. a Jazz Brunch will be held at the African American Museum of Nassau County. The museum, located at 110 North Franklin Street, Hempstead, NY has Eubie Blakes grand piano on permanent exhibit.

Outreach was made to individuals and organizations that were affiliated with Mr. Blake. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) has sponsored the cost of the memorial marker. Musicians Union -- Local 802, the Friends of the African American Museum of Nassau County, Inc. and the law firm, Randazzo and Giffords, PC are also sponsors of the project. Ms. Camay Murphy, director of the Eubie Blake National Jazz and Cultural Center, in Baltimore, arranged for the director of the Cab Calloway Orchestra (Cabs grandson) Calloway Brooks, to represent her organization at the brunch. He has also agreed to perform. Terry Waldo, (whose one-man show Eubie and Me" reflects upon his relationship as a protégé of Mr. Blakes), is on the program. Chuk Fowler and affiliates of the stage production Eubie": Julia Boyd, Danny Holgate, Bernard J. Marsh, Leslie Dockery, Napoleon Revels-Bey and Lynn Clifton Allen will also participate in honoring this icon of American music. Proceeds from this project will be donated to the Eubie Blake National Jazz and Cultural Center scholarship program.

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