Chief Bey
Encyclopedia
Chief Bey, born James Hawthorne Bey, (April 17, 1913 - April 8, 2004) was an American
jazz percussionist and Africa
n folklorist.
Born in Yamassee, South Carolina, he moved with his family to Brooklyn
and then to Harlem, where he began playing drums and singing in church choirs. In the 1950s, he performed in an international tour of Porgy and Bess
starring Leontyne Price
and Cab Calloway
. He also began a busy recording career performing on Herbie Mann
's At the Village Gate (1961), Art Blakey
's The African Beat (1962), as well as albums by Harry Belafonte
, Miriam Makeba
, Pharoah Sanders
and others. He took his stage name
after joining the Moorish Science Temple of America
, a Muslim
sect. He taught the shekere, a West African percussion instrument, at the Griot Institute at Intermediate School 246 in Brooklyn.
He died of stomach cancer
at the age of 90.
His widow, Barbara Kenyatta Bey (born Barbara Ann Coleman in Harlem on June 9, 1944), a priestess of the Yemaja
religion, collapsed at his funeral and died on April 17. April 17th would not only have been Bey's 91st birthday, but the couple's 31st wedding anniversary.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz percussionist and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n folklorist.
Born in Yamassee, South Carolina, he moved with his family to Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and then to Harlem, where he began playing drums and singing in church choirs. In the 1950s, he performed in an international tour of Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
starring Leontyne Price
Leontyne Price
Mary Violet Leontyne Price is an American soprano. Born and raised in the Deep South, she rose to international acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s, and was one of the first African Americans to become a leading artist at the Metropolitan Opera.One critic characterized Price's voice as "vibrant",...
and Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
. He also began a busy recording career performing on Herbie Mann
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
's At the Village Gate (1961), Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
's The African Beat (1962), as well as albums by Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
, Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba , nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award winning South African singer and civil rights activist....
, Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders
Pharoah Sanders is a Grammy Award–winning American jazz saxophonist.Saxophonist Ornette Coleman once described him as "probably the best tenor player in the world." Emerging from John Coltrane's groups of the mid-60s Sanders is known for his overblowing, harmonic, and multiphonic techniques on...
and others. He took his stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
after joining the Moorish Science Temple of America
Moorish Science Temple of America
The Moorish Science Temple of America is an American organization founded in the early 20th century by Timothy Drew. He claimed it was a sect of Islam but he also drew inspiration from Buddhism, Christianity, Freemasonry, Gnosticism and Taoism....
, a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
sect. He taught the shekere, a West African percussion instrument, at the Griot Institute at Intermediate School 246 in Brooklyn.
He died of stomach cancer
Stomach cancer
Gastric cancer, commonly referred to as stomach cancer, can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus, lungs, lymph nodes, and the liver...
at the age of 90.
His widow, Barbara Kenyatta Bey (born Barbara Ann Coleman in Harlem on June 9, 1944), a priestess of the Yemaja
Yemaja
Yemanja is an orisha, originally of the Yoruba religion, who has become prominent in many Afro-American religions. Africans from what is now called Yorubaland brought Yemaya/Yemoja and a host of other deities/energy forces in nature with them when they were brought to the shores of the Americas as...
religion, collapsed at his funeral and died on April 17. April 17th would not only have been Bey's 91st birthday, but the couple's 31st wedding anniversary.
External links
- Obituary, New York Times