Butt switching, finger-snapping music.Thats what Margaret Murphy-Webbs mother called secular music in their Seventh Day Adventist household.She joined Chicago police in 1994.She left the police force after suffering a knee injury while responding to a potential suicide call and after leaving the police force, became a full-time jazz singer and founded the South Side Jazz Coalition in 2015.Today, at 69, Margaret as Chicagos jazz cop, she brings free music to underserved communities through her South Side Jazz Coalition, proving that sometimes the paths were not supposed to take lead us exactly where we need to be.Your jazz journey began in your fathers record store, listening to Carmen McRae.
Tell us about those early moments.I was raised a Seventh-day Adventist, so we werent allowed to listen to secular music.But when I went to my dads shop, I listened to Carmen McRae and Cleo Lane over and over again.I just loved their voices.In my church, everything was about harmony, no gospel music.
So I had a really strong foundation in harmony.My ear was tuned to listen to the nuances in how people sing.For me, its always been jazz.
I realized my voice was suited to thatI never would have been Aretha Franklin because Im not a belter.I fell in love with what I could do.Do you believe that being in good health shapes longevity as a singer?Oh, absolutely.My mom was 88, walking two miles a day.
My dad lived to about 102.I tell people you have to stay healthy because seniors are living longer.You have to watch what you eat, exerciseyou dont want to end up in a nursing home.
I work out with a whole community of seniors.Theres one lady whos 78 and looks amazing.You dont have to be broken down.How did you balance being a Chicago police officer with your jazz career?They called me jazz cop.
Music is the great communicator that brings people together.I was a professional singer before I was police, so I brought that with me.I did concerts in the park, started giving piano lessons at a school on my beat that had no music program, had an after-school choir.
I used music as part of my ministry of being a police officer.I had a softer touch because I had music.On my beat on Sheridan and Broadwaythe largest homeless population in the citywhenever any of my homeless people would die, I would sing at the funeral.I had a softer touch, because I had music.What led you to found the South Side Jazz Coalition in 2015?Von Freeman had weekly Tuesday night jazz sessions, and when he got sick, he told me, Margaret, you have to keep this going.
After he died in 2012, I started sessions at the 50 Yard Line, but the owner said they werent making money.Thats when I started the South Side Jazz Coalition.When I moved to the South Side, the culture shock was real.No grocery stores, you had to drive to get fresh fruit.
I believe the arts should be equitable.Every community should have access to free artsmusic, dance, everything.Von used to say sometimes people dont have $10 to get into a club, but they want to hear music.
At our sessions, you can walk in free, and we have the $5 holler a complete meal for $5.Who are your greatest musical inspirations?Sherry Scott my she-ro.She was the original singer for Earth, Wind, and Fire before they decided they didnt want a female.When I was a young singer, she pulled me aside and said, You gotta have more than a pretty face and beautiful voice, you gotta entertain.
Tell people a story and bring your audience in.That was the best advice anybody ever gave me.My she-roes are Chicago women people dont even know: Paula Greer, Donna Swope, Charlotte Foster, Teddy Thomas.These amazing performers who still call me the baby and Im almost 70!What does aging with attitude mean to you?There is nothing you cant overcome.
Im a breast cancer survivor.You cant overcome anything without positive energy and the attitude that youre going to beat this.I live my life through moments.
I know this is a bad moment right here, but tomorrow, or even in an hour, this moment is going to be gone.I tell my grandkids: if its something you really want to do, grab for it.If you dont get it, grab for something else because it wasnt for you.Its always a lesson, never a mistake.Photo by Sara ShomanNaBeela Washington, an emerging Black writer, holds a Masters in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University and Bachelors in Visual Advertising from The University of Alabama at Birmingham.
She has been published in Eater, The Cincinnati Review, and others.Learn more at nabeelawashington.com
Publisher: Senior Planet ( Read More )
