Overtown Via South Beach

It’s ironic that the Overtown Music Project would choose to throw its Epic event at LIV at the Fontainebleau Hotel. Although great musical entertainers such as Count Basie, Etta James, and Billie Holiday were hired to play there and other swank oceanside clubs, it was illegal for African-Americans to stay...

By Jacob Katel

September 22, 2011

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It’s ironic that the Overtown Music Project would choose to throw its Epic event at LIV at the Fontainebleau Hotel. Although great musical entertainers such as Count Basie, Etta James, and Billie Holiday were hired to play there and other swank oceanside clubs, it was illegal for African-Americans to stay at any hotel in Miami Beach. They would play subdued sets for staid, white, moneyed audiences and then cross the bridge to play raucous, all-night affairs for mixed crowds at juke joints in Overtown, then known as Little Broadway in the Harlem of the South. This Saturday’s showcase will pay tribute to that era with live music by international jazz legend Melton Mustafa’s 18-piece big-band orchestra mashed up with hip-hop sounds. Hip-hop veteran Monie Love will serve as mistress of ceremonies, and historical images of Overtown will stream on giant screens.
Sat., Oct. 1, 7 p.m., 2011

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