2015 Concert of Colors: Jazz and blues artists pay tribute to Marcus Belgrave

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2015 Concert of Colors: Jazz and blues artists pay tribute to Marcus Belgrave

Detroit jazz master and world renowned trumpeter Marcus Belgrave busily planned a headline show for this year's Concert of Colors until his unexpected death this past May.

Concert of Colors quickly fielded a replacement to headline the festival's Saturday evening bill, but Belgrave's spirit apparently had other plans for organizers as the State Department failed to get the necessary paperwork for the replacement act to make it to Detroit in time for the show.

Belgrave's family and friends rallied together to work with concert organizers to make sure that the show did, indeed, go on. Concert goers enjoyed a program the featured some the music Belgrave loved and spotlighted the musical legacy he left behind after 45 years of performing and mentoring the generations following him on the Detroit music scene.

Even as he met health challenges in recent years while dealing with pulmonary and heart disease, Belgrave still practiced his trumpet daily as he planned his return to the Concert of Colors stage this year.

Detroit bassist Marion Hayden served as the curator for the evening's tribute, which starred Belgrave's wife and vocalist Joan Belgrave, as well as musicians who worked with, and learned from, the jazz master.