At the top of the calendar is a photo (courtesy of The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church) of The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Choir,May 22,1918 Birmingham has produced more jazz musicians who have played with big name bands then any other city in the country relative to its size,Frank Adams,Al Killian,Dud Bascomb and Haywood Henry played with Duke Ellington. Amos Gordon and Shelton Hemphill were with Louis Armstrong. My brother Sammy Lowe played for Cab Calloway. Of course Erskine Hawkins is from here and he has his own band and many of the Birmingham musicians played with him at one time or another. The reason so many professional musicians came out of Birmingham is that Parker High School had a music teacher named John T"Fess" Whatley who knew how to work with bandsmen. Hewas very strict about his students reading music and playing exactly what was in the score. Before that time,many black musicians had simply played as they felt. Whatley's discipline prepared his students for the "Big Band" sound that became popular in the 1930's. With so many pieces the Big Bands had to have carefully scored music which meant that musicians had to be able to read music. When a guy from Birmingham asked for a job with a band,he had an advantage because they would say"Well if you studied under Fess Whatley,I'll take you because you can read music." When Whatley came to the Industrial School in 1917,it was the only public high school for blacks in B'ham. All the black students in the city went there. In the 1920's and 30's,music seemed like an exciting way to make a living for a young black person. Blacks were very limited in what they could do-teach preach or be a doctor if they had money. With music you could make a name for yourself and make money. And you were"playing" instead of worjking. Many of Whatley's students did make a living with their music,either as members of bands or as music teachers in schools. Almost all the bandsmasters at black schools in Birmingham are Whatley's students,or students of his students. But many people don't know about the jazz tradition here. Haywood Henry who has traveled all over the world with Duke Ellington,has said,"I'm better known in Siberia than in my own home town." J.L. Lowe Feb2nd 1887 The Baptist Church of Woodlawn is established an acre of land having been donated by Washington Wood Feb 4th 1933 Responding to decreased demand in the Depression,the local Barber's Union cuts the price of a haircut to 35 cents Feb 13th 1906 The Lord Byron Society agrees to purchase a church building on 19th Street for the Greek Orthodox community Feb 14th 1921 A committee of local citizens ask local editor Victor Hanson to try again to negotiate an end to the 2 year old coal strike Feb 15th 1879 The Pratt Coal and Coke Co. ships the first ton of coal from the rich Pratt seam northwest of Bham Feb 17th 1933"Smart Birmingham" society and music lovers assemble at Phillips High School for the first formal concert of the Birmingham Civic Orchestra Feb20th 1905 Explosion at Virginia City Coal Mine kills 111 men. Feb 27th 1900 The fifth and last Mardi Gras celebration in Bham ends Feb28th 1890 Richard Hawes convicted of murdering his wife and daughters and dumping their bodies in Lakeview and East Lake is hanged