The subjects interviewed for Underground Rhode Island were selected, among many possibilities, for several reasons. The eldest were likely to have been part or the "hip" scene around jazz and the Celebrity Club of the 1950s. More than a few had a connection with AS220 and its circle, at some time in the past. And the youngest members have been active in the Rhode Island arts scene, in one way or another, during the last twenty years or so. Not all are either "lost" or "unknown"; some of them have long been prominent. And yet they represent a self-consciously offbeat take on the mainstream culture of Middle America. They are "underground" even when "overground," part of a world more recognizable to Allen Ginsberg (or Bruce Springsteen) than the people in the White House or Wall Street. And they were intriguing to the students who chose to interview them.
You may expect to find a photo--not necessarily from the recent past--a short biography, a recording of the subject's own voice, a verbatim transcript of the interview, and links to related materials. Not all these are present for each interview--some are still being gathered (or recovered)--but they definitely represent a sense of a life and creative work within that life.
The son of Ray Belaire, a swing band leader and owner of the Arcadia Ballroom, Duke Belaire has been a professional musician and card-carrying member of the union since the age of sixteen. Among other local clubs, he played drums at the Celebrity Club, the first integrated club in Providence. The club, located in the predominantly black neighborhood of Randall Square, quickly became one of the most famous jazz clubs on the East coast during its existence from 1949 to 1960. Belaire continues playing with his Duke Belaire Big Band at a wide variety of gigs.
© 2005