Tuxedo Junction: Right Back Where I Belong

Dancing and relaxing was the major forté for what was then called the Tuxedo Junction Dance Hall. In the early part of the 20th Century the Nixon Building, as it is known today, was the “place to go” for the African American population in the western section of Birmingham, Alabama. It should also be recognized for one man who is little known to the population of Alabama and the U.S. His name was John T. “Fess” Whatley. He produced some of the greatest and most talented jazz musicians in the world. He has fan clubs in places as far as England and Switzerland, but is barely familiar in his own native state. The universal language of music, especially jazz, has been celebrated in places like New Orleans, St. Louis, and Chicago, but rarely in Birmingham. This book introduces one of the masters of jazz, a man who declined fame and remained a teacher, molding some of the best “Jazz and Swing” musicians of his era and their music lives on today. So move over you other “jazz capitals”. Those little enclaves of Ensley, Fairfield and Pratt City within the metro area of Birmingham, Alabama are about to show you their contributions. They are about to be put on the map.