Archibald Alexander "Archie" Alleyne (January 7, 1933 – June 8, 2015) was a Canadian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

drummer, and advocate for Black musicians and Black rights."Archie Alleyne, renowned Toronto jazz drummer, dead at 82"

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, June 8, 2015. Best known as a drummer for influential jazz musicians such as

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first ...

and

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor Saxophone, saxophonist. He performed in the United States and Europe and made many recordings with Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, a ...

, he was also prominent as a recording artist on his own and with Canadian jazz musicians such as Oliver Jones, Cy McLean and Brian Browne."RIP Archie Alleyne"
''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'', June 9, 2015. He is also known for fighting against systemic racism and discrimination throughout his career and breaking colour barriers throughout the 1940s having appeared in previously "whites only" music clubs in Toronto such as the

Town Tavern The Town Tavern was a jazz club in Toronto, Ontario that operated from 1949 to 1971. The club was one of the city's preeminent jazz venues and a regular performance venue for pianist Oscar Peterson. History The Town Tavern was located in the McD ...

in the 1940s.

Personal life and career

Born and raised in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Alleyne grew up in

Kensington Market Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's best-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada, ...

which was home to many Jewish families and the city's small Black community. His father worked as a railroad porter with the

Pullman Company The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

and his grandmother was a domestic worker. Realizing he did not want to follow his father's footsteps, Alleyne set out to follow his passion of music and his first engagement was as a drummer at a church on the corner of Bathurst and College. He then started to play with talented white, jazz musicians such as Bill Goddard and Dave Hammer and eventually was introduced to several jazz clubs by Jack McQuade, the co-owner of Canada's largest music store, Long & McQuade. Between gigs, Alleyne would practice at the St. Christopher House and the

Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) is a black nationalist fraternal organization founded by Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican immigrant to the United States, and his then-wife Amy Ashwood Garvey. ...

hall. Over time his reputation grew and Alleyne eventually became the house drummer at the

jazz club between 1955 and 1966. He would also play at the

Colonial Tavern The Colonial Tavern was one of the most famous jazz venues in Canada from the 1950s till its closure in the late 1970s. It was located at 201–203 Yonge Street in Toronto, Ontario (now an open lot between 197 Yonge Street and 205 Yonge Street) w ...

which was the first Black-owned club in Toronto. He became the drummer of choice for many visiting artists such as

, and

. He became an international artist, touring countries across Africa and the Caribbean. Following a serious car accident in 1967, Alleyne stepped away from music for a number of years, becoming a partner with Dave Mann,

John Henry Jackson John Henry Jackson (1938 - December 11, 2018) was an American-Canadian football player and restaurateur.Morgan Campbell"John Henry Jackson was a quarterback, restaurateur and pioneer" ''Toronto Star'', December 13, 2018. Football career Born in ...

and Howard Matthews in The Underground Railroad, a

soul food Soul food is the ethnic cuisine of African Americans. Originating in the Southern United States, American South from the cuisines of Slavery in the United States, enslaved Africans transported from Africa through the Atlantic slave trade, sou ...

restaurant and first of its kind in Toronto. After being bought out of the restaurant in 1981, he returned to music in the early 1980s with Oliver Jones' band. During this time he also became an activist whose accomplishment include successfully protesting the exclusion of jazz artists from the

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's funding opportunities and ensuring the representation of Black musicians at the

Toronto Jazz Festival The Toronto Jazz Festival is a jazz event in Toronto which takes place for 10 days in late June through early July. Like the Beaches International Jazz Festival, most of the events are outdoors and located throughout the downtown core. The hub of th ...

. In 2000, Archie Alleyne and Doug Richardson created the hard-bop jazz band, Kollage. Kollage’s original lineup included Jeff King (saxophone), Chris Butcher (trombone), Alex Brown (trumpet), Stacie McGregor (piano), Artie Roth (bass) and Archie Alleyne (drums). Kollage disbanded in 2014 but reformed in 2015 with Isaiah Gibbons, as the percussionist. In 2001, Alleyne provided mentorship and performance opportunities for young African-Canadians when he created the Evolution of Jazz Ensemble. He also established the Archie Alleyne Scholarship Fund to provide

bursaries A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awar ...

to music students in 2003, and co-authored ''Colour Me Jazz: The Archie Alleyne Story'', an autobiography which was published a few months after his death."Colour Me Jazz: The Archie Alleyne Story launch, reading"

CJRT-FM CJRT-FM (91.1 MHz) is a Canadian public radio station and charitable arts organization in Toronto, Ontario, known as ''JAZZ.FM91''. The studios are on Pardee Avenue in the Liberty Village neighbourhood of Toronto. The station describes itself a ...

, October 28, 2015.

Awards

* 2011, Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

* 2011, Toronto Musicians’ Association Lifetime Achievement Award * 2015, Black Business and Professional Association's

Harry Jerome Awards The Harry Jerome Award is a Canadian award given to Black Canadians, established in 1983. The award is named after Harry Jerome and organized by the Black Business and Professional Association. Description The award is organized by the Black ...

, Lifetime Achievement Award

References

External links

Archie Alleyne archives
are held at the

Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections Clara may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Clara'' (2018 film), a Canadian sci-fi drama * ''Clara'' (2019 film), a Ukrainian animated fantasy film * ''Clara'' (TV series), a German TV series * Clara the Cow, mascot of the Greek TV show '' P ...

York University Libraries York University Libraries (YUL) is the library system of York University in Toronto, Ontario. The four main libraries and one archives contain more than 2,500,000 volumes. History The first York library opened in 1961 at Glendon College and ...

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Archive Alleyne Scholarship Fund
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alleyne, Archie 1933 births 2015 deaths Black Canadian non-fiction writers Businesspeople from Toronto Canadian autobiographers Canadian jazz drummers Canadian male drummers Canadian people of Nigerian descent Canadian restaurateurs Canadian male jazz musicians Members of the Order of Canada Musicians from Toronto Writers from Toronto 20th-century Canadian drummers 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Black Canadian musicians