DETROIT (AP) - Late jazz trumpeting great Marcus Belgrave has been honored with a downtown Detroit street ceremonially renamed in his honor.
Belgrave’s name graces John R where it meets Madison Avenue, which takes the name “Aretha Franklin Way.” Belgrave, who died in 2015, played with Franklin in the early days.
The “Marcus Belgrave Avenue” sign was unveiled Thursday before the launch of the Detroit Jazz Festival.
Singer Joan Belgrave says in a statement she worked on the effort on behalf of her late husband. She sees the sign as a visual reminder of his legacy for those “whose lives he touched.”
Belgrave came to Detroit in 1962 and became a Motown studio musician, and later co-founded Tribe Records. He was a professor or visiting artist at numerous institutions, including Detroit-area schools and Michigan State University.
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