Canada Black Music Archives (CBMA) is a non-profit digital archive founded by Phil Vassell and Donna McCurvin, publishers of the Black cultural magazine WORD Magazine (1992-2013) and producers of the Toronto Urban Music Festival and the IRIE Music Festival.
Founded in 2020, CBMA seeks to be a digital repository archiving 100 years of Black Canadian Music with the mission “to research, preserve, and amplify the rich, largely untold music history of Black Canadians and the many music genres they excelled in and influenced.”
This summer, they launched The Little Jamaica Music History Walking Tour, an interactive and educational tour of the musically and culturally significant Little Jamaica community located on Eglinton West between Dufferin Streets and Marlee Avenue. The tour recognized the various musical genres that were created and produced in the community such as gospel, blues and reggae while visiting historical landmarks such as restaurants, record shops, a music school, and recording studios.
Executive Director Phil Vassell joined Brad Barker on Afternoon Drive to chat about the tour and the importance of remembering and honouring the musical contributions of Black Canadians.
For more info on the Little Jamaica Music Walking Tour, contact Phil at info@thecbma.com. Afternoon Drive with Brad Barker airs Mondays-Fridays from 2-6pm only on JAZZ.FM91.