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Harvey Cummings II, seen here performing in 2018 at a Gantt Center jazz series event. He frequently has performed family-frinedly jazz workshops for the Gantt.
Courtesy of the Harvey B. Gantt Center
Local jazz musician Harvey Cummings II has thought about leaving Charlotte several times.
Just before COVID struck, the Queen City native considered, for a moment, moving to New Orleans. “I wanted to be a small fish,” he said. “I wanted to start over in a real music market.” He stayed.
When a major music scholarship took him to Durham, and further studies took him to Greenville, North Carolina, his next move wasn’t to New York or Los Angeles — he returned to Charlotte. And when at one point “the Purple One” himself, Prince, invited him on tour, Cummings said, regretfully, “No.”
Like the tonic note of any musical key, Charlotte has been a stable constant in Cummings’ life and career. When you pour sweat into a place over decades, and become an integral part of its growth, it’s hard to leave.
The early years in Charlotte
Cummings was born in Charlotte in 1983 and grew up in the Hickory Grove area, where his parents ran an ice cream shop for a few years. “I had the Hornets Starter jacket; we got it at the Walmart off Albemarle Road,” he said. “I used to skate at Eastland Mall and go to Festival in the Park.”
His mother played piano, and at the age of 3, he, too, started fiddling with the keys. One of his earliest music experiences was with her. “I was 5, and my mom took me to see Patti LaBelle at the Palladium at Carowinds,” he said. “It was just dope.”
Cummings was an only child; music was a close friend. By age 9, he had picked up the saxophone, which his uncle played.
“There’s just this cool factor,” he said. “It just resonates in a different way, and it has its own tone and timbre. It’s its own thing.”
He attended Chantilly Visual & Performing Arts magnet program, where, in fourth grade, he wrote his first song, a blues tune he called “Harvey’s Boogie.”
Teachers, noticing his understanding of musical theory and other techniques at an early age, flagged him as someone with the chops to make it in music. His parents agreed and always supported him.
But after high school, Cummings almost followed another path. He recalled attending an orientation session at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.
“I would have been in the band, but my major would have been computer information systems, because I knew there was this computer boom and there would be jobs,” he said.
His dad stepped in with some critical advice. “He said, ‘You are a skilled musician. Just keep doing what you’re doing,’ ” Cummings recalled. He took his father’s advice and started applying for scholarships.
“I sent in VHS tapes. I would say, ‘My name is Harvey Cummings. I’m in the 11th grade …,” and he would riff on John Coltrane’s iconic “Giant Steps.”
He attended North Carolina Central University on a Grady Tate scholarship, in honor of the Durham native and former drummer for Quincy Jones’ band. He also earned a national scholarship paid for by Coltrane’s family.
“I chose Central because I wanted that conservatory feel, but with the HBCU experience,” he said.
He graduated in 2006, and spent a brief stint in Greenville continuing his studies at East Carolina University until he moved back to Charlotte.
Giving back to the Charlotte community
In kindergarten at Piney Grove Elementary School, a Charlotte Symphony program brought musical instruments to Cummings’ class. “They were just like, ‘Hey, this is a violin, and here’s a tuba,’ and I thought, OK, cool, I could play an instrument,” he said.
Now 42, Cummings routinely presents a family-friendly jazz workshop, “The Standard,” at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture. The events are geared for ages 6 and up.
They give Cummings a chance to give back by educating about jazz through performance, demonstrations and interactive learning. “It’s part master class, but it has a petting zoo element, because I’m a firm believer in kinesthetic learning. When they feel the instruments, they’re more likely to try it or have appreciation for it,” he said. “It’s a gateway.”
Early exposure certainly was a gateway for Cummings, now a pillar of Charlotte’s music scene.
“There’s a joy and satisfaction of getting a note out, as a 3- or 4-year-old. It’s a sense of accomplishment. I always encourage them and make them believe that they can do it, which they can,” he said. “The biggest thing they need is influence. If they see it, they know it’s obtainable.”
‘I said no to Prince’
In 2012, Cummings formed his first band, The Groove Supreme, a play on Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme.”
At the time, he was teaching music in Charlotte and had just been offered a job to lead the music program at KIPP Academy.
“I had an income and benefits, and I was the most stable at that point.” He also had a medical scare that sent him to the hospital and kept him from performing for a while. In 1998, Cummings had been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. He needed medical benefits.
“In my last year of teaching, the day after I signed my contract, I got the call to tour with Prince,” he said. “It was a hard decision. I was at a new school, making probably the most money I had made, and I was already with a successful band from East Coast Entertainment.
“But I signed that contract, that was the big thing. I had signed that contract. I chose teaching. I said no to Prince.”
Cummings admits that the experience would have changed the trajectory of his career.
“But I felt like I was making my name in Charlotte,” he said. “It let me know the caliber of musician I was, it was affirmation, and it put a spark in my step.”
Vibin’ around town
These days, Cummings is busy performing throughout the city and beyond.
Often performing in slick suits, his eyes covered in wild, patterned sunglasses, his band, The Harvey Cummings Experience, blends jazz, hip-hop and soul genres.
On his business card, he coined the title Chief Vibe Curator. He has collaborated with Blumenthal Performing Arts, the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, the Carolina Panthers, the Atlantic Coast Conference and major nonprofits, like the American Heart Association, on events.
He’s also involved with Music Everywhere CLT, an initiative geared at enhancing Charlotte’s music scene.
Most recently, he teamed up with the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, an organization that works to find a cure for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
As for collaborations he’s enjoyed most, Cummings points to projects he’s worked on with local rapper Elevator Jay, including the song “Ain’t Nothin’ Finer.”
“He’s a phenomenal rap artist based in Charlotte who’s done great things. He was one of my first collaborators, and we always have chemistry.” He has also worked with local rapper Lute, “American Idol” winner Fantasia and another Charlotte native, Anthony Hamilton.
Locally, he has a standing gig at Eighty Eights coffee and cocktail lounge, and plays other local venues, from Lorem Ipsum listening bar to Middle C, the Evening Muse and Knight Theater.
His work also takes him around the country. On a Tuesday morning in early November, he was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a crew working in collaboration with the August Wilson House. His music was also featured on the animated TV show “The Boondocks.”
What’s next for Harvey Cummings II?
His first album, “The Chicken Day EP” was released in 2017 and featured seven songs. “That was just something for people to get familiar with what I did,” he said.
Next year, he will launch his new album, “The Only Child.” “This album is the scaling of the first album, showcasing me as a producer and saxophonist,” he said.
Listeners can expect Cummings’ usual blend of styles.
“I’ve got a jazz and hip-hop track, an Afro-Caribbean Latin vibe, and I’ve got a house track,” he said. “So I got different flavors, man. I’m always repping jazz, but my sound has jazz undertones. I put in that jazz flavor where it needs to be.”
As for his ultimate goal, Cummings said, “I’ve been incubating for 20 years, and I want to break out on the national level,” he said. “I want to get a Grammy for Charlotte.”
“It’s a booming time, and I’m trying to be the one who makes it out of Charlotte without leaving Charlotte,” Cummings said. “A lot of cats have to go to L.A., New York or Atlanta to get some shine,” he said. “But I just want to keep building our community.”
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Virginia Brown
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