Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 9-13-19

Feature
Musician Believes She Was Born ‘To Make A Difference’
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
When recalling how she be- came involved with playing the piano, Ms. Kitty Daniels takes you back to her child- hood. She will tell you that one of her mother’s boarders had a piano.
And, she will tell you how she would sit on her mother’s lap and play the same notes as she heard. She was able to “play by ear,” at a very young age.
After the boarder passed away, her mother, Ms. Viola Alexander McKinnon, who worked for the owners of Arthur Smith Music Company, purchased a piano and she began taking piano lessons at the age of 6. Now, at 84 (soon
Former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn proclaimed August 27, 2018, as “Kitty Daniels Day” last August.
to celebrate her 85th birthday),
she has not lost her love of play- ing.
Since that time, Ms. Daniels has honed her skills as a pianist and singer. And, she has shared her talents by serving as a teacher giving piano lessons to others.
Several years ago, Ms. Daniels, accompanied by drummer Majid Shabazz, became part of the Donatello’s Thanksgiving Dinner for chil- dren in foster care and other families. The tradition began 20 years ago, and Ms. Daniels and Shabazz have never missed a Thanksgiving sharing their talents with the audience. Additionally, she still plays at the restaurant.
A native of historic Ybor City, Ms. Daniels graduated from Middleton High School in 1952. She continued her educa- tion at Hunter College in New York as a music major, but did- n’t finish.
Since launching her career, she has played for such nota- bles as Etta James, James Brown, Arthur Prysock, and Charlie Brantley, among others. And B. B. King per- formed a song, “The Near- ness of You,” that she arranged. When arranging, “I changed the music to fit the words. I was taught to express the way I felt and never to imi- tate anyone else. So, I devel- oped my own style,” she recalls.
During her lifetime, she has had to confront and challenge discrimination practices preva- lent in the music industry as a woman and as an African American.
Ms. Daniels married and became the mother of 5. One of her sons wrote a song that rose to #6 on the charts. She also has a grandson that is following in her footsteps in the music world.
Ms. Daniels remembers that her mother played the vio- lin, and she followed in her footsteps with her love of music. Looking back over her life and career, Ms. Daniels believes, “I was born to make a difference.”
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9-A