Introduction
The relationship between music and the injustices perpetrated on peoples of lower standing began early in the history of mankind, particularly on the terrain and cultures outside of the dominant power bases. For us, we know that slaves on plantations and their families sang and chanted about their mistreatment behind the backs of their masters, and even in code when the whites were around to listen. The early blues singers were the same- their sociological and economic plights played right along with love, sex, and violence to fill the air in the evenings, when the work was done and people gathered to unwind.
In the 1920s, Louis Armstrong spoke out by changing the lyrics of a popular show tune; then, as swing and bebop came on the scene in the 30s, musicians began to become emboldened to make their public stands. Benny Goodman was the first prominent white bandleader to hire black players for his groups- maybe he was the Branch Rickey of jazz- and people like Duke Ellington refused to take the stage where blacks were not allowed in the audience. As the civil rights spirit emerged in society, prominent musicians like Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and so many others began to speak out despite white producers and audiences who did not welcome their comments. With the leverage that their celebrity and music gave them, these men and women, and now many more who have followed in their musical footsteps, took on the responsibility of success and risked their standings with messages about racial equality and social justice. It seems their courage matches their talent in intensity- and importance.
This series, Jazz and Civil Rights, presented by the Santa Fe Branch of the NAACP, is intended to provide enjoyment for those attending our meetings, help to foster a spirit of collaboration and continuing commitment to the goals of NAACP through the shared experience of listening to these courageous artists, and, at the deepest level, to keep feeding the fires of our movement burning in all of us through the power of music. Segments of various performances and recordings will play in the few minutes before each meeting, and the media link to the full performance and other works by the artists, as well as some historical commentary on the artist’s social action, will be posted on the NAACPSFNM website, under the menu heading “About,” and the listing, “Jazz and Civic Rights.”
Lou Levin, February, 2023
JUNE 2023
Max Roach & Abbey Lincoln
Max Roach, considered to be one of the all-time great jazz drummers, and his wife, Abbey Lincoln, a highly regarded jazz vocalist, created an album titled, We Insist! as a direct statement about Civil Rights and the place of Jazz in the struggle. This was a work very different than anything anyone else had done previously; it was fiercely expressive and emotive, personal, uncompromising, and, like his playing, strong, direct, and blatant. Inspired by the rising anger about the plight of the black people in America, it was far from the pacifist, complaining politics of the mainstream civil rights movement of the time. Roach explained that it was a prayer of preparation for struggle that was then starting to build in intensity. It was seen as a rallying cry for equality rooted in the history of blacks in this country.
The music was first performed at New York’s Village gate, in a concert sponsored by the Congress For Racial Equality (C.O.R.E.); it was also presented at the NAACP annual convention in Philadelphia, and at the Newport Jazz Festival.
Max’s wife, vocalist Abbey Lincoln, was equally vociferous about civil rights. “There is no such thing as jazz,” she said. “There’s only a song and your spirit and your ancestors.” “I, Abbey Lincoln, sing about what is most important to me, and what is most important to me is being free of the shackles that chain me in every walk of life that I live. If this were not so, I would still be a supper club singer.”
In our presentation, Ms Lincoln sings “Driva Man,” in front of Max’s quartet, which features Coleman Hawkins, one of the great saxophone players in jazz history. To listen to the piece in its entirety, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF6q6XKKrik
– Lou Levin, May 23, 2023
MAY 2023
Louis Armstrong
Listen to Louis Armstrong perform “What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jscvpihVAoQ
In 1929, Louis Armstrong recorded “(What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue?)”, a song from a popular musical written by Fats Waller and Andy Razaf. However, he had re-written the lyrics and made them into a commentary about social injustice. The lyrics include the phrase:
My only sin
Is in my skin
What did I do
To be so black and blue?
This was a furiously defiant and risky commentary on racism as he saw it, in an age when the issue was clearly not to be openly discussed. When it was first written in the show, the song was a humorous comment on a black women’s lonely love life. But Armstrong changed the lyrics to accentuate the social meaning of the song and make it a powerful social commentary. The lyrics, “I’m white, inside / But that don’t help my case / Cause I Can’t hide / What is in my face,” are an example of Armstrong’s deepening the impact of the text.
His work on this song is typically seen as one of the first times the problem of racism in the United States was brought to so public a setting as popular music. Armstrong, respected by both whites and blacks, used his position to make an attempt to bring the problem of racism in the American society.
Close to 30 years later, as he witnessed the turmoil around the desegregation of public schools, Armstrong was again very outspoken, unafraid to be critical of his country. When, in 1957, the National Guard prevented nine Black students from entering a high school in Little Rock, he canceled a tour to the Soviet Union, and said publicly, “the way they’re treating my people in the South, the government can go to hell.”
– Lou Levin, May 26, 2023
APRIL 2023
Nina Simone
The second selection in our series, Jazz and Civil Rights, features Nina Simone singing “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” written by Billy Taylor, jazz pianist. Ms Simone was a strong advocate for black rights, and recorded several songs in this vein.
“I wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” Listen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDqmJEWOJRI
March 2023
Horace Alexander Young
The first selection in our series, Jazz and Civil Rights, features Horace Alexander Young playing saxophone, then reading Dr King’s speech on this topic at the Berlin Jazz festival in 1964. Mr. Young is a jazz player and singer who was the chair of the music department at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design until its closing a few years ago, and frequently performed in Santa Fe. He now lives in Houston.
Photo courtesy of Horace Alexander Young
Listen to Horace Alexander Young’s read Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s address for the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival
“Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life’s difficulties.”
Those words were spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1964. There can be little doubt about Dr King’s appreciation and high esteem for the contribution of jazz performers to the cause of civil rights, and the incredible spirit and force Black musicians have brought in order to create under intense racial unrest and hatred. For our purposes, scientific studies have now confirmed what we had already known- that music brings people together, in struggle, joy and community. Growing up in Baltimore, and spending many hours in its jazz clubs and music halls, it was remarkable to me to see and feel the spirit that was present in these settings, and how the Miles Davis’, John Coltranes, Jimmy Smiths, and so many others all brought and heightened the essence of community to the audiences they performed for. Music is universal and feeling and connecting to sound and lyrics issomething we all do. The emotional and musical impact behind the Blues is something we all have felt. The same for jazz. Just listen and let the sound of it take you.
– Lou Levin, March 13, 2023
Please note: The music and other material in this series are not presented for any financial or editorial purposes. The purposes of the series are (1) to provide enjoyment for NAACP members attending our meetings, and (2) to help foster a spirit of collaboration and continuing commitment to the goals of NAACP through the shared experience of listening to these artists who were courageous enough to use their talent in the service of civil rights.