Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 7:11 pm Post subject: MLK: On the Importance of Jazz
On the Importance of Jazz
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Opening Address to the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival, WPFW News (Washington), [23 August 2002]
God has wrought many things out of oppression. He has endowed his creatures with the capacity to create—and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many different situations.
Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life's difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.
This is triumphant music.
Modern jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated urban existence. When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his instrument.
It is no wonder that so much of the search for identity among American Negroes was championed by Jazz musicians. Long before the modern essayists and scholars wrote of racial identity as a problem for a multiracial world, musicians were returning to their roots to affirm that which was stirring within their souls.
Much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from this music. It has strengthened us with its sweet rhythms when courage began to fail. It has calmed us with its rich harmonies when spirits were down.
And now, Jazz is exported to the world. For in the particular struggle of the Negro in America there is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man. Everybody has the Blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved. Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith.
I wholeheartly agree, Antonio :) _________________ '56 Martin Committee Deluxe #2 trumpet
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Thanks for posting this Trent. I was going to post that last week but I thought that it may be a violation of the policy here at TH concerning religion. There is audio of this speech I think. I'm still looking for it.
Thank you Trent! I don't think there will be any problem as long as we don't turn this into a debate. Just as a side note, does anyone know if MLK personally knew any of the jazz greats?
Just as a side note, does anyone know if MLK personally knew any of the jazz greats?
I think it is a pretty safe assumption that folks from the civil rights movement knew some of the jazz musicians of the day. MJQ's 1963 recording of 'The Sheriff' was dedicated to Dr. King by John Lewis at the Monterey Jazz Festival shortly after the "I have a dream" speech.
Give Leroi Jones' 'Blues People' a read. _________________ LB Bel Canto #59
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Last edited by oliver king on Thu Jan 22, 2009 7:48 am; edited 1 time in total
Modern jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated urban existence. When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his instrument.
"The most significant form of musical expression of African American culture and arguably the most outstanding contribution the United States has made to the art of music.
Origins of Jazz
Jazz developed in the latter part of the 19th century from black work songs, field shouts, sorrow songs, hymns, and American Negro spirituals whose harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic elements were predominantly African. Because of its spontaneous, emotional, and improvisational character, and because it is basically of black origin and association, jazz has to some extent not been accorded the degree of recognition it deserves. "
" _________________ Dr. Michael Schmidt the world's loudest trumpet player. Play the best, play Calicchio. Calicchio 3/9 large bore trumpet and Tulsa Duda Calicchio Flugelhorn. Please listen to the free samples of my trumpet playing at:
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Joined: 24 May 2006 Posts: 708 Location: Portland, OR
Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:17 am Post subject:
Thanks for sharing that Trent. I saw it when you posted it on facebook. _________________ B.A.C. Artist Series NY Model Trumpet
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Portland State University
I think it is a pretty safe assumption that folks from the civil rights movement knew some of the jazz musicians of the day. MJQ's 1963 recording of 'The Sheriff' was dedicated to Dr. King by John Lewis at the Monterey Jazz Festival shortly after the "I have a dream" speech.
Give Leroi Jones' 'Blues People' a read.
Safe assumption, indeed. Paths intersected quite frequently on the "chitlin circuit". It was a well-connected world with the Southside of Chicago as the nexus. Not many remember Sam Cooke these days, fewer recall how vocal he was about civil rights.
Here he is on youtube, clowning with an even more famous resident of Chicago's Southside. Yes, it was a small world...
When MLK was a student at Boston University, he lived on the same block as Wally's Jazz Cafe (the club that I play at) on Mass. Ave. I'm sure he frequented that place as well as the dozen or so jazz clubs that were on that street alone. His wife, Coretta, was a student at NEC (the school I went to) when they met.
Thanks Trent. I recently read Wynton Marsalis' new book, Moving to Higher Ground, and recommend it if you are looking to understand the more intellectual aspects of the jazz music genre. I like the way Duke Ellington defined jazz: "...musical freedom of speech."
Joined: 25 Dec 2005 Posts: 60 Location: Syracuse NY (upstate)
Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 1:09 pm Post subject: MLK quote
I think jazz has been one of the great racial equalizers in this country. You have to respect our musical forebearers for inventing it, being dedicated enough to it, and for taking some risks in those times to promulgate it to all of us. Jazz is a huge contribution that this country gave and is giving to the world.
I love it when I see so many dedicated people coming to some of the local jazz events. _________________ Ambassador Trumpet (1959)
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How sad.
