The Real Ambassadors was a vibrant mix of humor, social commentary and swinging music. And it couldn’t have existed if Dave Brubeck hadn’t taken over the world with Time Out, his epochal 1959 record with alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, bassist Eugene Wright and drummer Joe Morello — because The Real Ambassadors was a passion project and almost certainly a money …
It is one of the sad paradoxes in jazz history that for almost as long as this American music has existed, many of its foremost figures have chosen to live in exile. From Sidney Bechet in the 1920’s to Johnny Griffin in the 1980’s, these jazz expatriates acted out of a sense of imperative and …
Art Blakey’s The Freedom Rider is not only a testament to the symbiotic relationship between jazz and the civil rights movement. It’s a sonic rallying cry to stand and protest. Recorded in 1961 for Blue Note Records, this album is a rhythmic and sonic history lesson encapsulating an era fueled by the activism required to …
In the 1930s, Midtown Manhattan clubs were packed with the bourgeoisie, tuxes and evening gowns, tables and banquettes of rich white people drinking champagne, often entertained by Black performers borrowed from the Harlem music scene. It was putting on the ritz, it was dancing cheek to cheek. ‘Same-colored’ cheeks. It was the embodiment of the phrase ‘café society‘, …
In her short life, Billie Holiday performed with a type of genius that is still imitated by singers today. She was best known for sad songs about heartache and pain from losing love. One thing people don’t say about Billie Holiday was that she was a protest singer. While there was plenty to sing about, …
In June 1943 Los Angeles erupted. Mobs of servicemen, off-duty police, and civilians attack young Latinos, Blacks, and other people of color. Any man wearing a “zoot suit” is fair game. The zoot suit had its origins in Jazz. Oversized and baggy, with wide shoulders and lapels, loose-fitting pants and tailored cuffs, they were wildly …
It’s September, 1924, and Lil Hardin Armstrong gives her husband, Louis Armstrong, a makeover. She teaches him how to dress for success, and she pushes him to be more of a showman. Then, she persuades the new Louis Armstrong to leave the security of King Oliver’s band to form his first Hot Five. And while …
On the evening of April 29th, 1969, President Richard Nixon and Duke Ellington stood together in the Easter Room in the White House. Nixon, along with an all-star cast of jazz legends including Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Dizzy Gillespie, and Gerry Mulligan spent a night honoring Ellington for his 70th birthday. Honoring the Duke for …
