1960. Black America’s struggle for civil rights reaches critical mass. In February, anti-segregationist lunch counter sit-ins began in Greensboro, North Carolina. Rallies and marches spread across the country like a brushfire, with Black and white musicians, dramatists, and visual artists adding their voices to the Movement. The question was no longer if a change was gonna come, but when.

Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Max Roach, Art Blakey, and many others declared public support for the Movement. Black musicians were also keenly aware of the growing wave of African independence. Pride swelled, and new compositions were titled with the names of these new nations.

One jazzman in particular became strongly involved in both American integration and African autonomy, as events affected the content and direction of a composition begun a year prior. Max Roach’s “Freedom Now Suite” featured a shifting cast of players. Three of the five movements – “Driva’ Man,” “Freedom Day,” and “All Africa” – feature lyrics by Oscar Brown, sung by Abbey Lincoln. Nigerian conguero Michael Olatunji accentuates Brown’s deep, eloquent poetry and Lincoln’s assertive, uncompromising delivery.  The result is a poignant statement that echoes still today.

“Soundtrack to the Struggle” is hosted by Hollis Monroe. Produced by Ron Adkins. Executive Producer is Dennis Green.

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It’s 1935 and vibraphonist Red Norvo and his wife, singer Mildred Bailey, host a party. Their living room fills with the brightest stars in jazz. Pianist Teddy Wilson is there, as is Benny Goodman and many of his cohorts.  

Before long, a jam session breaks out. Goodman, of course, had brought his clarinet to the party. Wilson makes his way to the piano and plays along. The guests are delighted. Goodman is so inspired that he hires Wilson for an idea he’d been pondering.

Goodman’s big idea became the Benny Goodman Trio – with Goodman, Wilson, and drummer Gene Krupa. This “band within a band” played during intermissions of his big band sets. And, it made history: It marked the first time a Black musician worked regularly, and equally, with his White counterparts.

Jazz critic Leonard Feather described the Trio as, “an historic precedent, the magnitude of which can hardly be appreciated today.” In an era when Black musicians performed in clubs, but couldn’t sit as patrons, Benny Goodman proved to thousands of Whites-only audiences that a Black musician could play just as well, and deserved just as much respect, as anyone else on the bandstand.

“Soundtrack to the Struggle” is hosted by Hollis Monroe. Produced by Ron Adkins. Executive Producer is Dennis Green.

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It was easy to dislike Norman Granz. He was acerbic, sarcastic, and quite often, downright rude. But, like him or not, jazz producer and impresario Norman Granz earned universal respect for his battle for racial equality, and for equity in the music world. His biggest critics, it seemed were racists in the industry.

Granz insisted that his musicians be treated with the same respect as their white colleagues. “Because,” he said, “they were just as good. As both men and musicians.” His roster of jazz performers included legends Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, and Oscar Peterson – all of whom packed nightclubs and auditoriums. And, all of whom were forced to enter through the back door, and could never sit in the audience.

Unless, of course, when Norman Granz was at the show. His contracts stipulated no segregated venues. If owners didn’t comply, Granz’s artists didn’t perform. Boycotting a segregated club hurt the owners more than it hurt him. When they did take the stage, Granz guaranteed equal pay, equal dressing rooms, and equal hotel accommodations as white musicians.

Oscar Peterson often spoke of how Granz stood up to racist cops, paying the legal fees of artists arrested for simply being Black. Granz once stared down the barrel of a cop’s pistol for insisting that white cabbies drive them to their hotel. He tore down “Whites Only” signs on bathroom doors, and led the charge for the desegregation of Las Vegas nightclubs.

“Soundtrack to the Struggle” is hosted by Hollis Monroe. Produced by Ron Adkins. Executive Producer is Dennis Green.

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