Davis famously informed his musicians they’d be playing the gig for free just minutes before downbeat. What followed was one of the most celebrated live jazz performances of all time.
Black History Month 2025 continues with week 2 of “Freedom Now! Jazz and the Fight for Civil Rights.”
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Long before the 1619 Project, there was Ellington’s Black, Brown, and Beige, a sprawling jazz symphony meant to communicate a comprehensive picture of African American history through music.
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Long before Wynton Marsalis became the first jazz musician to win a Pulitzer, Norman Granz treated jazz as high art, imploring audiences to listen with the same reverence they might reserve for Bach or Brahms.
Read full article at: American History at the Intersection of Jazz and Civil Rights