Sometimes the truth is difficult to hear … or dangerous to tell.  Sometimes, you have to serve it up with a helping of irony. And sometimes, you really DO have to use a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. Such is the case with Count Basie’s classic 1940 record, “It’s The Same … Continue reading

January 23, 1943. Carnegie Hall. Duke Ellington and His Orchestra make their debut at the legendary venue. On the program is the premiere of Ellington’s new magnum opus – his three movement jazz symphony, “Black, Brown & Beige.” It is Ellington’s longest and most ambitious composition to date. Admittedly, the piece as a whole is … Continue reading

It’s 1984, and Miles Davis is changing his musical course yet again. He’d exhausted his exploration of jazz fusion and now looked for a fresh perspective. The result was “You’re Under Arrest.” This album was intentionally controversial – from its garish cover art, to its confounding mix of in-your-face statements and sugary pop ballads. It … Continue reading

Very early in her career, Marilyn Monroe’s vocal coach insisted that she study Ella Fitzgerald’s singing. Rumor has it that the coach ordered Monroe to buy all of Fitzgerald’s records, and listen to them 100 times in a row. This made Monroe not only a pretty solid singer, but it was the beginning of a … Continue reading

In 1957, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus defied a presidential order and blocked the integration of the Little Rock school district. Bassist Charles Mingus, an outspoken civil rights advocate, i mmediately wrote one of the greatest jazz protest songs of all time. “Fables of Faubus” was set for release on his 1959 landmark album, “Mingus Ah … Continue reading

They crowned Jack Johnson the first Black heavyweight champion in 1908, but the fight had just begun. The Black community was overjoyed, seeing Johnson’s title as a major step toward equality. Whites in America, however, were often near panic. Even the New York Times wrote that “thousands of his ignorant brothers will misinterpret [Johnson’s] victory … Continue reading

Singer Dinah Washington and her seventh husband, football legend Dick “Night Train” Lane, were an unlikely pair. She wasn’t a fan of football, but she was madly in love with Night Train. They each fought bigotry in their own ways – Washington by challenging segregation in the music industry, Lane by changing the perception of … Continue reading

The year was 1948, and the DuMont company had recently created a TV network to help build demand for their line of television sets. Actress and singer Amanda Randolph was the first African-American woman to star in a network television show. The program was The Laytons, and Randolph was one of the stars. It only … Continue reading

On Sunday, September 15, 1963, four Klansmen planted dynamite under the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The explosion killed four young girls and injured many others. History records this incident as a turning point in the Civil Rights movement. Coltrane, his heart broken, was driven to tears, anger, and frustration. But instead of … Continue reading

Three pioneering women lay claim to Blues royalty. Mamie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Bessie Smith made an impact on American culture that still resonates today. Mamie Smith became in 1920 the first Black musician to make vocal blues recordings. A savvy marketer, she exploited the new medium of radio to reach audiences across the country … Continue reading