“It's the same old story. Nothing in this world happens unless white folks says it happens. And therein lies the problem of being a professional black storyteller - writer, musician, filmmaker.” WorldStoriesProblemHappensLyingBlackWhiteThis WorldMusicianFolksFilmmakerStoryteller Author:James McBride
“I began to practise day and night, and the more I did, the more I was overwhelmed by the tremendous achievement of that great family of black American musicians I was beginning to know closely.” KnowsNightBlackMastersAchievementMusicianOverwhelmedDay And NightPractiseGreat Family Book:The Wandering Who?: A Study of Jewish Identity Politics Source: The Wandering Who?: A Study of Jewish Identity Politics
“The best musicians in the world were raised on the same kind of music I was raised on and that is black, soulful, authoritative, ultra-tight, ferocious, uppity, defiant music that from the Howlin' Wolf, the Muddy Waters, the Lightnin' Hopkins, the Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Little Richard.” WorldKindLittlesBlackWaterMusicianRaisedChuckBerriesMuddySoulfulHopkinsUltrasHowlin Wolf Author:Ted Nugent
“What 'jazz' means to me is the worst kind of working conditions, the worst in cultural prejudice. The term 'jazz' has come to mean the abuse and exploitation of black musicians.” KindMeanBlackTermWorstConditionsMusicianAbusePrejudiceJazzExploitationNastyWorking Conditions Author:Maxim Gorky
“Black musicians rhythmicized the contredanse, creating musical styles which evolved into the habanera (also known as the tango) and, later, ragtime, as well as the danza, danzón, and ultimately the danzón mambo and its offspring the cha-cha-chá.” WellsBlackKnownStyleCreatingMusicianMusicalOffspringTangoRagtimeMusical Style Author:Ned Sublette
“I hold my time with the Black Crowes with the utmost respect and sincerest appreciation. It is a huge swath of my life’s body of work. I couldn’t be more proud of what we accomplished and deeply moved by the relationships people created and maintained with my music. That alone is the greatest honor of being a musician.” PeopleLifeBodyBlackMusicHugeProudHonorMusicianMovedAppreciationMy TimeAccomplished Author:Rich Robinson
“The black hole in democracy is integrity. The great unspoken is integrity. When integrity is not first and foremost, it's quite palpable but not visible. It's always there. Jazz highlights it because musicians and jazz always represented a high level of integrity.” FirstsBlackLevelsDemocracyIntegrityMusicianJazzHolesVisibleUnspokenHighlightsHigh LevelBlack Hole Author:Wynton Marsalis
“As a journalist, I never critiqued anyone. I never review books. I've never felt qualified as a musician to say whether someone is a good musician or a bad musician. What happens with Black writers and Black artists is that if you're critiqued, for example, by a Black historian who wants to get his name on the cover of "The New York Times," and he says something, like, wacky, well, he'll get his name on the cover of "The New York Times" and he might get tenure, and your career suffers.” IfsWantWellsBookMightHappensArtistSufferingNamesFeltBlackCareersNew YorkExampleMusicianJournalistReviewsHistorianQualifiedNew York TimesTenureWacky Author:James McBride