Politics Archives - Jazz Journal

James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”

Brian Payne — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 11:09:58 +0000

James Baldwin (1924-1987) is considered by many to be one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Born into poverty in Harlem, New York, he became an activist and broke new ground with his exploration of racial and social issues in works such as Go Tell It On The Mountain, Notes Of A […]

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Brassroots Democracy: Maroon Ecologies And The Jazz Commons

Andy Hamilton — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:54:57 +0000

In Brassroots Democracy, author Benjamin Barson presents a “music history from below”, embracing the Haitian revolution, post-civil war reconstruction and early jazz. The term “brassroots democracy” is a synthesis of grassroots activism and New Orleans’ historic brass-band tradition, and Barson argues that jazz arose from the mass mobilisation of freed people during reconstruction during the […]

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Media ‘masking’ female under-representation in Grammys as research finds ‘pressing need’ for more women in jazz

Mark Gilbert — Sat, 08 Feb 2025 20:02:05 +0000

The Grammy awards have been accused of under-representing women in nominations and awards and facilitating a female-positive smokescreen to hide the fact. “The Missing Voices Of Women In Music And Music News”, a report by Luba Kassova of Addy Kassova Audience Strategy, a London-based audience-research body, complains that women received only one in five Grammy […]

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UK tries to reconcile copyright demands with AI growth agenda

Mark Gilbert — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 20:16:13 +0000

Following the publication of the UK government’s Copyright and AI: Consultation, trumpeter Chris Hodgkins is urging interested parties to write to their MP to ask that there be no copyright exceptions requiring creator opt-out in any legislation on artificial intelligence (AI). The introduction of a copyright exception requiring creator opt-out would mean that AI companies […]

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Queer jazz takes up residency in Dalston

Mark Gilbert — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 11:14:09 +0000

Claiming that “most jazz fans would struggle to name more than a few queer jazz musicians throughout the entire genre’s history”, the London-based LGBTQIA+ collective Queer Jazz aims to “amplify and highlight queer artistry in the jazz world”. To that end, and holding that “jazz has long been a space for innovation, freedom, and self-expression; […]

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Jazzahead says outstanding music is increasingly to be found beyond jazz

Mark Gilbert — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 18:28:25 +0000

Jazzahead, the trade fair held each spring in Bremen, Germany, says it has “always had the mission to track down and to help people discover outstanding bands – increasingly to be found beyond the boundaries of jazz”. Accordingly, its 2025 edition (24-26 April) will have among its 38 concerts – put together by artistic advisor […]

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Martin Speake resigns over race politics and sues Trinity Laban

Mark Gilbert — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 18:17:10 +0000

Martin Speake, the renowned British saxophonist at the centre of a racism row at Trinity Laban conservatory in south London, has resigned from the college after 22 years and is pursuing compensation for constructive dismissal. Talking to Talk TV’s Mike Graham on 7 January he said he had had to resign because Trinity had made […]

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Playing The Changes: Jazz At An African University And On The Road

Andy Hamilton — Sat, 30 Nov 2024 12:23:56 +0000

Darius Brubeck has “played the changes” both as a musician, and politically, through deep involvement in the cultural politics of South Africa, 1983-2005. With partner Catherine, he moved there in 1983 to lead Africa’s first jazz-studies degree programme, at University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in Durban. In 1989, he became director of the new Centre for […]

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Peers and MPs venture beyond Taylor and the Gallaghers

Mark Gilbert — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 10:30:15 +0000

It might have seemed lately that the tastes of British politicians don’t extend beyond Taylor Swift and Oasis but on 29 October, at an undisclosed venue, probably in London, politicians belonging to the All-Party Parliamentary Jazz Group (APPJG) and a judging panel from the jazz “constituency” conferred awards on music practitioners of the non-pop variety. […]

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Meshell Ndegeocello: No More Water – The Gospel of James Baldwin

Simon Adams — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +0000

The American bassist and singer sets the work of writer and activist James Baldwin as spoken word, song and church service

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