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November 2004:
There was once an ancient
Japanese art form that challenged the artist to be spontaneous and
improvise…yet that particular nation-state never did censor its art’s
poetics. Unfortunately this was not the case in 1950s America, when a
jazz musician was censored by a major record company. It is already
awful enough that traditional education in the U.S. neglects the arts;
yet it is even worse that the artistic condition of a cultural
phenomenon/aesthetic is challenged and inhibited by the media of that
society-at- large. When Mingus recorded Fables of Faubus in
1959 (during his stint with Columbia Records) his label wouldn’t let him
recite the poetry that accompanied the song’s melody. However, when he
performed live in Paris with Eric Dolphy in 1964, the French gave him
the artistic freedom to sing the poem. Sure Mingus was quite the
character -- he had his clinical psychologist write the liner notes to one
of his albums in the 1960s, and he was also caught wearing a real
miniature pistol around his neck during the 1970s. Unfortunately
though, Columbia Records couldn’t look past his eccentricities during
the 1950s. His fundamental constitutional right to freedom of speech
was violated by his record company, just the same way that same record
company violated my legal rights in 2000 when one of their high profile
recording artists at the time wouldn’t let me into one of his concerts
at a major jazz club.
I guess it is
understandable that Columbia had to censor the Mingus composition in
1959, given the political hegemony exhibited by Governor Faubus at the
time…however it doesn’t make things right. It just goes to show that
America isn’t ready to appreciate the full extent of its arts. Still
today, musicians’ controversial views (such as Charles Gayle’s pro-life, right winged standpoint) make it difficult to find work
in the U.S., in many cases causing them to emigrate or seek asylum in
the more progressive European countries. These nation-states have a
greater liberalized socialistic view of capitalism, which leads to a
more sophisticated cultural sphere that is free of censorship. Two
of my music instructors in college (Jim Snidero and Andy McKee) were
long time members of the Mingus Big Band led by Sue Mingus, and most of
their playing with that band was done overseas as well.
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