Jazz And The History Of Black Chicago

Enlarge courtesy of the artist

Trumpeter and composer Orbert Davis, who a film producer calls "our own Terence Blanchard."

courtesy of the artist

Trumpeter and composer Orbert Davis, who a film producer calls "our own Terence Blanchard."

Chicago Tribune jazz writer Howard Reich has an interesting story today about a new documentary which tells the history of black Chicago. His excuse for writing about DuSable to Obama: Chicago's Black Metropolis — besides the fact that it looks super-interesting — is that it features an original jazz score by Chicago trumpeter Orbert Davis. His score traverses a vast history of music, from ragtime to modal jazz, and features great players like flutist Nicole Mitchell and saxophonist Ari Brown.

The real reason I post about this, though, is that I was really struck by this passage:

If there's a central message to both the film and the score, it's that history of Chicago and of black Chicago are intertwined –- one does not exist without the other.

"It's an American story — it's not just the African-American story," says [producer Barbara E.] Allen. "It's about African-American people, but it's the history of the city and the history of the country."

It's equally applicable to the story of jazz. We hear a lot about this stuff being "America's classical music," a philosophy worth some buy-in, sure. But historically, it came primarily from African American communities. And if we don't keep that part of the story firmly in mind, then our history books deceive us. [Chicago Tribune: Filming 'DuSable to Obama' –- with a jazz beat]