Don t Deny My Name Words and Music and the Black Intellectual Tradition

Transcription

1 Don t Deny My Name

2 Don t Deny My Name Words and Music and the Black Intellectual Tradition by Edited and with an Introduction by Aldon Lynn Nielsen the university of michigan press ann arbor

3 Copyright 2008 by All rights reserved Published in the United States of America by Manufactured in the United States of America c Printed on acid-free paper No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Thomas, Lorenzo, Don t deny my name : words and music and the black intellectual tradition / by ; edited and with an Introduction by Aldon Lynn Nielsen. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-13: (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: X (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. African Americans Music History and criticism. 2. Blues (Music) History and criticism. 3. Jazz History and criticism. 4. Black arts movement History. I. Nielsen, Aldon Lynn. II. Title. ML3479.T '96073 dc

4 Acknowledgments Grateful acknowledgment is owed to Luzmilda Thomas and Donald H. Ford for permission to examine documents held by the Eric and Sadie Dolphy Trust. The editor wishes to thank Cecilio Thomas for his dedication to the legacy of. Karen Luik has been of invaluable assistance in making this project possible. Julius Lobo assisted in researching many of the sources that were left incomplete at the time of the author s death and helped in the preparation of the final manuscript. A particular note of thanks goes to LeAnn Fields and all of the staff at the University of Michigan Press for bringing s last prose work to an eager audience. Some portions of this book were originally delivered as talks or lectures, or appeared in slightly different form in pamphlets, papers and other venues. The editor appreciates that early support for this enterprise and acknowledges the good taste and editorial wisdom of those who have gone before.

5 Contents Introduction by Aldon Lynn Nielsen 1 ONE All Blues: Roots and Extensions A Sense of Community Blues Music as Primer for Urbanization 9 Authenticity and Elevation Sterling Brown s Theory of the Blues 20 TWO Learning the Changes Pass the Biscuits, Please Lunchtime with Sonny Boy Williamson 33 Bayou City Blues Lightnin Hopkins, Juke Boy Bonner, and Peppermint Harris 44 Goin to Kansas City Milt Larkin and the Best of the Territory Bands 64 Outward Bound Eric Dolphy s Migrant Muse 74 THREE America s Classical Music Evolution of the Bop Aesthetic 87 Classical Jazz and the Black Arts Movement 99

6 Communicating by Horns Jazz and Redemption in the Poetry of the Beats and the Black Arts Movement 105 Ascension Avant-Garde Jazz and the Black Arts Movement 116 FOUR Songs for the People Rhythm and Blues au service de la Revolution The Black Arts Movement and Popular Music 137 New and Old Gospel The Black Arts Movement and Popular Music 152 How You Like Me Now? Rap and the Legacy of the Black Arts Movement 176 APPENDIX Don t Deny My Introduction An Unfinished Essay by 193 Works Cited 197 Index 213