RiffShots of Jazz on Freedom as a Tribute to Nelson Mandela

Jazz: Arts & Entertainment 1 Minute

“There are only two kinds of freedom in the world; the freedom of the rich and powerful, and the freedom of the artist and the monk who renounces possessions”  ~ Anise Nin

Charles Mingus – Fables of Faubus

Give a listen and feel the sense of freedom coursing through your heart and mind.  Just close your eyes, lean in and open yourself up to Mingus’ Fables of Faubus.  

This is a Jazz Tribute to Nelson Mandela who passed on yesterday.  My heart is filled with such sorrow for The Man Who personified freedom.  When I called my uncle Dr. Larry Ridley, around 2:00 pm (PT) he could not speak because he did extensive work in South Africa and simply loved Mandela who fought a valiant battle for freedom that rang out throughout the world.

 This reminds me of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s capturing the social resonance of the music’s embodiment of freedom though discipline and play, conveying the artistic and historical significance of the jazz culture at the start, and the heart, of the sixties. 

Jazz has always been one of the most important musical narratives of the African-American journey toward freedom in America. Emancipation did not mean equality for ex-slaves, and jazz, whose call to improvisation models the principles of freedom, has often documented the ongoing pursuit. Indeed, this year jazz musicians and educators Dr. Ronald Myers and Dr. Larry Ridley are illuminating African-American history within jazz by organizing a national Juneteenth jazz concert series.

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Published by Jan Marie ("JM")

I love to take culinary, yoga philosophy and acoustic snapshots of the spaces that have filled my life. Jazz has functioned as a communal bond, ritual and form of social interaction. It has become more than just sounds. It has become a way of living in this world. Jazz has never been about music, it is the touchstone of modern cultural imagination, archiving mythical images and an aesthetic paradigm for new modes of writing, seeing, hearing and moving. I like to use the improvisational elements experienced for a different creative literary tapestry that uses all sensory input. Improvisation is the willingness to connect to every aspect of life. Jazz Imitates life through self expression and improvisation. When I was 18, my dad arranged for me to work as a research/ writer intern on an ABC-TV Emmy-winning television documentary special on Jazz Music in 1972. I was assigned segments that focused on Big Band sound and Bebop. I discovered that the jazz tradition has stood up against the backdrop of racial strife, language, class and gender issues which is defined in literature and criticism for over 75 years in America. I have always had a fascination with creating works that would allow me to blend sound with words and abstract art. It is my desire to create a mosaic sensory experience using imagination, culinary, audio and visual experiences that are filled with the richness of childhood memories that shaped and inspired my thoughts.

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