Photo
courtesy
of
Rony
Armas
|
BLACK
REFLECTIONS
IN
NOHO
In
honor
of
February
being
Black
History
Month,
I
decided
to
put
into
writing
my
own
perspective
on
the
impact
that
African
Americans
have
had
on
the
American
Culture
in
the
20th
century,
with
a
musical
perspective,
of
course. |
Much
has
been
written
and
is
written,
especially
during
this
time
of
the
year
about
the
vast
contributions
made
by
this
single
group
of
people.
There
are
usually
some
pretty
good
television
shows
on
during
February
about
the
Black
Experience
in
America,
too.
(These
are
especially
recommended
for
you
youngsters
who
weren’t
around
during
the
days.)
So,
I
don’t
really
think
it
is
necessary
to
re-write
canned
passages
of
what
has
already
been
said.
The
fact
that
Jazz
is
the
only
art
form
born
in
America,
for
example,
is
something
everyone
should
know.
Everyone.
Not
just
Americans.
Everyone
in
the
world.
(In
fact,
our
European
brothers
and
sisters
are
probably
more
aware
of
this,
in
general,
than
lots
of
the
people
who
live
here.
The
love
and
respect
that
the
people
over
there
have
for
jazz
and
American
Music
is
immense.
American
Musicians
are
treated
regally
in
those
countries
and
is
something
of
which
I
have
experienced
personally.)
But,
if
you
are
reading
this
and
you
did
not
know
this
fact
about
jazz,
then
fall
to
your
knees
and
thank
God
that
you
are
computer
literate
enough
to
have
logged
on,
navigated
the
internet
and
found
this
article.
When
you
are
done
here,
continue
with
your
research
on
the
world
wide
web
(type
“jazz”,
and
press
“enter”)
and
then,
later
on
tonight,
get
yourself
a
new
posse
of
homies.
Evidently
the
crowd
you
run
with
has
done
nothing
for
you
on
a
cultural
level
and
they
need
to
step
off
now.
Besides
the
obvious,
about
Jazz,
that
is,
I
believe
that
there
are
two
other
major
contributions
to
the
American
Culture
by
black
people
through
music
in
the
20th
Century
and
I
feel
comfortably
far
enough
away
from
the
end
of
that
century
to
declare
that
these
are:
1)
The
full
emulsification
of
percussion
with
Western
Music
(not
cowboy
music,
pardner,
I
am
talking
about
the
music
of
the
Western
Hemisphere,
in
general),
and
2)
the
dismantling
of
the
walls
of
segregation.
There
is
a
stark
contrast
between
Western
Music
of
the
19th
Century
and
of
the
20th
Century
and
I
believe
the
major
contributing
factor
to
this
is
in
the
use
of
percussion.
The
music
of
20th
Century
composers,
such
as,
Stravinsky,
Rouse
and
Bartok,
for
example,
I
believe,
is
directly
influenced
by
the
roots
of
percussion
that
were
planted
by
Africans
brought
over
to
America.
(From
what
I
understand,
percussion
is
part
of
the
religion
for
many
tribes
in
Africa,
thus
making
it
part
of
their
culture.
Everything
they
do
has
a
rhythm.
So,
even
though
they
probably
came
to
America
with
no
instruments,
the
rhythm
was
a
part
of
who
they
were,
and
it
bled
into
everyday
American
life).
Compare
the
works
of
these
composers
to
that
of
19th
Century
composers
like
Brahms,
Beethoven
and
Berlioz
and
I
am
inclined
to
think
that
you
will
agree
that
percussion
came
unto
its
own
in
the
1900’s
with
a
new
respectability. The influence on popular music, however, is more obvious.
Simply
compare
the
music
of
Steven
Foster
to
the
music
of
Eminem.
(The
Latin
influence
on
American
Music
will
be
explored
in
my
February
2104
article.
I
have
to
wait
until
this
century
is
over
for
a
full
perspective
on
that.
But
I
probably
won’t
be
around.)
The
other
contribution
made
to
the
American
Culture,
by
African
American
people,
through
music,
(and
this
is
probably
the
most
important),
would
be
the
dismantling
of
the
walls
of
segregation.
Although
I
did
not
work
during
those
days,
for
it
was
slightly
before
my
time,
I
have
studied
with
and
worked
with
older
cats
who
did
live
and
work
through
those
days
and
told
me
lots
of
stories
about
them.
(REAL
stories.
Like
a
movie
but
NOT
a
movie.)
These
were
days
when
a
band
would
get
out
of
the
bus
at
the
gig
and
the
black
musicians
had
to
enter
through
the
back
door
of
the
club.
Black
patrons
would
also
have
to
do
the
same
thing,
filing
through
the
kitchen,
or
a
door
designated
for
black
people.
But
once
the
band
started
to
burn,
the
whites
and
the
blacks
would
all
be
carrying
on
and
partying
together.
It
was
against
the
backdrop
of
the
music
that
the
lines
would
be
blurred.
They
also
told
me
that
they
would
see
whites
go
to
clubs
in
black
areas
of
town,
to
see
their
favorite
bands,
and
the
mingling
would
go
down
the
same
way.
And
this,
of
course,
was
mostly
the
young
people
participating
in
all
of
this.
It
would
go
on
and
on
and
on,
for
years,
until,
ultimately,
I
believe,
these
young
people
(probably
considered
“modern
minded”
and
maybe
a
little
rebellious
at
the
time)
grew
up,
became
adults
and
helped
legislate
the
laws
that
would
end
segregation.
Think
about
it
when
you
hear
music.
Think
about
it
when
you
see
different
kinds
of
people
walking
through
the
same
door
at
a
club
to
see
a
band.
And
think
about
it
during
months
besides
February.
©2004
Scott
Detweiler.
All
Rights
Reserved.
Scott
Detweiler
is
an
accomplished
musician
in
his
|
