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http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/interviews/a36899/keith-richards-interview-0915/ I turned 12 in 1964. The Stones turned me on to a lot of American music I'd never heard before. Muddy Waters. Howlin' Wolf. Robert Johnson. Funny—I was having a conversation with Buddy Guy just a few days ago where he was very generously saying, "Thank God for you guys, because you really did save the blues in America. You brought it all back to life." It was a great thing, because when we were just starting out in London, the idea was to bring Chicago blues to London. We were a bit idealistic at the time—you know what kids are like—but no matter how bizarre it might sound, as a living or as an aim, that was it. We kind of did that in England, and then suddenly we found within a year or two that it was translating over to America—taking coal to Newcastle. Not if you're a white kid in the suburbs. That's what we realized when we got here, that white kids only listened to that end of the dial, and up the other end was all of this incredible stuff. http://blackmanwithalibrary.org/2015/08/06/remembering-hiroshima-john-coltrane-japan-and-the-peace-movement/ Coltrane’s vision of jazz as a global music was a reflection of his own humanity and increasing political activism. Indeed his ballad “Alabama” served as a major requiem for the four little girls killed in Birmingham during the civil rights movement. In later years he would attend meetings of Malcolm X’s Organization of African American Unity and perform at a major fundraiser for Olatunji Center for African Culture. For many activists like Amiri Baraka, Coltrane’s music was the soundtrack of the Black freedom struggle. As Coltrane became more political, his music became more and more freer. While this may have alienated fans in the states, his popularity rose in post war Germany and Japan.Indeed, the US military occupation of both of these countries inadvertently created a market for jazz, particularly for its burgeoning “new left” that sought to break with previous generations and create a free culture. In fact, Coltrane’s albums were best sellers in Japan. In 1966, Coltrane along with his wife Alice Coltrane (piano) Jimmy Garrison (bass), Rashied Ali (drums) and Pharaoh Sanders took on a major tour of Japan. From the moment the quintet landed, they were treated like royalty, with hundreds of fans meeting them at the Tokyo Airport (Coltrane reportedly wondered to Garrison if there was a major diplomat on the flight.) Despite playing 2 shows a night, Coltrane and the band displayed unlimited passion and energy in their performances, with nearly hour long renditions of signature tunes “Afro Blue” and “My Favorite Things.” Coltrane and his protegee Sanders played off his other with a unheard of velocity, even switching to alto saxophone (An instrument that Coltrane hadn’t played since his days in the Navy) But Coltrane’s tour also marked his own awareness of the pain and suffering caused by the atomic bombings. His rendition of “Peace on Earth” in Nagasaki is a remarkable testimony to power of love and healing in the midst of war. The composition begins with a solo by Coltrane along with the mid-tempo bass by Garrison. Sanders and Ali provided a meditative percussion against Alice Coltrane’s divine playing. _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
