In 1954 Senator Joseph McCarthy's 'witch-hunt' was repudiated by the Senate, and the United Stated moved toward a relatively liberal period. Under the influence of Martin Luther King,Jr., who preached non violence, Africans-Americans found a faith in their struggle against racism. To their demand for integration was added the demand for the right to be different. 'Blackness' began to be lived with pride, and the late-sixties slogan 'Black is Beautiful' was already present in the minds of many.
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| Marthin Luther King, Jr. |
In the middles of the fifties, the trumpet player Clifford Brown could be seen as the perfect incarnation of this beauty. Stylistic heir to Fat Navarro, he stunningly articulated his phrases, with a fabulously limpid melodic sense, in spite of the complex harmonic detours with which his compositions were strewn. His style, sharp as a blade. was the complete opposite of the introspective, lighthearted and experimental tone of West Coast jazz. In this way Clifford Brown laid the groundwork for hard bop. Sadly, he would die too soon to enjoy the effects of his own contributions.
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| Clifford Brown |
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Kick racism from this planet!
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