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a closer listen's avatar

There's no mention of race or racism here in this account, so I feel compelled to point out that how much the critiques and predictions about jazz would be repeated with rock and later hip hop decades later, and in all cases part of the backlash was inspired by racism and fears of miscegenation, not unrelated to fears of the overt sexuality that accompanies so much of popular dance cultures.

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Sherry's avatar

I agree that Jazz along with rock and roll brought Black and white musicians together and that was a huge no for a lot of people.

Also marijuana. This all seems so silly now. What could be better than everyone collaborating regardless of race?

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a closer listen's avatar

Very true, but of course it wasn't just about musicians, but (and probably more importantly) audiences as well.

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Jojo's avatar

Some of this was covered in Ken Burns Jazz series.

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Aug 13, 2023
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miasmo's avatar

I agree with you, but disco became very formulaic and commercialized and overplayed on the radio in the late 70's. There were good reasons for a backlash, not just racism.

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