The Baltimore concert this Sunday by saxophone legend David “Fathead” Newman is a reminder that jazz ? like blues and country, even a distant echo called rock ?n? roll ? was once an entertainment of the working class.
When swing was dominant in the late 1930s, the jazz capital of Harlem was also a hotbed of politics of the working poor. Organ jazz was once a saloon staple in black neighborhoods, and Baltimorean Billie Holiday was known to complain between songs about having to scrub white marble steps for nickels.
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