Once again, a reader attacks my July/August Jazz Times column on music and politics. Alan Embree of Hannibal, Missouri, writes:
After reading David R. Adler’s Solo guest column [“Playing Changes for Change,” Aug. ’08] I debated whether to immediately cancel my subscription like I had done several years ago with Time magazine after tiring of the leftist rants of various writers in the publication. But being a lover of and devotee to [sic] jazz music, I didn’t want to deprive myself; after all, I always look forward to learning about new talent as well as gaining more insight regarding the pioneers of the music. My hope is that your fine publication will leave out the political rants and save space for the informative articles regarding the music itself.
It’s useless to point out to someone who considers Time leftist that I am not a leftist, so I won’t linger on that. The goal of my column was not so much to articulate a point of view, much less a “rant,” than to demonstrate that jazz musicians today — despite accusations to the contrary — have in fact maintained a vital tradition of political engagement in jazz. If Mr. Embree doesn’t like that, so be it. But it’s a reality. And it’s strange that someone who expresses such interest in the lives and motivations of jazz artists would respond to my column, and the magazine that published it, with such intolerance.
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