Music (and musicians) as a force for change
Why jazz remains a fairly rare form of political protest.
by Don Heckman,
Los Angeles Times
March 21 2003

"War in Iraq would not seem to be a likely flash point for jazz activism of whatever sort. But if, as many are predicting, the Bush administration is taking the nation into a transformative era of global empire, the changes will soon become manifest in the music."
With both the country and the world fracturing in all directions over the confrontation with Iraq, the jazz world has displayed few visible reactions. The sudden surfacing of Musicians United to Win Without War in their recent full-page ad in several major newspapers was less surprising than the fact that not a single jazz artist was represented in the signatures. Can it really have been that difficult to line up a jazz artist for inclusion? . . .

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