America's Musical Ambassadors

[mjzee]

There is an Arabic expression that David Berntson picked up on his recent tour of the Gulf States: Insh'allah, "if God wills it." The blues musician from Tulsa, Okla., found himself making use of it frequently in the run-up to a concert at the King Fahd cultural center in Riyadh last April. Public concerts are virtually unknown in Saudi Arabia—let alone performances for mixed audiences of men and women—and here was the Little Joe McLerran Quartet, an American band specializing in an upbeat and highly danceable form of the blues, on a tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Up to the last minute, the musicians were told there was a 90% chance the performance would be banned.

"On the day, they called and said the show will go on," Mr. Berntson, the group's harmonica player, recalls. "The audience was supposed to be segregated, but they mingled toward the end. Because of the bright lights we couldn't see them, but we were told some of them even got up and danced." Mr. Berntson says the significance of the event struck him only later. "Afterwards, when we were up in Oman, some diplomats said we accomplished more in a week than they have in years."

Continued here:

WSJ

[marcello]

Thanks for the article. I missed it.

Tim Horner is a friend and a gentleman. I'm sure he's being a great cultural ambassador.