Frank Newton: Story of a Forgotten Jazz Trumpeter

[ghost of miles]

I remember talking about this artist and this release on the old board, and pulled it out this morning for another listen:

Newton may be best-known for being the trumpeter on Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit," but he led a number of dates of his own. The Jasmine, a 2-CD set, has good sound and features him with Bessie Smith, Teddy Hill, Mezz Mezzrow, and a number of others in addition to his own leader work. A 20-page booklet provides some historical background on Newton, who was also a painter and a participant in leftwing politics. Plus, Deep Discount has it on the cheap:

FrankNewton

[Chuck Nessa]

It should be pointed out to a few on this list Mr. Newton was a Communist. His beautiful tone, invention and swing might bring indigestion to them.

[connoisseur series500]

It should be pointed out to a few on this list Mr. Newton was a Communist. His beautiful tone, invention and swing might bring indigestion to them.

Many blacks were in the 1940s and 1950s, Chuck, including Paul Robeson and Richard Wright. Nothing unusual or unexpected. Capitalism offered them very few avenues then.

Edited June 23, 2003 by connoisseur series500

[ghost of miles]

Ralph Ellison had some association, too. For whatever reason, good or bad, the Communists were more aggressive about promoting civil rights in the 1930's than anybody else, including the NAACP. There's a good book, COMMUNISTS IN HARLEM DURING THE DEPRESSION, by Mark Naison, that's not too hard to find used online. Also HAMMER AND HOE, by Robin Kelley, which looks at the Communist Party and African-Americans in Alabama during the Depression. James Goodman's STORIES OF SCOTTSBORO provides a lot of insight into the machinations of race and American Communists in the 30's in the context of the Scottsboro trials.

[Harold_Z]

Music is Music and Politics is Politics.

[brownie]

Frankie Newton? Best Commie trumpet player I ever heard.

[connoisseur series500]

Frankie Newton? Best Commie trumpet player I ever heard.

[pryan]

Music is Music and Politics is Politics.

But sometimes they come together and the distinction between the two is blurred.

[ghost of miles]

Music is Music and Politics is Politics.

But sometimes they come together and the distinction between the two is blurred.

Yes, and I'm fascinated by the intersection. Harold, I think, is simply stating that one should be able to enjoy the music of an artist regardless of political convictions held by either the listener or the artist. Otherwise, you're shutting yourself out of a lot of good music (Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer, whose songs form a considerable part of the jazz standard canon, were both hardcore rightwingers, while Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker played benefits for the Communist Party). But the 1930's and the 1960's--two periods in which jazz and politics seemed to twine together more overtly--are very interesting chapters in the saga of the music. David Margolick's STRANGE FRUIT: BILLIE HOLIDAY, CAFE SOCIETY, AND AN EARLY CALL FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, the notes to the recent Vanguard box-set for FROM SPIRITUALS TO SWING, and Valerie Wilmer's AS SERIOUS AS YOUR LIFE all address this issue in one way or another. I'd also recommend sections of Michael Denning's CULTURAL FRONT, Scott Deveaux's THE BIRTH OF BEBOP, and a book I'm currently reading--Eric Porter's WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED JAZZ--for anybody who's intrigued by political influences in jazz.

[pryan]

Hey, thanks for the book recs, Ghost.

I was thinking moreso of one example involving the Newport rebel festival, that featured Kenny Dorham, Charlie Mingus, Ornette Coleman, et al. It seems, from what I've read, that these guys were upset with the politics that were going on within the jazz community itself, particularly with regard to concert promoters, etc. It was as though the more "avant-garde" players were getting the short end of the stick, at least when it came to the major festivals, such as Newport.

So my thinking was somewhat different than yours, gom, but those connections that you mention are very intriguing as well.

[John L]

I have always really liked Frankie Newton. He has a certain lyrical quality about his playing that I find very attractive. I would put him near the top of any list of underappreciated trumpet players. The Jasimine set is also beautiful and definitive.

By the way, I don't think that Chuck's post was meant to be taken seriously. Newton may have been a Communist, but so what? More power to him. Some great jazz musicians have even been Republicans. (As tempted as I might be, I don't even draw the line there.)