A Sprawling Blueprint For Protest Music, Courtesy Of The Jazz Duke
He called it "a parallel to the history of the American Negro." Duke Ellington's Black, Brown and Beige wasn't an immediate hit, but it set a tone for ambitious, provocative works about black life.
This story is part of American Anthem, a yearlong series on songs that rouse, unite, celebrate and call to action. Find more at NPR.org/Anthem.
What makes a jazz anthem? NPR's American Anthem series has spanned pop, rock, folk and more, but in most cases the songs are catchy, sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs hits we all know and love. Less obvious is how an anthem grows out of a genre that is primarily instrumental and rarely crosses over into the pop charts these days. Luckily, we have an expert to help us figure it out.
"There's a lot of songs that I
