Archie Shepp

NBC Studio Noir invites you to listen to Archie Shepp, avant-garde sax player and a gifted writer.

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What Makes Jazz So Special to Archie Shepp?

Q.  You were involved in the civil rights movement back in the
sixties, now you've, if you like, you've got hip-hop music with
again young black guys trying to stir up the process, to do
something.  From your perspective, can music change the way
people think, can it be an effective medium of change, do you
think?
 
A.  Well, I don't see why not.  I mean Stravinsky saw it that
way, and Beethoven, why shouldn't African-American music,
especially a music that is so tuned in to the time, and so
topical.  It always has been, going back to slavery, this music
has always addressed itself to what's going on.  So, hip-hop to
me is another manifestation of the work of Coltrane.

Q.  Are you still active yourself in social issues, racial
issues, that kind of thing?
 
A.  Well you know, the fact, the fact of a black man's existence
is a political event, whether one will's it or not.  I say I want
to take a flat here in London and I call the woman on the phone
and she says "okay, you've got it."  And then she sees me and
says, "you don't have it."  Already that's a political issue and
topical.  It always has been, going back to slavery, this music
has always addressed itself to what's going on.  So, hip-hop to
me is another manifestation of the work of Coltrane.

Be sure to check out NBC's Studio Noir every weeknight in February to participate in our black music chat marathon!