Mutantes - Baghdad Blues

The role of jazz music and jazz musicians in political participation began in the initial phases of jazz development in the early 1920s. As African Americans engaged the new musical techniques and traditional African traditions to build music collections, popular radio shows also emerged. There were amateur concerts and big band jazz performances broadcast, which attracted a considerable public for entertainment. Other significant advancements that came with the rise of Jazz include nightclubs, dancehalls, and theatres where black entertainment thrived.

In this regard, between 1925 and 1943, the New Negro era political groups integrated Jazz in building up political interests. Funding political activities was one of the activist organizations' main concerns. However, they solved the fund's challenge by capitalizing on the emergence of platforms that expanded jazz music and musicians' reach... After the 1930s, the role of jazz music and jazz musicians in political participation progressed through phases that allowed the black community to gain relevance in US politics. However, some gaps still needed to be addressed by the political organizations to further advance the black liberation struggle... Therefore, the jazz influence meant insurrection against societal standards that did not serve the interest of the black community.

The birth of jazz music was characterized by a political atmosphere setting precedence for socio political struggles such as the Back to Africa movement led by Marcus Garvey as well as the Civil Rights Movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. This highlighted the role of music as a political tool besides entertainment, as it was used in the mid 20th century. It addressed different class and race issues through concerts and gatherings... They continued with the legacy through their jazz and blues performances as well as active participation in movements as the Civil Rights Movement.

Source: The Role of Jazz in Political Participation in the Mid-20th Century by Emmanuel Mamadi

Mutantes - Baghdad Blues

• Produced by: Sérgio Dias
• Released on: September 8, 2009
• Genre: Experimental Rock, Psychedelic Rock

"Os Mutantes was a Brazilian band formed in the late sixties, influenced in the beginning by the Brazilian musical scene. The band was formed by Rita Lee, vocals and percussion, Sergio Dias, guitar and vocals, and his brother Arnaldo Baptista, bass, keyboards and vocals, and Ronaldo Dinho Leme on drums."

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