Black Panthers: Hymn to the fathers of radical chic
A new show pays tribute in art and music to the influential and controversial Black Panthers. Tom Horan reports.
To anyone with an interest in the upheavals of the late Sixties, to anyone who lived through the era itself, one of its most indelible images must be that of the Black Panthers. It’s no accident that their memory endures. The defiant afros, the black quasi-military outfits, the droll sloganeering and funky artwork in which they couched their ideas amounted to a kind of super-effective branding, long before the term gained the currency it has today.
The far-reaching influence of Panther style and thinking – immortalised by writer Tom Wolfe in his satirical essay “Radical Chic” – can be traced directly to the election of Barack Obama as president. On Saturday at London’s Barbican centre, in a fascinating mixture of music, art and film, some of the most influential figures in American music will bring the Black Panther Party and that pivotal period in world politics back to life.
The show, called Tongues on Fire, has been masterminded by jazz saxophonist David Murray and brings together musicians who span the decades. From the Sixties and Seventies are two members of the Last Poets, spoken-word performers who influenced the likes of Gil Scott Heron and were in many ways the first ever rappers. From the Eighties is Vernon Reid, guitarist with pioneering black rock band Living Colour. But the real coup for Murray is the presence of Ahmir Thompson, drummer with Philadelphia band the Roots. Their explosive rendering of intelligent and uplifting hip‑hop with live instruments has, since the Nineties, made them one of the world’s most in-demand bands.
The Wolfe story is well worth digging out. A hilariously biting description of a party for the Panthers that composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein held at his luxurious New York apartment in 1970, it nails unflinchingly the fascination that the exotic, intimidating and frankly sexy activists exercised over the white upper‑middle class. It would no doubt tickle Wolfe that the Barbican show will take place in its imposing main auditorium, host down the years to almost every big name in classical music....
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
To anyone with an interest in the upheavals of the late Sixties, to anyone who lived through the era itself, one of its most indelible images must be that of the Black Panthers. It’s no accident that their memory endures. The defiant afros, the black quasi-military outfits, the droll sloganeering and funky artwork in which they couched their ideas amounted to a kind of super-effective branding, long before the term gained the currency it has today.
The far-reaching influence of Panther style and thinking – immortalised by writer Tom Wolfe in his satirical essay “Radical Chic” – can be traced directly to the election of Barack Obama as president. On Saturday at London’s Barbican centre, in a fascinating mixture of music, art and film, some of the most influential figures in American music will bring the Black Panther Party and that pivotal period in world politics back to life.
The show, called Tongues on Fire, has been masterminded by jazz saxophonist David Murray and brings together musicians who span the decades. From the Sixties and Seventies are two members of the Last Poets, spoken-word performers who influenced the likes of Gil Scott Heron and were in many ways the first ever rappers. From the Eighties is Vernon Reid, guitarist with pioneering black rock band Living Colour. But the real coup for Murray is the presence of Ahmir Thompson, drummer with Philadelphia band the Roots. Their explosive rendering of intelligent and uplifting hip‑hop with live instruments has, since the Nineties, made them one of the world’s most in-demand bands.
The Wolfe story is well worth digging out. A hilariously biting description of a party for the Panthers that composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein held at his luxurious New York apartment in 1970, it nails unflinchingly the fascination that the exotic, intimidating and frankly sexy activists exercised over the white upper‑middle class. It would no doubt tickle Wolfe that the Barbican show will take place in its imposing main auditorium, host down the years to almost every big name in classical music....