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| "Port
Chicago"
Press Release (PDF) The Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra celebrated the release of their new CD "Port Chicago" at Yoshi's on February 21st and February 22nd, 2006. "Port Chicago" was composed by Marcus Shelby and commissioned by the Equal Justice Society. This recording is a 14-part suite for Jazz Orchestra, which pays tribute to the U.S. Naval soldiers who perished in the single worst disaster on U.S. soil during World War II. Port Chicago is
remembered as the northern California naval base where a devastating
explosion in July 1944 killed more than 320 men, predominantly African
American sailors, and injured 400 others. The sailors objected to
the racial discrimination and manifestly unsafe working conditions
at the base where only blacks were assigned to loading ammunition
on ships. When 258 of the sailors protested in a work stoppage the
Navy called it mutiny, setting in motion the largest mutiny trial
in U.S. Navy history. In a sensational court martial 50 young black
sailors were unjustly convicted. Thurgood Marshall, then special
counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, flew to San Francisco
to investigate the case. He charged that the young sailors were
being made scapegoats for the conditions the Navy allowed at the
base. Following the military trial, Marshall filed a strong appeal
brief on behalf of the sailors, highlighting the racial discrimination
at the base and in the trial. Although his appeal was rejected by
the Navy Judge Advocate General, the public pressure generated by
a nationwide campaign in support of the sailors compelled the Navy
to revamp its policies and begin the process of desegregation-a
major civil rights victory. Although the imprisoned sailors were
later released under a general amnesty after the war, their mutiny
convictions have never been overturned. The injustice of their convictions
cries out for redress, and reminds us of the price paid by many
unsung heroes in the struggle for civil rights and justice. Recent Articles The California
Report Magazine 2006-05-05 Port Chicago
Arturo Gómez "Its been awhile since I've been so hyped about a new release, I have been a fan of Marcus Shelby since day 1 with Black Note. His leader recordings either as a trio or with orchestra have always been enjoyable, now there's Port Chicago. Being aware of the Port Chicago incident since the 1970's I was surprised someone addressed this little known and often hidden part of history. The subject matter is provocative as is the music. Last year Irvin Mayfield had a similar concept album with his Strange Fruit look at lynching. Two snaps for Marcus."
"At once a sober examination of World War II, a celebration of human movement and an impassioned call to justice, Marcus Shelby's bold Port Chicago suite weaves historical threads into a thoroughly modern statement."
Jazz Week JPL list I'll throw in some shout-outs to a couple of excellent upcoming releases by SF Bay Area artists... "The Marcus
Shelby Jazz Orchestra's "Port Chicago" (Noir Records)
is a fantastic 14-part score for jazz ballet, inspired by the story
of African-Americans working in unsafe conditions at the Port Chicago
facility in Oakland during WWII. The horrendous munitions explosion
there in July 1944 killed 320 men, most of them African-Americans.
A subsequent wo rk stoppage by the survivors led to a massive mutiny
trial with 50 convictions (clemency was granted after the war, and
one man was formally pardoned --by Bill Clinton in 1999!). Anyway,
I got a preview copy of the disc a few days ago for a magazine article
I'm writing about Marcus, and I can't stop listening to it. It has
a great blend of Ellingtonian 40s big band swing and modern tone-poem
sounds, he really mixes up his time signatures (to keep things interesting
for a choreographer, as well as for himself), it's |
