Orchestra celebrates Black History month

Tuesday, February 3, 1998

Orchestra celebrates Black History month

Philharmonia to perform Gerald Wilson’s piece dedicated to civil
rights leader Malcolm X

By Ai Goldsmith

Daily Bruin Contributor

Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles have their
stories of fame to tell – and they have been told. But composer and
jazz musician Gerald Wilson who has contributed to these artists’
albums is more than the man behind the fame. Wilson has his own
saga to tell.

On Wednesday, the UCLA Philharmonia Orchestra will feature
Wilson’s piece "Debut 5/21/72." The concert, which celebrates Black
History month, also features works by Duke Ellington and Billy
Strayhorn.

Wilson, who is a professor of jazz studies at UCLA, says that
"Debut 5/21/72" is unlike anything he has ever written. The piece
has a unique history of its own, originally commissioned in 1972,
by Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Zubin Mehta. Written as a
tribute to African American music, it was controversially dedicated
to Malcolm X, the African American civil rights advocate.

"Before the concert happened, there was a protest about the
music. People didn’t want this music to be performed because it was
dedicated to Malcolm X," Wilson says.

"What’s more interesting about it is that the people who
(protested) were black people. That’s the strange thing about
it."

Inspite of the protest, the piece was performed by the Los
Angeles Philharmonic with some changes to the title.

"Of course, they didn’t use the name of Malcolm X. So that’s how
the title came about. ‘5/21/72,’ that’s the date when it was
performed," Wilson explains.

Although the title "Debut 5/21/72" does not reflect the original
dedication to Malcolm X, the piece, nevertheless, is closely
connected to him.

"The music tries to depict the kind of life he’s had," Wilson
says.

The piece opens in a foreboding, solemn mood which represents
the moment of Malcolm X’s birth. It then traces various moments of
serenity and chaos experienced by Malcolm X.

"(The piece is) a mixture of intense jazz sounds with very
traditional classical sounds," says Jon Robertson, director of the
UCLA Philharmonia Orchestra.

For this concert, in addition to conducting the orchestra,
Robertson will perform the piano solo in George Gershwin’s
"Rhapsody in Blue." Although Gershwin is not of African American
heritage, the piece is representative of the tremendous influence
the jazz idiom had on composers.

"Performing the rhapsody shows that a great cultural art form
not only produces its own music or its own art but it influences
the production of art for people whose backgrounds or ethnicities
are not the same," Robertson says. "That is sort of the motivation
behind the program."

The same can be said of Wilson’s music. Just as jazz influenced
Gershwin, classical music moved Wilson.

"Jazz is my life but I had always wanted to write music for a
symphony orchestra," Wilson says.

Wilson, who spent a number of years studying classical
orchestration, took the commission by the Los Angeles Philharmonic
as a golden opportunity to test his skills.

"That was my chance to see if I had learned anything," Wilson
says with a grin. "I think I was fairly successful. At the original
performance, they said that my piece was the outstanding piece of
the evening."

As for the concert on Wednesday, Wilson’s name appears not as a
collaborator but on its own, crowned by other success stories.

As senior cellist Abe Liebhaber says, "This concert represents a
conglomeration of the quintessential jazz masters of American
music. In a few words, it rocks it to the max."

MUSIC: The UCLA Philharmonia Orchestra will perform Wednesday at
8 p.m. in Schoenberg hall. Tickets are $3 with UCLA I.D., $7 for
general admission and free to senior citizens.