Contrary to the current xenophobia, immigrants have enriched every aspect of our lives and we often get the best the country of origin has to offer. Just look at music, specifically jazz.
Jazz originally came out of New Orleans, the creation of African-Americans whose ancestors had not come here to find freedom but because they were slaves. Jazz inherited African polyrhythms and call and response but also absorbed the sounds of other cultures. Jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton noted the Spanish tinge. W.C. Handy’s 1914 “St. Louis Blues” mixes blues with Argentine tango.
A jazz singer and a flamenco guitarist turn out to be a dream team.
