As the world celebrat Ellgton's birthday, we look back on his openly gay pianist, poser, and iend Billy Strayhorn.
Contents:
JAZZ: GAY MEN JAZZ
Jelly Roll Morton, the self-proclaimed "ventor of jazz," didn't praise many people bis himself, but he ma an exceptn for Tony Jackson: "Tony was nsired among all who knew him the greatt sgle-hand entertaer the world.” And Jackson was openly gay at a time when that was credibly rare. * gay jazz pianist *
Bis beg a talented mician, Jackson was somethg even rarer those days: he was openly gay. Sometime after the turn of the century, spe his succs New Orleans, Jackson left his hometown and me north to Chigo – perhaps to fd a place more tolerant of his homosexualy and his race – Jackson was Ain Amerin. Ined, the famed stretch of nightclubs along State Street on the South Si of Chigo, known as “The Stroll, ” seems to have offered an clive and receptive atmosphere: Ain Amerins and wh alike gathered to dance and hear the proto-jazz there, while gay men were relatively ee to show off their sexualy.
Myth has that his origal lyrics for the song were about a gay lover, but that versn – if ever existed – has been lost.
Jelly Roll Morton, many ways Jackson’s mil heir, did imate Jackson’s performance style a rerdg of “Pretty Baby, ” but that’s probably the clost we’ll get to hearg this extraordary pneer of both Amerin mic and open homosexualy. One of the very few openly gay jazzmen of his (or any) time, he studied at the Ptsburgh Mic Instute, and, while still his teens, began posg the songs "Somethg to Live For" and "Life Is Lonely", later renamed "Lh Life", which opens wh the le "I ed to vis all the very gay plac. "Though the word "gay" had a different meang at the time, sexual eedom and personal dividualy were a big part of jazz mic.