First off, if you haven’t seen Shutter Island, go see it! Good movie!

Composer Max Ritcher composed a mesmerizing piece of music available on the film’s soundtrack which he combines with the timeless voice of blues, jazz & R&B singer, Dinah Washington (1924 – 1963). The song is very haunting and pairs well with the theme of the movie which is just as haunting. Washington originally recorded This Bitter Earth in 1960 and it was later covered by artists like Aretha Franklin, Deborah Cox and The Satisfactions, before Ritcher used the vocals for this soundtrack.

A couple notes on Dinah. She married eight times, divorced seven times and was rumored to have had an affair with Quincy Jones. Dinah passed away at the age of 39 due to ingesting a mix of prescription drugs. Dinah is well known for her version of the timeless song, Unforgettable. In her 13…

Charlie Parker died to play this music. Bud Powell died to play this music. After suffering through the worst holocaust in human history, these brilliant Black artists gave the world a gift. This gift was so potent that not only did it help them leverage some modicum of autonomy, but helped other oppressed peoples of the world find themselves. It even freed the souls of those who uprooted them from their homeland of Africa and enslaved them for centuries in a land not theirs. It is through Black music that White America began the process of healing itself.

I didn’t think back in May of 2005 when I was generously quoted in Stanley Crouch’s piece entitled, “The Colossus,” which extolled the virtues of Master Rollins, that I would have to sit up here today and call out the same publication for attempting to besmirch his character. I hesitate to write…