Who was your first

Two come to mind right away Dave Brubeck in 1959 and in 1960 Red Garland. But early on it was Bud Powell about 1954 or so.

The jazz domain by black americans is well documented, but we would be in error not to acknowlege the gifts of white musicians of the same period such as Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans,Red Rodney, Ira Sullivan,Shelly Manne, Buddy Rich, Art Pepper, Pepper Adams and the list can go on and on. To me jazz is so much more than a black/white idiom. It is the music itself and the artist that put it forth. During the heyday of the bop and later bebop revolution in jazz all the greats both black and white pushed this music to very lofty heights indeed. And they all worked together in sessions and live concerts to give us this gift.

Perhaps my view and take is somewhat skewed here as I was in the business with CBS/Columbia and knew many of the names menetioned in this thread. Yep old geezer now, but the fire and memories of this time burn very deep. And some of the back water stories I could tell would warrant a book. Most respondents here are not of that era, but I lived a bunch of it first hand. Even in the days of segragation it was always about the music. On many occassions Dave Brubeck would turn down a TV appearance or live concert date, because in the contract they did not want to have Eugene Wright on camera or on stage. Brubeck would not allow this to happen to his friend. Eugene "The Senator" Wright was a valued member of the quartet and deserved as much recognbition as any other member of the quartet. And that is just one instance of long before integration where fellow jazz musicians defended each other. And lets not forget the jazz clubs on the other side where white musicians were not welcome. But through it all in those days it was the jazz musicians the held together and pushed the boundries of humanity against some very steep odds. Thankfully those days are behind us and never to be repeated. Trust me on this the records labels were color blind, once again the focal point was the music and the artist. So in the final analysis good ole american jazz is a multi-culutural affair that has withstood all the obstacles and has become our true art form to enjoy.

I am always amused at the writings of Ken Burns and Leonard Feather as well. Both are for the novice to learn about jazz, but no one has ever written a complete definitive accounting and if anyone does, no one will publish and if it is published, the lawyers will have a field day with it in court. About twenty years ago I started just such a project from an insider point of view. However family counsel as well as outside counsel, after they had read what was the rough draft, was advised not to proceed further.

So do read the Ken Burns and Leonard Feather documentary on jazz and be happy with that. It is in my opinion the best we have for now and I do respect them for their effort.