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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 1976)
— I'tirtUiiMl OiNMTver Thursday, Deeember 16th, 1976 Page 3 Death in detention in S A by Paul Irish 1 L MM 1 I J L seweto new becomes a brazier furnishing warmth to those who demand their birthright as fathers and mothers sons and daughters of the soil making their demand as urgent as lava brought to the boil a aUp on a stab a Hight through the air thooe are the ways they sow wo take now, they Bad you a hanging a banging in your cell another one who wont that way that’s what they any yon took the way of the Brat black nwatyr when be refused the yoke And took dootk Isotooti you will bo added to the string of bonds wo wear and proudly display whoa wo sing of the way E a black m artyr goes loading to the time when wo will weave freedom ribbons fa our hair* IL? CHAKLIE HADEN SntCTtaiHIMCHt Guide by A i m Jonas C H A R L IE H A D E N Some m j that a man may best be judged by the company he keeps. Charlie Haden's baas has served as the richly resonant fulcrum for the free-fall improvisations of two of modern music's most imposing emsembles: the Ornette Coleman Quartet, which radically changed the jazz perceptions of the Sixties, and the Keith Jarrett Quartet, which has left a broad and lasting impact on listeners of the Seventies. He has worked and recorded with such jazz luminaries as John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, Alice Coltrane, Cedi Taylor. Carla Bley, Joe Henderson. Don Cherry, Gate Barbieri, Hampton Haines, A rt Pepper, and John McLaughlin, as well as the more traditionally sty led Pee Wee Russell and Henry Red Allen. A man who keeps such company should consistently rate high in the jazz polls, and Charlie Haden does. I t is fitting that down beat Magazine in 1960 considered him one of seven key figures in the development of the bass violin. // : The music began in 1909 when Charlie, a t the tender age of two, became the youngest person in the state of Iowa to carry a Social Security card, necessitated by his entrance into his family's country music troupe. “My father was the M.C., and he taught all five of us kids to sing the different harmony parts by ear.” This early groundwork is most responsible for Haden's uncanny harmonic ear, which made him one of only a handful of bassists who could have fulfilled the pan-tonal demands of Ornette Coleman's music in 1958. Haden’s muscial commitment at this time was nearly matched by another biological drive - the need for heroin. He is one of the addicts who have come back, kicking the habit for good. For Charlie, the process involved a three-year stay at Synanon in California, during which he abandoned music and concentrated on regaining his health. While there, he met his wife Ellen, who was then a student at San Francisco State College and who had visited the rehabilitation center for an open-house program. The Hadens now have four children, including a set of triplets. A fter Synanon. Haden resumed working with Coleman and eventually became part of the original Keith Jarrett Trio. He also began adding considerably to his prestigious reputation, with guest appearances on many excellent records, including several albums for the innovative Jazz Composers Orchestra Association. 1970 was a thrice-blessed year for the basist and composer; his album. Liberation Music Orchestra, a landmark recording of the New Music, was released; he created the back ground music for the T V program “San Francisco M ix”; and he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for Composition, making him only the fourth jazz musician to be so honored. by Ulye W A LK IN G Upon wa the cradle to tbs gravo, rer be can sustain. Upon walking from the cradle to the grave, One encounters assay snares and pitfalls, and camouflaged things. Upon walking from tbe cradle to the grave, One is kicked around and put down, And he knows what the blues is. Upoa walking from tbs cradle to tbs grave, I stumbled, then gained control. And aavod my soul. W H A T C H R IS TM A S M E A N S TO M E Child of God born Hope be brought us all be was He conquered Satan He is defeating Tenderness Hs taught ■ Mankind He loved Altogether we should he fo. Him Savior of tbe World Ho is. Black poet James Matthews wrote this noem a short while ago for his fellow South Africans who have died in deten tion. The official reasons given for their deaths by the security police are a mockery of the truth. I. Haron “fell down stairs”; N. Kgoothe “slipped in shower”; A. Timol “suicide" by jumping through the 10th floor window of the police interrogation center. Most recently the deaths of Soweto student J. Maghabane and trade unionist L. Mazwembe, held in the wake of the mass uprisings this summer, were termed “suicide by hang ing." Now James Matthews himself is being held by the South African security police. A letter from South Africa has reached this country expressing the fear that unless there are international cries of protest, Matthews may be the next name listed in the annals of the security police as a “suicide by hanging.” Matthews is one of thousands, at present held under South Africa's dracon ian security legislation. The laws allow detainees to be kept incommunicado indefinitely, without explanation, without being charged, without access to a lawyer or family, priest, or doctor. The South African security police literally have the power to make a person disappear, sometimes forever. James Matthews is being held by the white authorities in South Africa because in the simple language of poetry, he dared express the deep feelings of his people - the anger, and the demand for justice. wind carrying the wails of the a fire ignited in the minds of peo| burst forth fa other places fuelled by layers of oppression piled around thorn like kindling added to the conflagration nestled in the soul of soweto words like petrol drape spewed turn fate burning brands passed has burst forth in volcanic fury all in its heat p.KJ March of Dimes TO PROTECT THE UNBORN AND THE NEWBORN The South African government has resorted to naked brutality in its attenp t to suppress the freedom struggle. Hun dreds, many young school children, have died under a hail of police bullets this past summer. Others are dying under torture in its jails. Yet the South African government is still sensitive to outside opinion because it fears the results of isolation. Thus the Tony award-winning actors Winston Ntshona and John Kani were swiftly released after it became apparent that thousands of actors in this country would demonstrate protesting their detention on October 26th, and mar the “independence" ceremony for the Transkei. The Black people of South Africa are not waiting for our goodwill to come and free them. Steeled by the realities of their oppression; they are organizing for the battles they will have to fight to win their birthright. In the words of James Matthews, t h is se*ct conreieureo b v t h i p u b i is h e h Adams Presents New Years Eve Cabaret W illie Hutch Pleasure Groover Tube 900-200p .m . - PARAMOUNT THEATER Cabaret tables: >10.00 per person llimited to 800 persons - Advance tickets get table preference! General Admission :S7.00 per person Tickets: Paramount Outlets Reservations:call 2260034 ¡fews£M's Family Restaurant A Lounge we do not have dreams dreams are like Bowers we cannot afford whose petals will wither and fall aa would dreams die if we are foolish enough to cherish dreams 'PonttdMjCd 2125 N. Vancouver Ave. 5 0 3 -2 8 4 -1 2 4 4 FOUR BLOCKS NORTH OF T H E C O LISEUM Family Dinners, Lunches Seafood, Steak the reality we know has no time for flowers or dreams cacti claws blossoms of the weight of chains heavy dispell Appearing Nitely: GENE DIAMOND & ARIES (Featuring Mel Brown) Tues.-Sat.; 9:30 p.m. - 2:00 a.m. Sunday Evening Jazz (THARA AAEMORY QUARTET 8:30 p.m. - 1:00 a.m .) for reality’s stood to lay in flowered fields dream-dazed illusionist unmindful of corrupted laws is not a state we share reality demands rid ourselves of ail chains then, perhaps, we shall indulge fa flower-filled dreams Zodiac Party Free Champagne We cannot fight the battles, but we can give some protection and support to those who are engaged in the struggle. •Poems taken from “Tribute to Martyrs” published in South Africa by the Black Literature & Arts Congress, VoL 1 No. 3. io *»3r»e>rb> »/’ •) urtvir. MAri- •< b e v t . r> ¿PaulIrish in executive associate of the American Committee on Africa and the Africa Fund. The Fund, 305 East 46th Street, New York, New York 10017, seeks contributions for the legal defense of political prisoners in South Africa. Readers concerned about Mr. Matthews may write to him c/o Police Headquar ters, Calendon Square, Cape Town, South Africa.) ? finn i y rti nt M .. orir ciiiw b s 'i ‘T io n o iu o y Ia n at a a ttiu L .tripue Sagittarius Sun., Dec. 19 9:00p.m. Tax volunteer* neede« Volunteers from Portland are needed to help offer free tax assistance to low-income and elderly taxpayers as a part of a program called the Volunteer Tax Assistance (V IT A ) program being coordinated by the Internal Revenue Service. Thia public service activity provides an excellent opportunity for concerned indi viduals and groups to assist taxpayers with fairly simple returns to file, especial ly the Short Form 1040A. This assistance will be especially valuable this year with all the changes in tax forms and tax regulations created by the Tax Reform Act of 1976, recently enacted by Con gress. The IRS provides volunteer assistors with a two or three day course in basic income tax procedure. In addition, the IRS makes available the necessary forms and schedules, and detailed guides on tax laws and how to file a return. In helping low-income taxpayers for no fee, the assistors are providing assistance to a group of taxpayers least able to afford the coat of professional tax returns preparers. V IT A assistance is given at convenient hours within local communities - usually at community center, church halls, hospi tals, libraries, rest homes, or neighbor hood meeting places. The IRS encourages V IT A assistors from all elements of the community, including college students, community action and welfare groups, religious and governmental organizations, and frater nal societies, to participate in this pro gram. Individuals or groups wishing to parti cipate in V IT A should write to V IT A . P.O. Box 2709, Portland. OR 97208. DENTIST f t 's Good SHO P IE N O W S * DENTAL HEALTH POLICIES N A VI CHAN6ID FOR -B R A N D S you kn o w - V A R IE T IE S y o u lik e Appointment f * Needed S IZ E S v o q w a n t Thu Friendliest Stores In Town Since 190» • t o m e la At lo u r t'o o v e a te n e e * O* U N H ID GROCERS U / / K 9» Hour» H .tO u.tu lu .tu .u t. ( l u t n i N e /tiF -fe ta Krugerrand (Continued from p. 1 col. 4) country so that “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, Black and white". Currently the Krugerrand is being sold nationally by Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith and locally by the businesses listed below. Everyone is urged not to buy the Krugerrand and to call these shops and demand that they stop selling it. On December 18th, there will be a picket, beginning at 12 noon at the Columbia Coin Company, S14 S.W. 6th Avenue. The public is urged to partici pate. Additional companies selling the Kru gerrand in Portland are: M errill Lynch, Pierce. Fenner and Smith; Slanker T. E Company; Omega Securities, Inc.; U. S. Gold A Silver; Crokrite Coins; and Coin Company of Oregon, in Lake Oswego. N O N I OF MV HILPFUL FOR C O M P I IT I D IN T A L S IR V IC I 3 ConventonMy locato«/ Dento/ O/Acei BOSTLAWO • SALIM . IU O IN I PRICES QUOTED IH ADVANCE ~ | PORTLAND CLEANING WORKS ^ l l l i » Your Union or VA Veteran TO PROTECT YOUR H E A L T H A APPEAR AN CE NORTH A N.E. PORTLAND " tiN O F IN A N C E CO. or BANK IN V O L V E D ONK DAY SERVICE On Any Services Minor Repairs - Ne Charge Pick wp A Doh very FA m m 2 2 7 -2 4 2 7 282-8361 KNIT BLOCKING OUR SPECIALTY 30S6 N. WNNatm Ave. N. Aloxandor, Proprietor Italia«« Registered A N E S TH E TIS T Available I D C N T IB T Unj, Uijt m . 6 1 6 »•* 4 th fatoMB AMn I Waikiaalsa I I Capitol 2nd A 3rd 1 • S.E /
