Just about every American 35 or older has indelible memories of the day John F. Kennedy was shot. Composer Anthony Davis` most prominent impression is no doubt different than most. ”I remember watching Malcolm (X) on television when Kennedy was shot, and his comments to the reporters: `This is when the chickens come home to roost; the violence of America has turned back upon itself.` It was not the expected response.”
But then, not much about the life of Malcolm X could have been predicted: that a street hustler would become one of America`s most compelling black leaders who would, like Kennedy, be assassinated in his prime.
Davis was in town recently to meet with Chicago Symphony Orchestra assistant conductor Michael Morgan, who will conduct Davis` opera ”X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” at Orchestra Hall in November.
In person, only Davis` unapologetically `60s-era Afro gives away his radical take on American history. Laid-back, good-humored, dressed in a linen blazer and steel gray pleated pants, Davis sets down about 10 pounds of sheet music, sips mineral water out of a plastic champagne goblet and discusses the intentions of his ”X” opera.
”The core of the story is in Malcolm`s spiritual journey, of a man`s metamorphosis. We structured it around his name changes-from the innocent child, Malcolm Little, to his `street` name, Detroit Red, that`s our first act; then when he was in prison, converted to the Nation of Islam and changed his name to Malcolm X; and the third act, the final transformation, when he embraced orthodox Islam as El-Hajj Malik (El-Shabazz).”
Catching flak
Davis` own background couldn`t be more different than that of Malcolm X. The son of a college professor, Davis, who was born in New Jersey, attended the preppie private school Exeter in New Hampshire and earned a degree in music from Yale University. At the same time, he`s always been drawn to controversy. While at Yale, he helped organize demonstrations during the trial of Black Panther Bobby Seale.
Davis` work incorporates elements of both classical and jazz forms. For this, he has caught flak from whites for being ”too black” and from black critics for being ”too white.”
Davis` response? ”American music is a unique combination of black and European forms. A lot of the criticism has to do with stereotypes, as if a black artist is only supposed to be comfortable in certain genres.”
Davis, 41, has mixed feelings about all the hubbub surrounding Malcolm X, generated by Spike Lee`s upcoming movie starring Denzel Washington. On the one hand, he says, ”Malcolm would be pleased by the idea of enterprise, of blacks becoming commercially self-reliant.”
On the other, he worries that consumers will settle for the most superficial aspects of the suddenly trendy black icon.
”Nowdays, you see everyone wearing an X on their cap, an X on their shirt,” says Davis. ”It`s become this statement of style, like Nike shoes or Air Jordans or anything else. But I wonder how many people will realize what it really means, that the X symbolized the idea of identity, standing in place of your slave name. That to me is very profound, the name embodying who you are spiritually.”
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”X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” will be performed Nov. 14 and 15 at Orchestra Hall, 220 S. Michigan Ave., as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival. Call 312-939-5212 for information.