Dave Brubeck played a useful role in the fight against US segregation in the 1950s and 60s. The years of his greatest popularity coincided with growing activism in the cause of civil rights, and at the time the quartet's bassist was Gene Wright, an African American. A genial figure with a big sound and powerful presence, Wright had an impressive track record – he led the group with which the pianist Sun Ra made his first records – but his presence was not welcome in the southern states.
Concert and college promoters told the pianist to leave Wright behind, but Brubeck refused. He insisted that Wright share the same facilities as the other musicians, wherever they worked, and would not perform for segregated audiences. Brubeck's stand was well-known, and educational for white youngsters attracted to his music by its clean-cut image as much as the hummable numbers. He was admired for his principles in the jazz world, just as Benny Goodman had been in the 1930s when he, too, defied convention and employed black musicians.
