I have seen the accusation that the white musicians "stole" from the black musicians in books, articles, and, if my memory is worth anything these days, in the Ken Burns politically correct jazz program for PBS.
What is the meaning of "stealing" in music or in science? Once a piece of music is recorded or a discovery in science published, is it not in the public domain and thus is it not fair for anyone to follow up on that? What is wrong with following on the steps of what others have started? Is that stealing? Not in my book. Red Nichols was inspired, influenced by Bix. Would you call that stealing? Note that Red made a lot of money recording and playing in the 1920s. When a white musician follows or is influenced/inspired by a black musician, is that defined as stealing? When it comes to a white musician following on the steps of another white musician, it is no longer stealing? I have not seen Red Nichols being accused of stealing from Bix. He has been accused of being mechanical, not creative, etc but I have not seen an accusation of theft on his part. The whole thing does not make sense to me.
Once a piece of art or science is published, I do not see any problem with others following along that path. Einstein conception of the photon was based on observations by others on the photoelectric effect. Did Eisntein steal from his fellow scientists who publish the work on the photoelectric effect? Certainly not: Einstein developed the subject, he expanded it. Similarly, I view what Red Nichols did as an expansion of what Bix was doing, not stealing.
Did Benny Goodman steal swing from black musicians? Wasn't swing in the air, so to speak, and various musicians were developing it? Maybe Goodman was not the first to play swing, but he expanded the scope and created his own style in the process. Is that stealing? Was Artie Shaw one of the thiefs? If so, what did he steal, specifically, from the black musicians? Who were the biggest culprits among white musicans who stole from the black musicians?
I will be happy to be proven wrong on this. Can someone enlighten me about the meaning of white musicians stealing from the black musicians? Or is this part of the "myths" created by the politically correct crowd to deny white jazz musicians their creative contributions to jazz?