Jazz, “the only unhampered, unhindered expression of complete freedom…”

[Duke Ellington's] autobiography was Music is My Mistress (1973), in which he said, "Jazz is a good barometer of freedom. In its beginnings, the United States spawned certain ideals of freedom and independence through which, eventually, jazz was evolved, and the music is so free, that many people say it is the only unhampered, unhindered expression of complete freedom yet produced in this country."

https://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php%3Fdate=2013%252F04%252F29.html