Got the idea for this topic after I recently ran across this ridiculously cool photo of Ella Fitzgerald, Illinois Jacquet, and Dizzy Gillespie (plus Ella's assistant) sitting in a Houston jail in 1955 after supposedly being caught throwing dice in a dressing room prior to a gig. Of course, we all know it was just a ruse to sabotage the concert, which was of course integrated (and therefore "subversive"). Even worse, the promoter apparently caught the police attempting to plant drugs on the musicians, and it was knocked down to a much less serious gambling charge when they were called on it.
I love the attitude on their faces; they look like they are having a grand old time sitting there high as a kite and having a laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. (They were apparently only held for a few hours.) In fact, I think I like this photo so much I am going to find a high-res image, frame it, and hang it on the wall among the other musical stuff, lol.
pasted_image (resized).png