SHORT TAKES : Vibraphonist in Silent Protest

A historic photograph that upset a California musician and prompted him to cancel a performance at a weekend jazz festival will remain on a restaurant’s wall, the owner said Monday. “All the pictures on the wall play a part in Pensacola’s heritage, and at this time I feel it’s appropriate that it remain,” said Les Miller, owner of New World Restaurant. During Friday’s opening, jazz musician Bobby Hutcherson refused to play for Pensacola JazzFest patrons. He said he was “deeply offended” by a 6 1/2-by-4 1/2 foot photo that adorns the restaurant wall. The photo shows a dead black man with a rifle-toting white man standing over him. A placard says the photo shows “Morris Slater. Alias Railroad Billy, murderer and robber, 1897.”

Hutcherson, a vibraphone player from Montara, Calif., said he could not play in a room with a photo depicting his ancestors in such a light. “At that point, I don’t give a damn about history,” he said.