In the late 60s jazz was at a turning point. Soul music had taken much of its black audience and rock's intellectualisation was eating up its support amongst college students. The usual story told is that jazz split between those who went out and those who tried to make people dance. The story is more nuanced, and 'If You're Not Part Of The Solution' tries to tell that story.

It was a period of radicalisation for Black America: a disproportionate number of young African American men were being shipped to Vietnam, the inner cities of Detroit, Washington, Los Angeles, Newark and more were ablaze and, in 1968, Dr Martin Luther King was gunned down in Memphis. There was a sense that something had to be done and with this in mind, many outlets both political and spiritual sprung up. As a central part of the community, jazz musicians took their cues and their music reflected this.