During this time, there were fears that if free jazz was only considered as a mechanism for political commentary, that it would lose its validity as an art form, or at worst, be subject to censorship by European governments. Due to this possibility, there was a surge amongst the free jazz community to dissociate the word "free" with the political environment it is so commonly associated with. In addition to the depoliticizing of this genre of music, other critics asserted that,"Were jazz to be valued henceforth according to its capacity to reveal something of the social conditions under which it was produced or the political beliefs that its producers espoused, then its relevance for those outside the particular community from which it issues would be limited.
During this time, there was a concern that if free jazz was only considered as a mechanism for political commentary, it might lose its value as an art form or even face censorship by European governments. To avoid this, the free jazz community sought to disassociate "free" from its usual political connotations. Furthermore, other critics argued that, "If jazz were evaluated based on how well it mirrors the social context of its creation and the political beliefs of its creators, then its appeal to those outside its original audience would be reduced.