Joe Albany's Daughter writes a book. A.J. Albany.

[Lazaro Vega]

http://www.holtzbrinckpublishers.com/acade...BookKey=1408980

Low Down, A. J. Albany's artfully composed and critically acclaimed memoir of life with her father, the great jazz pianist Joe Albany, is the story of one girl's gritty and unsentimental education in and around Los Angeles.

Joe played with the likes of Charles Mingus, Lester Young, and Charlie Parker, but between gigs he slipped into drug-induced obscurity. It was during these times that his daughter knew him best. After her mother disappeared, six-year-old A. J. (or Amy Jo) and her charming yet deeply troubled father set up house in a seamy Hollywood hotel. While Joe finished a wee-hours set in some red-boothed dive, Amy would often be nearby, fast asleep on a patron's fur coat and clutching, perhaps, a 78 of Louis Armstrong's "Sugar Blues"—or, later, a photograph of the man himself, which was inscribed, "To little Amy Jo, always in love with you—Pops."

Wise beyond her years and hip to the unpredictable ways of "Old Lady Life" at all too early an age, Albany here guides readers through the dope and deviance—as well as the jazz and genius—that characterized the Hollywood underground of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Low Down is a raw, gripping, and surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a young girl trying to survive amid outcasts, misfits, artists, and other troubled souls.

Quotes

"Albany recreates a landscape of her childhood where misery is a faraway sound floating above a voice speaking in tones of affection, terror, rage, love, and, most of all, a hipster's defiance."—Greil Marcus

"In this beautiful memoir of jazz and junk, loyalty and abandonment, A. J. Albany [writes] with such straight-up charm and unsentimental lucidity that she makes her harrowing childhood seem as romantic and thrilling as she remembers it."—Francine Prose

"On one hand, [this books offers] an authentic trip through Hollywood's lower depths. On the other, it examines the conflict between the need for drugs and the neediness of children. In presenting her father's generosity as well as his failings, A. J. Albany uses language that is both astringent and compassionate."—Carolyn See, The Los Angeles Times

"The daughter of famed jazz pianist Joe Albany recounts a childhood marked by music, drugs, and thwarted potential in this impressive debut. Albany's hipster pedigree is impeccable: her mother was fresh off an affair with Beat poet Allen Ginsberg ('I gather Mom was Ginsberg's last heterosexual liaison') when she married musician Joe Albany, a troubled heroin addict credited as one of the inventors of bebop. Amy Jo was born early in the doomed marriage; by the time she was five, her mother had disappeared and the preschooler was living with her father in the St. Francis, a colorful flophouse in Hollywood ('like Eloise without the frills'). Young A. J. Albany became a fixture in the L.A. jazz scene, accompanying her father to the smoky bars and clubs where he performed. In addition to jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, Albany's girlhood was populated with a nearly unbelievable cast of one-eyed junkies, dwarfs, and the inevitable hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold; each of these down-and-out figures is a nuanced character rather than a cliché. Thanks to her judicious use of humor, the book is truly affecting rather than maudlin, even in its most

dn0 tragic moments. Albany employs an episodic structure that allows her the freedom to record events and memories in a way that seems true to her fragmented, tumultuous childhood. Though slim, Albany's well-wrought memoir contains emotional and lyrical volumes."—Publishers Weekly

"The daughter of jazz pianist Joe Albany, a key figure in the birth of bebop, exposes the seamy world of Hollywood in the 1960s and 1970s while spinning a pathetic tale of growing up as the child of addicted parents. When A. J. is five her mother deserts, and father and daughter take up residence in the St. Francis Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard. In poignant staccato chapters, the author evokes vivid portraits of her fellow residents, a 'vast assortment of misfits' including a baby-sitter 'who did a lot of mescaline,' a cook-companion who was a transvestite and an addict himself, and her friend LaPrez, son of a 'strung-out hooker' who disappears after his mother overdoses. Joe's friendships with Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, and Sinatra are all part of the mix, but so is Dalton, the porno moviemaker who introduces A. J. to speed. A. J. is seduced by an uncle at 12, attempts suicide at 14, and eventually gives up trying to save her father, who dies alone in 1988 . . . The author has perceptively written what she knows."—Booklist

"The daughter of respected jazz pianist Joe Albany debuts with a memoir of her young world, bracketed by a father's addiction and a mother's abandonment. The unnerving text primarily chronicles the nine years following 1962, when heroin-addicted Joe and his equally drug-dependent third wife had a baby girl and named her Amy Jo, after two of Little Women's heroines. Filtered through a child's eyes, the author's memories of those years in southern California include not just the dangerous shards to be expected, but also fragments of happiness and expectancy set against a backdrop of alternating neglect and loyalty. Albany's mother, who left when she was five, is almost always loaded on Dilaudid. Her father, on the other hand, in his loving, feckless way, made her the center of his unstable universe; he hugged her, brought her to work, and protected her fiercely . . . when he wasn't in rehab or jail. 'Trying to look out for yourself at all of six years old can be a brain-twisting experience,' writes Albany, and 'joy [is] strictly a luxury item.' Still, she unsentimentally captures the offbeat, fleeting pleasures: getting the television out of hock, taking trips to the Italian market with Dad, or catching a nap behind the bar at one of his late-night gigs. Circumstances guaranteed that Amy Jo would meet plenty of unsavory characters (the lecher who wanted her to check out his magic gizmo, the uncle who introduced her to incest), but also that she could lose herself in the music that surrounded her. Her prose resembles the shimmering complexity of bop, with its feeling of tight yet improvisational dartings through memory. From the slag heap of the junkie lifestyle, she manages to spin literary gold. [This book is] a vibrant testimony to survival founded on the author's childhood philosophy: 'Find love in some form, even when it appear to be absent.'"—Kirkus Reviews

Author Biography

A. J. Albany grew up in Hollywood. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

Edited December 8, 2005 by Lazaro Vega

[marcello]

I've read the book ( I got it for a very cheap price on the net ); Joe Albany's wife makes him look like Ward Cleaver.

This is a well written book by a really gutsy young lady. How did she survived her childhood and still have any self worth left?

Albany comes off as a well meaning, but totally inadequate father, to say the least.

[Guest]

she did an NPR 'fresh air' interview for this maybe about a year ago-- she said many nights she had to eat toothpaste for dinner and that the only other kids her age she met were other kids in her same situation

[AllenLowe]

Aj's book is, IMHO, nothing short of one of the best books I've ever read about jazz or a jazz musician.

I knew Joe pretty well, and he was a character, alternately a sweet and interesting guy/angry substance abuser. Great pianist when he was on, though prone to get lost in the middle of the tune (which he even does on his 1957 club recordings with Warne Marsh). He was a funny guy with a macabre sense of humor about himself. I was driving Joe to a concert one night, and he said to me: "you know what I'm gonna call my autobiography? 'I Licked Bird's Blood.' After Bird would shoot up he would pass the needle to me to use it , and I would run my finger over the needle, remove the blood, and lick it off my finger."

that was Joe.

Read AJ's book; it's brilliantly written. I cannot recommend it enough - it's a work of art -

[medjuck]

AJ used to work at Dutton's Books in North Hollywood. I was buying a book of jazz photography there once and she said to me "Hey there's a picture of my dad in there." When I asked who, and she said "Joe Albany", I of course replied, "You mean 'The Legendary Joe Albany'." That epithet got used so often I thought it was part of his name.

[7/4]

I think I should check this book out. I'll add it to my wish list.

[Dan Gould]

It looks like this has been remaindered some time ago. The good news is that Amazon Marketplace has lots of sellers of used and remaindered copies. I just ordered one for $6 including shipping.

[7/4]

It looks like this has been remaindered some time ago. The good news is that Amazon Marketplace has lots of sellers of used and remaindered copies. I just ordered one for $6 including shipping.

Dang Dan, ya made me panic and place an order!

[jazzbo]

Me too. . . half.com had an even cheaper copy!

[AllenLowe]

you won't regret it - she's a great writer; the story is not only amazing but she tells it brilliantly -

Edited December 8, 2005 by AllenLowe

[Harold_Z]

Yeah - I just ordered it too.

I follwed Lon's cue and hit Half.com.

The price is RIGHT !

[jlhoots]

Yeah - I just ordered it too.

I follwed Lon's cue and hit Half.com.

The price is RIGHT !

Me too.

Probably more (cheap) copies sold today than in the last year.

[ghost of miles]

Some earlier discussion here, including links that the Mule (wish he still posted ) put up to reviews when the book came out. Ironically enough, I was just thinking about this book yesterday, because one of my birthday presents was Joe Albany's PORTRAIT OF A LEGEND. He's on my Night Lights "future to-do programs." Thanks to this new thread, I, too, jumped on the remaindered bandwagon and finally ordered the book.

[Joe]

A portion of Albany's book first appeared in the TIN HOUSE REVIEW (issue # 10). Worth looking into if you're on the fence on this one, or if you're wondering whether there are things in that piece that did not make final copy.

[JamesJazz]

I grabbed this book after reading Allen Lowe's recommendation on the Jazz Research list and he's right - it's brilliant...horrific, beautiful, indeed a work of art. I know a woman who grew up in similar circumstances and I'm thinking about getting her a copy.

[7/4]

It came a few days ago, damm good read.

[ghost of miles]

Mine came this afternoon--hoping to read it while I'm on vacation.

[Dan Gould]

Still waiting.

Guess I picked the wrong Amazon seller.

But I've still got til Thursday morning before I get on the plane, so there's still hope I'll have it in hand when I get to the folks' house. Can't wait for Mom to say, "What are you reading?"

[jlhoots]

My copy hasn't arrived yet either.

I've seen Media Mail take 3 weeks!!

[ghost of miles]

It's a haunting, devastating book--read it pretty much in one sitting (it's only 167 pages, but man...). Makes me very grateful for the life I've had. As messed up as Joe Albany's personal life was, he definitely passed on something akin to love to his daughter; at tiimes, you get the feeling that the vision she garnered from that was all that kept her going.

[Harold_Z]

Still waiting for mine too.

[7/4]

It's a haunting, devastating book--read it pretty much in one sitting (it's only 167 pages, but man...). Makes me very grateful for the life I've had. As messed up as Joe Albany's personal life was, he definitely passed on something akin to love to his daughter; at tiimes, you get the feeling that the vision she garnered from that was all that kept her going.

Yes...all the above. I read most of it in one night. If you do a Google search for the title of the book you can find audio interviews with her on WNYCs Leonard Lopate's show and another on WBGO. I think it's amazing that...not only did she write a book like that - she went through some heavy shit growing up - but then she even did interviews to promote the book. She has no problem telling what happened.

Besides the story, it's the way she delivers it. Very casual, like the beat poet she is. I hope she writes more books, but there may not be any more.

Edited December 19, 2005 by 7/4

[AllenLowe]

I've read the book twice now, and certain parts of it are very difficult for me to go through, a little too close to home - Joe was such a Jeckyl and Hyde personality; I was in touch pretty regularly until I got a few of those "you ripped me off phone calls," not dissimilar to the kind of calls AJ says she got in the last years, when Joe demanded money - Joe was a real smart, entertaining and charming guy when he was ok, but he had gotten back to drugs and alcohol (when I hung out with him he smoked a lot of pot, but that was not a problem). He had been living with Jean Roth, a nice lady but also a bit crazy and she could not stand it anymore and so she kicked him out. Those last years, as AJ recounts them, are painful to read about. What makes the book so important, however, are not just these stories but her literary ability, the power and pace of the narrative, her perceptiveness and ability to be both inside and outside of herself, observing that life. It's just, for me, too, a devastating work -

Edited December 20, 2005 by AllenLowe

[7/4]

but her literary ability,

And she's got a lot of it too. I wonder if she writes under her married name.

[AllenLowe]

do you know what it is?