Ruby Smith describes the Van Vechten party

[Christiern]

I have added to my blog Ruby Walker's taped account of the 1928 party she, Bessie and Porter Grainger attended at the Carl Van Vechten residence. You may have read the account in my book, but nothing can beat Ruby telling the story in her own words.

Edited September 19, 2010 by Christiern

[Chuck Nessa]

Thanks again. Chris's blog is a treasure. Ignore it at your intellectual peril.

[Christiern]

Thanks, Chuck.

[AllenLowe]

ditto -

if I knew how I would put Chris up for one of those NEA masters things.

[Randy Twizzle]

In my capacity as a n obsessive digger through old newspapers I fount this AP stoty from 1973 that dealt with Chris's plans for a movie version of his Bessie bio, that un fortunately never materialized, but I suppose it's never too late

["Bessie," the fascinating biography published this

week by Stein and Day, reveals the "empress, of the

blues" as Albertson believes she really was — strongwilled,

defiant, tough, intense, generous" to a fault, explosive

and promiscuous.

Albertson has corrected many of the myths about her

• life, and he doesn't want the fiction to creep back into the

movie version of his powerful biography.

He's retaining some

control as associate producer

of the movie. Others

involved in the production

are Porter Bibb, former

publisher of Rolling Stone

magazine, former Bay

Area publicist Quentin Kelly,

and producer Jack Jordan.

Kelly and Jordan

produced the recent "Georgia,

Georgia" with Diana

Sands.

Roberta Flack is in line

to star as Bessie Smith.

Albertson, a long-time M'riter on ja/z who helped,

produce Columbia Records' five albums of Bessie Smith

reissues, said Miss Flack contacted him in New York

when she was there to sing at Jackie Robinson's funeral.

: "She came to me and said, Tin not trying to do a

Diana Ross, but I want to be involved in this'film, even if

I'm not seen or heard.'

• "The first person who came to my mind for the part

of Bessie was Odetta," Albertson said. "Even Bessie's

adopted son, Jack Gee Jr., told me that when he saw

Odetta on television it was like watching his mother.

. "Unfortunately, I don't, think the chemistry was right

between her and our director Roberta is our choice right

now, but her attitude is that if it doesn't work out, she' be

satisfied to be involved on the picture in some other way.

"She told us, 'If you should decide that Odetta is the

one, that's cool.'"

The movie would use Miss Flack's singing voice,

rather than the Bessie Smith recordings which date from

1923 to 1933.

''Roberta is working on the songs at this very moment,"

Albertson said, "We could not use the originals —

as they could have done with Billie Holiday — because

-they wouldn't show that electricity of her live perform-

:ances. And toward the end Bessie's style changed as she

rinoved into swing."

Bessie recorded 180 songs for Columbia and. Okeh,

•Albertson said. The master recordings for 20 of them have

"been lost, but all the other 160 numbers are on Columbia's

Iscries of five double-record sets.

: Albertson wrote the liner notes for the series and

-received two Grammy awards for his work. I asked him if

-her records were a good representation of Bessie's live

•performances.

"They're a good representation of her voice, but as

for her live performances, the recordings lack the rapport

she established with her audiences. They lack that electricity."

_ The songs will be worked into the movie screenplay

by Bill Gunn, who will also direct. Gunn has been active in

television production, and has recently directed a movie

called "Blood" for Kelly and Jordan.

: Gunn is black, and happens to be the son of one of

Bessie's chorus girls.

Albertson was asked if he feels any pressure to tone

"down the events in Bessie's life, particularly her sexual

land bisexual) exploits.

~ "We'll show that, but we won't dwell on it the way

ihey dwelled on drugs in 'Lady Sings the Blues.' I held

-back in writing the book on a lot of things that were told to

•me. They would have served no purpose but to sensationalize

the story.

. • "I was asked by a black television host in St. Louis

recently why white writers in writing, about black artists,

seem to .be preoccupied with sex. I think he was being

oversensitive.

"But I don't think you can really portray a person like

Bessie Smith without talking about sex. It was her lifestyle.

It motivated her."

Someone asked Alberlson what he thought of "Lady

Sings the Blues."

"I thought it was a disgraceful film. Diana Ross was

much better than I expected, but the movie exploited

Billie Holiday, really left the real Billie out of the picture

entirely.

"The ultimate disgrace was taking Billie Holiday's

picture off the cover of her own autobiography and putting

Diana Ross on it."

- While Albertson's film is expected to begin production

In April or May, there have been reports that Vincente

Minnelli, king of the MOs musicals, is also planning antovie

biography of Bessie Smith.

• "Universal Pictures assures us that his project is

dead, and they're interested in ours," Albcrfson said.

[Christiern]

Sad to say, HBO is in post production of a film that is allegedly based on my book. I very foolishly sold the screen rights to the late Horton Foote several years ago (he wrote a first draft screenplay) and his daughter sold it to HBO.

As a last-minute consultant, I read the next to last version of HBO's screenplay (written by Dee Reese, who is clueless) and my comments led to some changes. I have not seen the shooting script, but nothing short of s total rewrite could change this into a serious biopic. I will have more to say about this later this year, when the picture is released.

I only hope this will boost the sale of my book, which now is also available as an audiobook.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Christiern