AllenLowe

I've never really "toured," and I got burned out playing local gigs; I havent recorded in 10 years (thought that's about to change); my preference would be to be a musician like a novelist is a novelist, put something out every year or two, do a brief media thing, and than go on with my life. Having this attitude has allowed me to average approximately $500 per year in musical earnings, so I would not say it is a good career choice. I like writing, playing, and recording and, stupidly, I once thought that merit was the overwhelimg cause of acceptance in the jazz world - that if you did good work, sooner or later someone had to notice and pay you to do more good work. Happens with some, but you gotta be willing to give up a lot family wise, time wise, and personally, and physically. I never quite got there, but am ready to resume writing my musical equivalent of the yearly novel -

Van Vechten is a fasinating figure; I 've read Nigger Heaven, which he wrote, an interesting novel. Excellent photographer, and wrote some great descriptions of Bessie Smith performing (as Chris knows well) -

I'm stumped - how about a hint?

6.5 - you gotta know somebody -

too late - Chris Albertson pulled a heist the other night and grabbed it -

AHHHHHH! Sherry Tucker's book - that's the one that tells us Billie Holiday was embarrased by her blackness because she liked the accompaniment of the Whiteman band -

well, I just started to listen (first six cuts) - I find Mobley's playing to be some of the most heart-felt I have ever heard. As a matter of fact, the first thing that came to mind as a point of comparison was Charlie Parker's solo on Round Midnight on that session with Miles and Sonny Rollins - full of an incredible sense of striving, yet regret - gorgeous stuff, in my opinion. Certainly there are lapses, hesitations, gaps - but what comes in between these is (unlike, say, on some of Lester Young's more impaired recordings, or on Hawkins's last work) full of substance, care, intelligence - this is heavy stuff - an important mind at work, still trying to think ahead -

just wanted to add something related to Mingus - if you have the Debut box you've heard the version of Massey Hall without the Mingus overdub - the sound on this is so strikingly better than the version released (has more presence, better sound) that I'm surprised it has not been issued officially as an alternative to the other - by the way I never said the Stormy Weather performance was underappreciated - I only note that it is rarely mentioned; both Dolphy and Mingus's work on it are unsurprassed -

let me just add that recently someone (and it may have been larry kart) posted something about the difference between someone who has to write and just writes because he must get it all out, and someone who wants to write, has nothing compelling to really write about, and than struggles to INVENT something to write about or (to be academic about it) contextualize. Kelley strikes me as of that category of academic who decided jazz was a good career opportunity. Now, to be clear and honest, a lot of this is my own resentment of academia, which has never really allowed me access; I just get a little crazy sitting back watching these kinds of academics whose background and credentials permit them a pseudo-sociological entree into these kinds of things with articles like the Miles the Pimp/NY Times piece - on the other hand, if he does a good Monk bio more power to him, as I certainly don't have the time and inclination (and tenure) to do that kind of work -

that's the one, guys - I don't know if Larry and Mike recall, but I got Kelley a bit steamed up on the jazz research line when I referred to that article as being about Miles the Pimp. Mike - if you've heard him speak about his Monk research and find it comprehensive, than I trust that it is - I heard him talk early on about Monk (at a conference a few years back at Newport) and it was weak, but I know he's done a lot of work since then. He also, however, wrote a piece about jazz wives in the Times last year or the year before in which he spoke about how great certain women were in their support of certain musicians -and I knew from personal experience that at least two of the women he was writing about had helped slow their husbands's careers signficantly. What I worry about in the Monk research is how close he is becoming to the Monk family. I just think that if you're going to do a bio it should show everything about a musician, warts and all. My other worry about him, from that initial Monk talk I heard, is that he seems to know very little about the actual music - but I'm open to change -

Palmer lived in New Haven and we worked together a few times back in the 1980s (I think it was); anybody know where he is now?

the '50s Mingus/John La Porta stuff is fascinating (and so is La Porta's autobiography, available from Cadence); I like Mingus's Candid's too, the first of which contains a version of Stormy Weather featuring Eric Dolphy which is, to me, the single greatest jazz performance I own. I know that's saying a lot, but this version has go to be heard to be believed -

Mike - I'm glad to hear that there's better things than what was issued, which was quite ordinary, I thought; about Robin Kelley - well, I don't really think he's very impressive, just an academic who doesn't really know much about the music, and I say this from having heard him speak and having read some of the silly stuff he's written for the Times -

I hate to be negative, as I love the Uptown stuff - but, Chuck, is Gitler doing the notes to the new Bird? I'm sorry, I respect his past work, but he has run out of ideas and has very little insight left - my unsolicited suggestion is that they find someone else -

he plays great on some Ted Lewis things, as well -

absolutely - I am especially interested in Hall Overton, who is supposedly on some of the material -

it would be great to see and hear all of that, though I will say that the one CD that was issued of lotf performances was a disappointment - the music wasn't bad, but nothing special and not especially worthy of release -

it's an interesting piece - I've been out of the NYC for so long I don't know what's what anymore...I did work and record at the Knitting Factory twice; it was an important downtown spot, though, as Don Byron said once, people finally realized it was just "a dirty little room." The point about downtown vs uptown is really about the lessening of commercial pressures downtown, but, I suppose, as NYC real estate has escalated, the distinctions are more stylistic. In the 1980s that downtown scene was extremely important in rejuvenating jazz, I think (despite what Wynton and Ken Burns tell us about that supposedly sterile period) - Zorn and more, Brandon Ross, Byron, Caine, Hooker, etc etc etc, these were times of crossover between new music and improvised music, and they had quite a lasting impact on jazz.

I made a boomerang in shop class, 1968 - I threw it but never saw it again -

Wooding and Snowden are two early major jazz figures - Ellington was connected with Snowden and Dickey Wells (I think) was in one of his bands - Wooding was one of the first to go to Europe and was an important blandleader - I'm sure there's stuff on the net on both of them -

you're right Clem - I should make that 35 years (John Wesley Harding was the last decent album) - I've heard 'em all, out of ideas, voice shot, riding on his reputation - that's Dylan -

and one hard boiled egg -

well, I can't get you INTO the concert, but I might be able to get you into the parkling lot - but I'm gonna need all those CDs and a 1/2 pound of pot -

a great early boot is Live At The Gaslight, if you can find it - it's 1963, I think, brilliant performance -

and I'll bet his Xmas photo looked awfully familiar...