johnblitweiler

And seeing that he was either a partner or owner in a record distributorship is also tantalizing. Did they distribute only jazz? What other labels did they distribute besides Koenig's? What were his WW2 experiences, his times hanging out with Arnold Schoenberg and other expatriate composers, his side of the Ornette and Art Pepper and H. Hawes stories, his work/life in the '60s and later? Maybe a good writer like Laurie Pepper could tackle the job. For that matter, John Koenig would have interesting stories to tell. I believe he became a lawyer out of disgust with the legal fight over his father's estate.

The Midnight Rider A Man After Midnight Midnight Creeper

Excellent interview, great photos from the book, and George reminds me of the black-white racial divide of my generation.

Great, Jim. Saving a snatch of Jr. Parker for last was nice touch, too.

King James (Beaver Island, MI) Emperor Norton (SF, CA) Doreen Ketchens (Clarinet Queen of New Orleans)

You-oo-oo made me leave my happy home

Vonski Fonzie Nipsy Russell

He was only 50-something - died of an infection. Andrew was the classical music crit for the Chicago Sun-Times and did 2 weekly radio shows on the Chicago classical music station. He grew up 2 doors down the street from me, son of a locally famous liberal lawyer. Andrew campaigned for Independent Voters of IL candidates when he was a teenager, later wrote a biography of I.F. Stone which I haven't yet read. A super nice guy. He had me review a couple classical music concerts for the paper, a job for which I was utterly incompetent. Like his man Studs Terkel, Andrew had vast range of interests, especially in music, and he knew and appreciated Larry Kart's writing. I'm going to miss his enthusiasm and energy and kindness.

He was only 50-something - died of an infection. Andrew was the classical music crit for the Chicago Sun-Times and did 2 weekly radio shows on the Chicago classical music station. He grew up 2 doors down the street from me, son of a locally famous liberal lawyer. Andrew campaigned for Independent Voters of IL candidates when he was a teenager, later wrote a biography of I.F. Stone which I haven't yet read. A super nice guy. He had me review a couple classical music concerts for the paper, a job for which I was utterly incompetent. Like his man Studs Terkel, Andrew had vast range of interests, especially in music, and he knew and appreciated Larry Kart's writing. I'm going to miss his enthusiasm and energy and kindness.

Thanks, Larry. I see West Coast Jazz through the eyes / ears of a '50s kid, Steve and Sangry see it through the eyes / ears of older adults. ArtSalt, any time is a good time to enjoy Jack Sheldon.

True, but West Coast Jazz is the way the music was peddled in its heyday. Like Chicago style modern jazz (post-Jug, -Jamal, &c.), Detroit style, Philadelphia style, maybe there are consistent or shared features of southern CA jazz of the 1950s that we can call Black CA style. (Did Savoy's Black CA albums ever make it to CD?)

Jazzbo Brown Jazzin Babies Cakewalkin Babies

Chicago this evening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O6u6Eplxu0

This is past tense now, but I fear my pain less than my inability to alleviate the pain of people I love (wife). Not married, but I feel like you feel. It's an attitude toward fear that came from walking this earth for awhile. For myself, I spose I fear alcohol, drugs, traffic, fire most. (List subject to change perhaps.)

Does anyone here have experience in sleeping in strangers' homes-having strangers sleeping in their homes while traveling? These kind of reciprocal exchanges appear promising but the lack of privacy in my small crib would seem to forbid my reciprocity.

Always for me, the mostly white musicians who recorded for PJ and Contemporary (and Mode, Tampa, etc.) in the 1950s - mostly studio musicians, mostly big-band vets - and of course Brubeck, these were the West Coast idiom. Rather heavily arranged, rather closer to swing rhythms than to bop, rather advanced harmonies, rather self-conscious about being modern, rather more "rathers," always "tasteful" - that's how they seemed to me. The blues wasn't really blue, invisible heroin, invisible ecstacies. No jamfs, racism, not even messy or messed-up or lost loves - nobody heard the cruelty of the lyrics of "My Funny Valentine." Very much a period music - Chico Hamilton then turned to Charles Lloyd, Bud Shank became a full-blooded Benny Carter man, Shelly Manne led hard-bop combos, etc. etc. The real world, the jazz mainstreams, overtook West Coast by the 1960s. What remained were Brubeck-Desmond, G. Mulligan's bouncing rhythms, not a whole lot else.

Lots of good suggestions here. Be sure to hear this one, too:

The Man Who Was Thursday Tuesday Weld Daddy-O Daylie

D.D. Jackson Jackson in Your House U.S. Rep. Henry The Homewrecker Hyde

The Real McCoy Mack The Knife Makaya McCraven

Warne Marsh was not quite west coast and he was far, far from east coast, but he made some absolute beauties in the '50s and '60s for various labels - Revelation, some now-obscure '50s labels, plus the Marsh quintet sessions under Art Pepper's and Ted Brown's names. Incidentally the intensity with which Marsh and Tristano played is surely the very opposite of Cool Jazz. Be sure to hear Art Pepper's '50s recordings as leader and sideman, including his Tampa-label quartet w/Russ Freeman and the Hoagy Carmichael Pacific Jazz CD. You've got some treats coming. Early Brubeck has some more intrigue. BTW Good Time Jazz reissued some trad-jazz revival recordings with the title "the San Francisco Style."

Re Miles' quintet's free improvisation: At the Plugged Nickel the quintet played a tune, Miles soloed then stepped outside for a smoke, came back and asked Herbie Hancock's brother "What song are we playing?" (from Hancock's autobiog.)

Some of the heart has gone out of Chicago baseball. I hate to say it, but the Cubs were ahead of my White Sox when it came to black players. Minoso came to us in 1951 but had to live with an inner city family - the hotel where the rest of the Sox lived was segregated. Banks came to the Cubs in 1953 along with Gene Baker, so Banks would have a roommate, and Sam Jones came to the Cubs in 1955. I don't believe we got a second black player who stayed until Bill Veeck bought the team in 1958.

a top BAG artist at his early best

I'm about 1/3 into the book - fascinating gossip abut Miles' band, HH's cocaine and WS's alcohol use at the time, TW's domination, butter/bottom notes.