Christiern

My most memorable recollection of Artie Shaw is his explosive reaction when--at a New York Jazz Museum board meeting--it was discovered that Howard Fisher, the museum director misappropriated money. A corporation (Seagram's, I think), had given the museum $50,000 earmarked for musician who played Sunday afternoon concerts there, Howard had used the money for other things because, he said, "musicians will play for free, anyway." Artie stood up and really let him have it, pointing out that he, Artie, was among the relatively few jazz musicians who had managed to make a good living playing jazz. I wish I had his exact words, they really told me something about Artie Shaw.

Thanks, Chris. I recall an interview in which Artie was asked about his various marriages. "I don't know why people are so interested in my marriages," he replied. "they were failures. Nobody asks me about my divorces, all of which were successful."

Very sad, though not unexpected news.

Sorry about that, but--for some odd reason--the clipping (a small jpg) won't upload. I'll keep trying.

While doing some research, I came across the following item in the NYT of December 5, 1954:

"... in a historic perspective death doesn't absolve all sins." Exactly! If we wish to be remembered kindly after our final departure, we must earn it while living. Had White come around and recognized how bigoted and (I assume) un-Christian) his public remarks were, and had he then acknowledged that recognition, we might have been able to remember him kindly. He scarred forever whatever good reputation he earned on the field. Sorry, Shawn, but that's how I feel about it, and doing a PC number here would be too hypocritical for my comfort. We all die at some point, and what we leave behind is of our own making.

Shawn, Miles never claimed to be a Christian and I don't recall hearing him make bigoted statements. Let's say it like it is: White was a phenomenal football player, a hypocrite, and a bigot. Ok, so some attribute this to ignorance, but it simply doesn't wash. This, apparently, was a selectively nice person who may deserve placement on a sports pedestal, but failed the more important test as a decent human being.

My paperback version only cost $22.50. I scanned a page from it for my birthday greeting to Lonson/Jazzbo...

From the NY Times... December 28, 2004 DONATIONS Agencies Accepting Aid Dollars Following are some of the agencies accepting contributions for aid to people affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Asia. ACTION AGAINST HUNGER 247 West 37th Street, Suite 1201 New York, N.Y. 10018 212-967-7800 x108 www.actionagainsthunger.org AMERICAN JEWISH WORLD SERVICE 45 West 36th Street, 10th Floor New York, N.Y. 10018 800-889-7146 www.ajws.org AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE South Asia Tsunami Relief Box 321 847A Second Avenue New York, N.Y. 10017 212-687-6200 ext. 851 www.jdc.org AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE AFSC Crisis Fund 1501 Cherry Street Philadelphia, Pa. 19102 215-241-7000 www.afsc.org AMERICAN RED CROSS International Response Fund P.O. Box 37243 Washington, D.C. 20013 800-HELP NOW www.redcross.org CARE 151 Ellis Street Atlanta, GA 30303 800-521-CARE www.care.org CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES Tsunami Emergency P.O. Box 17090 Baltimore, Md. 21203-7090 800-736-3467 www.catholicrelief.org DIRECT RELIEF INTERNATIONAL 27 South La Patera Lane Santa Barbara, Calif. 93117 805-964-4767 www.directrelief.org DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS P.O. Box 1856 Merrifield, Va. 22116-8056 888-392-0392 www.doctorswithoutborders.org EPISCOPAL RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT Emergency Fund P. O. Box 12043 Newark, NJ 07101 800-334-7626 www.er-d.org INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF RED CROSS/RED CRESCENT www.ifrc.org INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS Earthquake/Tsunami Relief 1919 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 300 Santa Monica, Calif. 90404 800-481-4462 www.imcworldwide.org INTERNATIONAL ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHARITIES Asia Disaster Response P.O. Box 630225 Baltimore, MD 21263-0225 877-803-4622 www.iocc.org ISLAMIC RELIEF USA Southeast Asia Earthquake Emergency P.O. Box 6098 Burbank, Calif. 91510 888-479-4968 www.irw.org/asiaquake MERCY CORPS Southeast Asia Earthquake Response Dept. W P.O. Box 2669 Portland, Ore. 97208 800-852-2100 www.mercycorps.org OPERATION USA 8320 Melrose Avenue, Suite 200 Los Angles, Calif. 90069 800-678-7255 www.opusa.org OXFAM AMERICA Donor Services Department 26 West Street Boston, MA 12111-1206 800-77-OXFAM www.oxfamamerica.org SAVE THE CHILDREN Asia Earthquake/Tidal Wave Relief Fund 54 Wilton Road Westport, Conn. 06880 800-728-3843 www.savethechildren.org UNICEF General Emergency Fund 333 E. 38th Street New York, NY 10016 800-4-UNICEF www.unicef.org

Good piece, Alankin, thanks for posting it. What a screwed up person White was--one can only hope that his ignorance and bigotry has not been passed on to his children.

Hey, Johnny E, Big Al has referred to you as "a voice of reason." I'd worry about that!

7/4"This "enough politics" thread is pretty sad." But not surprising--notice who the people are who want us to forget U.S. politics. I see that that the Bush people have been shamed into adding another 20 million to the paltry amount they pledged, and we are finally sending ships and equipment. It is shameful that these people took so long to come up with what essentially amounts to a pittance when compared to the tax-payer money they squander feeding their self-interests.

I'm afraid those figures are way below reality. The BBC reported a much higher one this morning.

Sorry, Guy and Big Al, I know it isn't easy to face up to the realities of Bush, but look at what he is doing--or not doing, in this case. Politics very much enters into it when you have our government all but ignoring the plight of so man people while they keep on dancing and basking in what is probably ill-gotten glory.

The last time I checked, Florida was a part of the USA, and Southeast Asia was not. REALLY telling when the president sends more money to places in America than to foreign countries. Shocking, in fact. Bad vibes, So what? Your bringing that up is truly idiotic. It is still outrageous that this little twerp and his coterie of warmongers can only find $15,000,000 to send these poor people while they dance away many more millions in one night of self-glorification. While they squander billions of dollars and thousands of lives on a totally unjustifiable, unprovoked war. That--and the fact that there are little lemming who go along with it--is what's shocking, not pointing it out. These people are true scum and anyone who supports what they have and are doing needs to take a good look at themselves.

How telling it is that our so-called "president" wants to help the tsunami victims with 50 million dollars. If memory serves me right, he sent infinitely more money to Florida when hurricanes claimed far fewer victims--but, of course, there were votes to be had (legal or otherwise). Then, too, look at the money he has and continues to throw away in Iraq. If ever there was a group of thugs with warped priorities, it is the one that occupies the seat of power today.

Big Al:"What I do believe is that you will go out of your way to point out just about everyone's flaws, be they athletes, politicians, celebrities, hell, even fellow board-members. Why is that, Chris? Why are you so obsessed with pointing out others [sic] flaws? Are you that uncomfortable in your own skin that you feel the need to bring others up/down to your level?" Yes, Big Al, I make it a point to find flaws--and when I do, I just can't wait to broadcast them! That's one reason why you frustrate me so, you are flawless! Can't you do anything wrong? One last thing, if I am bringing people up or down to my level, as you claim, what do you perceive to be my level? Whom have I brought down to it? Whom have I elevated to it? Aren't you just a bit confused? As for being aware of White's athletic prowess, I did know that he was a pro player, and thus I assumed that was pretty good at it, but I had never heard of him until he started--in the name of what he perceived to be Christianity--publicly spewing his misguided bigotry, baring his colossal ignorance.

I never noticed any bias against avant garde when I was writing for Down Beat. In fact, Dan gave me assignments that ran the gamut from Cecil Taylor to The Red Onion Jazz Band. I do, however, recall a couple of occasions when Dan was displeased with an opinion expressed by me and suggested a more positive angle. Dan always looked out for the artists and, in retrospect, I think that was a good thing as long as it did not result in appeasement.

Bob Thiele wrote a long letter to db when my review of a Carnegie Hall concert produced by him included a negative. I pointed out the fact that some instruments, including Lawrence Lucie's guitar, could not be heard in the hall, because audio was being fed directly to a recording truck parked outside. Forcing concertgoers to buy the album in order to hear what their ticket should have bought them was, I wrote, a case of warped priorities. Thiele was livid and threatened to yank all his ads out of the magazine unless I was dismissed, but Dan, in his usual cool manner, wrote back that Bob was welcome to do whatever he felt was necessary. It was against db's policy, he added, to allow advertisers to dictate editorial decisions. Thiele continued to run his ads and I continued to collect my $5 per review ($15 for Caught in the Act).

Armstrong did admire the Lombardo band and when I asked him about that, I came away with the impression that it was the high level of musicianship he admired more than the actual charts. Musicians often listen with different ears--take for example Lester Young's admiration for Jo Stafford; I was surprised when he expressed that to me, but when I later thought about it, I concluded that it was her perfect pitch he admired. I may have been wrong, but it made sense to me. It is folly to think that jazz musicians are so into their music that they don't listen beyond it. I have been to parties at Cecil Taylor's loft (in the late 60s) where the music was all Motown, and if someone suggested Coltrane, Cecil would have none of it.

Reggie White: "In the process of history, homosexuals have never been castrated, millions of them never died. " There must be millions of very, very old homosexuals around! Big Al: "Speaking of inequity, you're the one who decided to bring it to everyone's attention what an "outspoken born-again homophobe" White allegedly was. I am sure there are millions who appreciate your little gesture of 'equity'." Not being into football, I asked if this was the guy who made those bigoted remarks. His name struck a bell and connoted something not so nice to me. Well, I guess my recollection was right. I had no idea that he was so accomplished in his field--had I only known that, I would have closed my ears to his bigotry. As for White "allegedly" being an outspoken born-again homophobe, unless what I saw and heard was an act of ventriloquism, I don't think we need apply the term, "alleged," here. Big Al: "Oh, and one other thing: none of the folks you listed have passed on. I suspect that when they do, you'll be just as "equitable" to those folks as you are to White. I believe it was White's death that brought him back into the news. Are you suggesting that his bigotry is somehow connected with his mortality? Sorry to shock you, Big Al, but I don't think Reggie White's misguided, idiotic remarks were in any way affected by his death--except, of course, that he will no longer be making them. How sad it it took the final curtain to close that show. I wonder if you will start accepting Louis Farakhan's anti-Semitic remarks the moment he dies--will you?

Big Al:"Also interesting how people put more weight on the comments rather than on the whole man's life. Especially on one they've never met." Yes, one is reminded of all that fuss people made when Belafonte referred to Powell and Rice as House Negroes (to put it politely). Guess they didn't know that he was an accomplished singer/actor. And then there was Jesse Jackson's "Hymie Town" remark, and Rumsfeld's recent... and...and Billy Graham's anti-Semitic remarks, and Falwell's homophobic remarks... and Pat Robertson's gays-cause-hurricanes remark, and ...etc., etc. I mean, what is this world coming to when famous people are criticized for making racist, mean-spirited utterances--where is it not written that celebrity comes with a license to make outrageous, racist, slanderous remarks? What's even more shocking is that most of the people who dare take offense at offensive remarks have never even met these part-time bigots/full-time stars. Thank you for pointing out this inequity, Big Al.

Funny how a successful sports figure can get away with making outrageously bigoted remarks. Also interesting to note how some people are less offended by the remarks themselves than they are by a criticism of them. I am reminded of the existence/non-existence of WMDs...oh, but that's another story, eh Dan? Sorry, the name-calling somehow triggered my memory.

Big Al: "Good gravy, this is just damn hilarious: people saying vicious and hurtful things about a dead man who said vicious and hurtful things while he was living. May we all hold our tongues when it’s your turn." There is a fundamental difference, Big Al. If what is being said about White strikes you as "vicious and hurtful," don't blame the person who points that out, blame the person who is being quoted, the person whose expressed opinion is under scrutiny. What White said was indeed vicious and hurtful, whether or not he had the intelligence to realize that, and if bringing that up is vicious and hurtful, well, I think that's a little bit like the under-endowed calling a mirror a liar.

A helluva person, Dan? A misguided bigot is more like it. One cannot hide ugliness behind a veil of religion--it is still ugliness. I am sorry for his family that he died at such an early age, but it's too bad that he didn't see the light first.