Michael Fitzgerald Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 I shan't speak ill of the dead here. This comes from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2004Dec30.html ===================================== Leslie Gourse Dies at 65; Biographer of Jazz Greats Friday, December 31, 2004; Page B07 Leslie Gourse, 65, who died of a respiratory ailment Dec. 23 at a hospital in New York, was a biographer of jazz greats, including Louis Armstrong, Nat "King" Cole, Art Blakey, Wynton Marsalis, Thelonious Monk, Joe Williams, Billie Holliday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. Ms. Gourse, a freelance writer and an author of more than 20 books about jazz, was a heavy-smoking workaholic of myriad interests. Based in New York, she wrote album liner notes and travel stories and contributed to magazines and newspapers, including Downbeat, JazzTimes, Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, the New York Times and the Village Voice. With a straightforward if sometimes plodding style, her jazz books received reviews ranging from total dismissal to high praise. Although some of her work was assembled hastily, she spent five years writing and trying to persuade publishers to print "Madame Jazz: Contemporary Women Instrumentalists." Oxford University Press released the book in 1995 to wide acclaim. Whereas many earlier books noted the contributions of pianists Mary Lou Williams and Marian McPartland, Ms. Gourse examined the work of female jazz musicians since the late 1970s. Owen McNally, a Hartford Courant jazz critic, called the book a "groundbreaking study of women's role in jazz today." Contemporary Authors, a reference book, quoted Ms. Gourse as saying: "I try to explain who jazz musicians are and what they do, whether I am writing for adults or children. I want people to be interested in jazz musicians as creative people and real people who have achieved a high degree of artistry in a very demanding field. And I want people to appreciate the history of the music within the context of American history." She also wrote "The Best Guided Walking Tours to New York City" (1989), "Pocahontas: Young Peacemaker" (1996), "Gloria Estefan: Pop Sensation" (1999) and "Jim Henson: Young Puppeteer" (2000). Roberta Leslie Gourse was a native of Fall River, Mass., and a 1960 creative writing graduate of Columbia University. She began writing about social trends and the arts and found her work about jazz accepted most readily. It led to book contracts. In 1991, she received the Deems Taylor Award of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers for a series of seven articles about female jazz musicians in JazzTimes. Survivors include her mother, Zelda Gourse of Providence, R.I. ========================================= Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Yikes, I may burn in hell. Don't know what else to say... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Sad news for her family and friends, not so for jazz literature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Chris, I'll save you a seat by the fire... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.A.W. Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Sad news for her family and friends, not so for jazz literature. Quite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alankin Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 There will be plenty of wood in that fire... Might need to move in a few more chairs, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Fitzgerald Posted December 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Wood? I got some better combustibles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Well, I know some books we can burn... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.A.W. Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Well, I know some books we can burn... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 I've not read anything by her, but I have to imagine that somewhere in downtown NY, a Wynton-obsessed tome-reader is not taking this news well..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alankin Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 I've not read anything by her, but I have to imagine that somewhere in downtown NY, a Wynton-obsessed tome-reader is not taking this news well..... What will he peruse now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 I've not read anything by her, but I have to imagine that somewhere in downtown NY, a Wynton-obsessed tome-reader is not taking this news well..... Hmmmmmm, I wonder who that could be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 I've not read anything by her, but I have to imagine that somewhere in downtown NY, a Wynton-obsessed tome-reader is not taking this news well..... What will he peruse now? He'll re-peruse, but not until he finishes reading Crouch's novel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 sorry, but I'm lost - who is this downtown guy? Ed koch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Fitzgerald Posted December 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Please just walk away, Allen. You don't want to know. You don't need to know. Nothing good can come of this. It's not someone you have ever heard of, nor someone you ever will hear of. Your life is better for not knowing. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 hmmmm....well, I can take a hint...sometimes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Listen to what Mike is telling you, Allen. I second it, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 ok - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 Please just walk away, Allen. You don't want to know. You don't need to know. Nothing good can come of this. It's not someone you have ever heard of, nor someone you ever will hear of. Your life is better for not knowing. Mike It's nothing personal Allen, really. You know how when you approach a train-wreck, and you feel compelled to look even though you shouldn't? And there's cops telling you "Just keep moving along, nothing to see here?" By all means and especially in this case, listen to these people!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alankin Posted December 31, 2004 Report Share Posted December 31, 2004 ...someone who thinks that jazz's best living musician has a name that starts with 'W' and also thinks that electric instruments shouldn't be played... ...I'll say no more; time to move along now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 R.I.P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 I will cry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 well, it ain't Crouch - he doesn't live downtown - but I love watching accidents - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyJazz Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 (edited) R.I.P. Not Leslie Gourse. Rather Leslie Gore......., or is it Gore Vidal........, or is it Vidal Sassoon? Edited January 1, 2005 by MartyJazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted January 1, 2005 Report Share Posted January 1, 2005 R.I.P. Not Leslie Gourse. Rather Leslie Gore....... OOOPS! My bad. Don't know WHAT I was thinking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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