RIP Larry Gushee

[Larry Kart]

The notable jazz scholar, critic, and musicologist -- author of the superb book about the Creole Jazz Band, "Pioneers of Jazz" -- has died at age 83. I hope Allen Lowe, who knew him well, will share some thoughts.

[Chuck Nessa]

A large loss.

[Larry Kart]

Links to some of Gushee's work:

http://jazzstudiesonline.org/resource/how-creole-band-came-be

http://jazzstudiesonline.org/resource/nineteenth-century-origins-jazz

[Hardbopjazz]

RIP Larry.

[jeffcrom]

Very sorry to hear this.

[John L]

RIP

[clifford_thornton]

Only knew the name in passing but will investigate - sorry to hear this. RIP.

[AllenLowe]

yeah, wonderful man - just happened to run into Dan Morgenstern tonight and we talked about what an interesting man he was - knew about a lot of jazz from the early days forward (used to call me and suggest Eric Dolphy recordings). A bit of a curmudgeon at times, was very protective of his research, though he sent me a few interesting things (I do worry about what will become of his files which have some information on Bolden, et al, at least from what he told me). Talked to him only a few weeks ago, though he was not too cognizant at that time. Even in most of these last years he was sharp and full of brilliant/cynical statements on jazz history, revivalists, and clarinet players,

Very sad about this, he was really one of my best and most entertaining friends. He taught me, among other things, that you just cannot trust the conventional wisdom when it comes to jazz history - and that one should never believe anything Phil Schaap says about Duke Ellington (he was very funny on the subject of sitting at conferences and going crazy listening to what were apparently historical inventions by Phil).

Edited January 8, 2015 by AllenLowe

[jeffcrom]

I'm sorry that we've lost a great jazz researcher, but I'm sorry that you've lost a friend, Allen.

[Mark Stryker]

Larry was such an important, pioneering scholar and someone who had a huge impact on me when I took his grad-level jazz history seminar as an undergraduatre at the University of Illinois in 1984/85. The central lesson was that the standards and expectations for scholarship about jazz should be just as high as they are for classical music -- but he also imparted wisdom about the necessity of always testing received wisdom against the empirical evidence; lessons about meticulousness, accuracy and objectivity; the differences between fandom, criticism and musicology; the fact that the history of jazz and the history of jazz on record are different things; alternative ways of framing questions of history, and so many specifics relating to periods of jazz history and individual musicians. Lessons that grow in importance for me every year. Larry was also responsible for one of earliest paid writing assignments, having recommended me to the editor of Percussive Notes to write Buddy Rich's obituary in 1987. I used to hear Larry regularly at Friday happy hours at Nature's Table in Urbana, where he led a small band called the New Golden Rule Orchestra, which as a point of pride played no repertoire written after something like 1920. I was not in regular contact with him and last spoke to him probably 15 years ago, maybe longer; but when I look back on the academic classes in college and graduate school that had the most profound impact on me, his was in the top 3. RIP.

Edited January 8, 2015 by Mark Stryker

[AllenLowe]

thanks Jeff, and thanks for saying all that Mark, you summed up Larry way better than I did; I am somewhat in denial and resisting posting about him but he really was a great man; less known in the critical field than many others.

I became friends with Gushee after I sent him American Pop years ago - I think he liked the book because the fact that he would talk to me - when he avoided so many other would-be historians whose work frustrated him - was an extremely good sign, in Larry's terms. I once finally asked him what he thought of Devilin Tune and he said, after some hesitation "you didn't do anything wrong," which was high praise from him. Another time he told me "you know everything" without a hint of sarcasm or irony and rather than go to my head it just gave me the confidence to continue my work because it came from a guy who really did seem to know everything. Like Larry I work in an area of writing history where standards are not just notoriously low but almost non-existant, so Larry's approval was really all I needed.

Edited January 8, 2015 by AllenLowe

[johnblitweiler]

Were Larry's first publications about classical music? I'd always hoped to meet him, if only to thank him for his writings, especially his essays about the earliest years of jazz and the book Pioneers Of Jazz. There were qualities of love, dedication, meticulousness, even humor, that shone through his works - he was always perfectly clear and always fascinating. He was one of the handful of writers who made the young me feel that jazz criticism and scholarship could be an occupation for serious adults. A most valuable guy.

[AllenLowe]

I don't know if he did any work on classical music; I do know that his academic specialty was Medieval studies.

[Larry Kart]

Were Larry's first publications about classical music? I'd always hoped to meet him, if only to thank him for his writings, especially his essays about the earliest years of jazz and the book Pioneers Of Jazz. There were qualities of love, dedication, meticulousness, even humor, that shone through his works - he was always perfectly clear and always fascinating. He was one of the handful of writers who made the young me feel that jazz criticism and scholarship could be an occupation for serious adults. A most valuable guy.

One of his specialties was medieval music.