A Stop Along the Way

Last night we stayed here. Look quaint, doesn’t it? It’s billed as a “first-class resort located halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.” They say that their “Imaginitive interior design and architecture” make them “unique.” Each one of their 108 rooms is “uniquely decorated with a special theme and color scheme, no two alike!”

Our room was the Mountain Cabin, “a hand-painted mural depicting an Early American scene.” They’ve rearranged the furniture since this photo, now the desk is on the left and the couch is under the window, facing the foot of the bed. The boulders that run along the lower portion of the mural are not painted, they’re real. The room is comfortable, but I have to close my eyes when I go into the bathroom. The window has four colored panes of glass, two Christmas green, two deep sky blue. The lower portion of the walls are painted bright lime green, and above is covered with a clashing gold/olive patina-like wall paper. The sink/counter is faux salmon-colored marble and the toilet and shower tiles are tourquise. What have I left out? Oh, the floor has brown and white quasi fleur-de-lis patterned tiles.

One travel site called it “a garish, but good natured, theme-driven inn.” I call it a tourist attraption and an esthetic assault.

Do You Know the Way to Monterey

This weekend you’ll find me at the Monterey Jazz Festival — we don’t go every year as some might think. In fact, it’s been so long since I’ve been that I can’t tell you exactly when it was — actually I think it’s only been 4 or 5 years, if that, but it seems like forever.

We are particularly looking forward to seeing, and hearing, a few friends in particular. First up for us will be the Russell Mallone/Benny Green duo. Both are monsterous talents in thir own rights, and they always seem to have great fun playing duo. If you haven’t heard their duo, check out Jazz at the Bistro . If you want to learn a little more about Russell, go here to Verve’s artist site. I thought he’d have his own web site, but the message at russellmalone .com says “WELCOME to russellmalone.com! There are no plans to build the site at this time, but thank you for visiting.” — I guess he’s too busy playing music and I can’t fault him for that! Benny Green, sometimes known as Peterson’s Protégé (Oscar, of course), doesn’t have his own site either, but there’s a bio here.

The headliner Friday night is Sonny Rollins and having missed his Los Angeles appearance, I am really looking forward to this. Sonny has a wonderful new website and his new CD, Without a Song: The 9/11 Concert is earning accolades everywhere.

Saturday afternoon I’ll be stopping by the Tower Records booth at 3 pm for Mr. Rifftides book signing (you know, the Paul Desmond bio, Take Five, that we all talk about all the time). Then Saturday night is the incomparable Tony Bennett (who, like my husband, is also beeing honored as an NEA Jazz Master).

On Sunday afternoon, you will find me at the Garden Stage for Clairdee’s 4 pm set, followed by a CD signing at Tower Records’ booth. Music Moves got a great review of in the October issue of Jazz Times If you don’t know who she is yet, go here.

Of course there will be much more to be seen and heard, and I’ll do my best to report in and tell you all from there.

Wonderful News

The following is a press release that went out this morning:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JOHN LEVY NAMED NEA JAZZ MASTER —
THE NATION’S HIGHEST HONOR IN THIS DISTINCTIVELY AMERICAN ART FORM

(SEPTEMBER 13, 2005 – LOS ANGELES, CA) National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Dana Gioia announced today that John Levy is one of the seven living legends of American music who will join the ranks of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters in January. Levy will receive the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Award for Jazz Advocacy, for his career as a manager.

When notified, Levy said, “I have been in attendance at the last three NEA Jazz Masters ceremonies and not in my wildest imagination did I expect to ever receive this most prestigious award. To be so honored for helping talented artists bring jazz and joy into the lives of audiences is the thrill of a lifetime.”

Levy, the great-grandson of Louisiana slaves, was born in New Orleans in 1912 and is considered to be the first black talent manager in jazz and popular music. He has made millions of dollars for his clients bringing them from sometimes-total anonymity to the rarefied atmosphere of success.

The vast and impressive roster of notables handled by John Levy over the past 50 years includes more than 85 artists, eight of whom are already NEA Jazz Masters: Betty Carter, Herbie Hancock, Shirley Horn, Ahmad Jamal, Abby Lincoln, Billy Taylor, Joe Williams, and Nancy Wilson; and one more, Freddie Hubbard, who will join the ranks with him in 2006. Other notable clients on the Levy roster through the years include Cannonball Adderley, Ernie Andrews, Brook Benton, Randy Crawford, Roberta Flack, Arsenio Hall, Eddie Harris, Johnny Hartman, Henry Johnson, Etta Jones, Yusef Lateef, Ramsey Lewis, Herbie Mann, Letta Mbulu, Les McCann, Wes Montgomery, Billy Paul, Dianne Reeves, Marlena Shaw, George Shearing, Dakota Staton, Stanley Turrentine, Sarah Vaughan, and Maxine Weldon.

Levy began his jazz career as a bassist. In 1944, he left Chicago with the Stuff Smith Trio to play an extended engagement at the Onyx club on New York City’s 52nd Street. Over the next years, he was to play with many jazz notables, including Ben Webster, Buddy Rich, Errol Garner, and Milt Jackson (also a Jazz Master), as well as with Billie Holiday at her comeback performance at Carnegie Hall in 1948.

In 1949, George Shearing heard Levy play at Birdland with Buddy Rich’s big band and hired him for his own group, which featured Buddy DeFranco (yet another 2006 Jazz Master Fellow). As Levy toured the country playing with the original George Shearing Quintet, he gradually took on the role of road manager. Levy put aside performing in 1951 to become the group’s full-time manager, making music-industry history and establishing the career he would follow for the rest of his life. Levy is still active today as manager of the legendary song stylist Nancy Wilson and jazz vocalist Clairdee.

When “Men, Women, and Girl Singers” (Levy’s autobiography written by his wife, Devra Hall Levy) was published in 2001, Levy said, “I’d like to be remembered as someone who helped musicians and singers spread the love of jazz around the world.” It seems only fitting that the NEA honor him for that.

Initiated in 1982, the NEA Jazz Master title is the nation’s highest honor in this distinctively American art form. Levy is looking forward to joining his 2006 Fellows – Ray Barretto (percussionist), Tony Bennett (vocalist), Bob Brookmeyer (arranger-composer), Chick Corea (keyboardist), Buddy DeFranco (solo instrumentalist, clarinet), and Freddy Hubbard (solo instrumentalist, trumpet) – at the January 2006 awards ceremony in New York City.

# # #

Editor’s Note:

For more information about John Levy, visit www.lushlife.com.
For more information on NEA Jazz Masters, visit www.neajazzmasters.org

Press Information:

About John Levy – Regina Davis, Davis & Associates Public Relations.
Telephone: 626.356.1300 • Email: Rdavisprpr@aol.com

About NEA Jazz Masters – Victoria Hutter, National Endowment for the Arts
Telephone: 202.682.5692 • Email: hutterv@arts.endow.gov

I’ve Got Mail: Al Casey

Guitarist Al Casey, known for his work with Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson, and Billie Holiday, among others, died last week, just a few days short of his 90th birthday. Loren Schoenberg, executive director of The Jazz Museum of Harlem writes:

“A birthday tribute scheduled for 7:30 P.M. Thursday 9/15/05 at St. Peter’s Church, NYC will now be a memorial. No admission charge. Reception to follow. Musicians are invited to perform and should contact Al Vollmer at 914-834-6882 in this regard.”

Note: This photograph was taken by William P. Gottlieb at the Pied Piper in New York City in the mid 1940s: (l to r) Denzil Best, Al Casey, John Levy.

I’ve Got Mail: Brick Fleagle

Bill Crow, bassist and a man of many Jazz Anecdotes, wrote:

Brick was an interesting guy…I met him at the 54th St Eddie Condon’s one night when I was subbing there. I was back by the bar during the first intermission, and Vic Dickenson was introducing me to a friend of his who was sitting on a barstool. The guy next to him stuck out his hand and said, “..And I’m what’s left of Brick Fleagle.” I wish I could remember what we chatted about, but I found him charming and engaging, though quite loaded. I often saw him at the bar there, and wonder what became of him.

Brick had cancer. When he was in the hospital (St. Vincent’s), Luther tried everything he could to help his friend, and that included bringing to the hospital a voodoo woman with a live chicken for sacrifice. Brick won that battle with cancer and was able to leave the hospital, but he later lost the war. I haven’t verified the dates yet, but think it was 1981 when he died.

What! The weekend is over?

Good morning. I’m having trouble getting my engines started this morning, or as Steven Wright once quipped, “I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.” So I was trolling for inspiration and started with proverbs:

Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.
~ Japanese Proverb

Talk doesn’t cook rice
~ Chinese Proverb

The first step binds one to the second.
~ French Proverb

It is not enough to know how to ride. You must also know how to fall.
~ Mexican Proverb

Frankly the proverbs didn’t do the trick. So I turned to these guys who had some pretty straightforward advice:

Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time… The wait is simply too long.
~ Leonard Bernstein

You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
~ Jack London

The great composer does not set to work because he is inspired, but becomes inspired because he is working. Beethoven, Wagner, Bach and Mozart settled down day after day to the job in hand with as much regularity as an accountant settles down each day to his figures. They didn’t waste time waiting for inspiration.
~ Ernest Newman

Well: time is short; waste not, want not; and all that jazz. I’ve got to get some work done and then I’ll be back with more postings.

Weekend Extras

Jesse Hamlin, staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle has a wonderful piece in today’s paper “Paul Desmond’s sound was like a dry martini, and his melodies flowed like sweet wine.” The article also praises the biography, “Take Five: The Public and Private Lives of Paul Desmond,” written by Doug Ramsey, aka Mr. Rifftides. I’m looking forward to seeing Doug in person at the Monterey Jazz Festival where he’ll be signing copies of the book week from today.

Just received in the mail the October issue of Jazz Times, in which appears my husband’s Letter to the Editor regarding the August issue articles about Wes Montgomery. You can also read it on John’s web site — click here.

A number of friends have asked me if I know of any organizations that are a) specifically helping New Orleans musicians, and b) that do not take a huge adminsitrative cut off the top of monies raised. Preservation Hall has established a fund

“to provide musicians with financial support during this tragic time. 100% of money raised through this fund will go directly to New orleans musicians.”

Jazz impressario George Wein knows the people running this fund, so I believe it’s legit. Info online can be found here and/or you can donate by calling 1-888-229-7911 and providing your credit card info over the phone.

I’ve Got the Whole World In My Hands

Today, Ms. Yarns&Yarns posted The world is two blocks big, her report of our chance encounter that I mentioned here. I’ve added YarnsandYarns to my list of blogs (see Links box on left).

I also added Carl Abernathy’s Cahl’s Juke Joint: A rock, blues and jazz blog. In his personal profile he includes John McPhee and Tracy Kidder among his favorite writers; they are non-fiction gods in my world, and two of my favorites as well.

Human Being or Insect?

With the weekend just a few hours away, I feel the need to lighten up a bit. A meme might be fun. Lynn over at Reflections in d minor said she’d like to see a lot of people do the Heinlein human being or insect meme dreamt up by Eric.
(She was tagged by John L of Texas Best Grok.) Glad to oblige.

Instructions: Of the items listed in the following quote from Robert Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love” identify all those that you have done.

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

  • change a diaper – limited experience as I do not have children, but I did spend a summer working as a mother’s helper; I was in my teens and that was before pampers and pull-ups!
  • plan an invasion
  • butcher a hog
  • conn a ship – yes, if sailboats and rowboats are ships
  • design a building – yes, if building a city out of blocks counts – we even ran electricity – I was 7
  • write a sonnet – albeit unpublishable
  • balance accounts – I’ll assume that we’re talking about financial accounts, and I do balance those, but I also must balance the accounts as in stories I am told when doing research…two people see the same thing and tell very different tales
  • build a wall – both figurative and literal
  • set a bone
  • comfort the dying – many times
  • take orders – yes, but I’m not very good at it
  • give orders – too often, in the minds of some
  • cooperate – can do
  • act alone – usually
  • solve equations – I was good at algebra; geometry was another story
  • analyze a new problem – incessantly
  • pitch manure – cows and horses, lots of times, lots of places
  • program a computer – PCs and mainframes; I was a geek in the 1970s
  • cook a tasty meal – friends will vouch for me
  • fight efficiently – I don’t like to fight, but I’m nothing if not efficient
  • die gallantly
  • Of the four things I’ve never done, you can be sure that butchering a hog is something I will never ever do, setting a bone could happen, planning an invasion is not something I would put past me, and as for a gallant death only time will tell.

    Because I was not “officially” tagged, I’ll not tag you, but feel free to take it on.

    It’s A Small World…Again

    Every once in a while, I comment on how small the world is, as I did here and here. Yesterday it happened again. I received an email from Ms. Yarns&Yarns whose lastname is the same as that of a noted jazz writer. Before reading the email, seeing only the name, I thought perhaps it was a missive from a jazz newsgroup, but then realized that couldn’t be the case, because the writer I was thinking of died several years ago. The last name is rather unusual, but there must be others in the world so named.

    When I read the email, I saw that it had nothing to do with jazz. Ms. Yarns&Yarns had written to say that she, too, loved the movie The Five Pennies, and she reminded me that Barbara Bel Gedes died a couple of weeks ago. “I thought you should schedule another viewing of the film, in honor!” she wrote. I agree. She said a few nice things about the design of my blog, and questioned the fact that I do not allow readers to post comments. I wrote back to her, saying that in lieu of allowing comments, I often post interesting emails I receive from readers. And so began a brief flurry of emails between us.

    While I perused her blog and found this post about Barbara Bel Gedes titled Farewell, BBG , she was perusing devrahall.com and wrote back: “Your jazz connections mean that you and I have another connection, by the way. My father was a jazz critic of some note….”

    I was on the right track from the beginning, and in reviewing her father’s works, I realize that some of it is relevant to my current research. So, the moral of this story is threefold:

    1) trust your instincts and listen to those inner voices;
    2) people cross your path for a reason — be open to the experience; and
    3) talk to strangers as they may turn out to be someone you know.