Jazz & Ribs Fest 2009

I wish I could say that I’d spent the whole weekend there, documenting the entire thing, but I can’t. In fact, I could only be there for a couple of hours on Sunday, but at least I got to meet a few people, hear some great music from Mark Flugge’s band, and take a few photos. I don’t eat ribs, but I loved the signs and the friendly competition among the vendors.

Flugge has a trio that he usually performs with, including Dave DeWitt, and Dave Weinstock. On Sunday he had a few guests, including Jim Ed Cobb on percussion, and my old friends Randy Mather and Kim Pensyl on horns. They played all Mark Flugge originals for nearly an hour and a half, and a great time was had by all.

Mark Flugge and band @ Columbus Jazz & Ribs Fest

Randy Mather and Kim Pensyl @ Cols. Jazz & Ribs Fest.

Mark Flugge, Cols. Jazz & Ribs Fest.

Sign at the Cols. Jazz & Ribs Fest.

Overview of festival & Columbus skyline.

Listening to Lady Day *** Reprise

Introduction: It has been 9 years since I wrote this for All About Jazz, but apart from the date, I could have written it yesterday. Granted, my entire life has changed since then, but Billie Holiday, and her music, remain timeless. After this initially appeared on AAJ, I received a flurry of email messages from (I suspect) mostly youngsters, looking for more info, or wanting me to answer their questions about Billie. So, I’ll just say upfront that what I offer here is, among other things, a list of resources that you can access easily. I’m sure that since 2000, even more resources have become available. Look on Google, or try out the new Relief Search ( http://www.ReliefSearch.com ) and do somebody some good. And let me know if you find something great and I’ll post your comments as additional resources.

But mostly, Happy Birthday Billie. Thinking of you.

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 April 7, 2000 marked what would have been Billie Holiday’s 85th birthday. In view of her exceptional talent, she died pitiably young, at the age of 44. In view of her life long struggle for survival, along with a marked skill at self-destruction, as contradictory as that sounds, she managed to win in some way just by staying around as long as she did.

In “Wishing On the Moon,” Donald Clarke writes in the final chapter, “Simple truths about Lady have always been in short supply, let alone more complicated ones.”  The truths that are known are the ones that have been sifted out over the years from myth and late night memories, from those who knew her, and those who only thought they did.

The facts of her birth, her death, and the struggle in between to do her work while battling discrimination, drug addiction and the law, have been spoken about at length by such luminous writers and minds as Nat Hentoff, Dan Morgenstern and Leonard Feather. British author/musician/broadcaster Benny Green wrote about her art and how she differed from her musical contemporaries in “The Reluctant Art.” And in Elizabeth Hardwick’s novel, “Sleepless Nights,” she remembers the Lady in a surreal poetry of the senses, through the kalidescope of years. Journalist David Margolick has written a book on the history of a single song, “Strange Fruit.” A song about racism and lynching in the South, Billie first brought it to public awareness when she was asked to sing it for the club’s racially integrated audience, by the club’s owner. The year was 1939.

Leslie Gourse has collected a number of excellent writings in her book, “The Billie Holiday Companion: Seven Decades of Commentary.” Each of these pieces presents a different truth about Billie, each author offers up a different facet of the Lady. For the lifelong Holiday fan, or for jazz neophytes, this is a good volume to keep handy. I suspect that if you read enough, listen enough, you can discern your own truths.

Listening. I was a teenager when I first heard Billie Holiday sing. I hung out with a group of guys who were already jazz afficionados, and for the most part, budding musicians. I had liked what I’d heard, but I don’t think I really got the full impact of the music until they played one of Billie’s records. I had always sung, and had always listened to all kinds of music, but when I heard her sing, it opened the door to jazz for me in a way that nothing else had. I had to go in through the vocals before I learned to appreciate the rest of it. Taking just the standards into consideration, I have discovered that this is not all that rare. Many musicians seem to hear lyrics as they play, perhaps giving greater depth to their own improvisational interpretations, no matter what instrument is being played. Having first learned lyrics from as fine a musician as Lady Day could only improve the chances of increased musical understanding on anyone’s part.

Listening. Mary Lou Williams said, “Billie Holiday was a pioneer and a genius. What she started nobody has ever been able to imitate. She was great because the suffering in her life developed into a true love that all heard who listened to her sing. Her singing reached people’s hearts because it was a true thing.”

Carmen McRae: “Only way she was happy was through a song. I don’t think she expressed herself as she would want to when you met her in person. The only time she was at ease and at rest with herself was when she sang.”

Listening. To know the music is more important than knowing the musician. Isn’t it? From the time Billie Holiday became well known, her life too often overshadowed the music. There were conflicting stories about how her trademark gardenias came about, conflicting stories about her relationships with men, with women, with her parents. In a short life filled with excesses, she left behind a remarkable legacy of music. She quite literally transmuted the pain and losses of her life into that music. She was a jazz singer, though many considered her a blues singer. Joachim Berendt said it well. “Billie Holiday sang the blues only incidentally. But through her phrasing and conception, much that she sang seemed to become blues.”

Whether through her sense of time, her phrasing, her narrow range that demanded a greater creativity in moving about the structure of a song, or her astounding ability to open a window of meaning and emotion onto even the most banal lyric, Billie Holiday influenced, either directly or indirectly, nearly every jazz singer who came after her. She was a singing horn, who miraculously did not scat to prove her musicianship. She didn’t have to. Even more significantly, she sang with something so rare that it convinced people that what she did was simply intuitive. Natural. Easy. The truth is, she was brilliant, and the music that she left us, when she left us, will continue to shine through the years, no matter what is said. And we will listen.

Link to the original article: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/articles/eyee0400.htm

Look, I’m scanning!

Tommy Flanagan, NYC recording session, copyright Janet Sommer

 

It has taken me months to do this, and although I’m ashamed of myself for procrastinating, I’m so proud I finally got it together to start this.

My first offering, the great Tommy Flanagan, from a Scott Hamilton recording session  for Concord Music, sometime in the late ’90’s. (I still have to get caption info together.)

Some Virtual Stocking Stuffers

A couple of quick ideas for filling your time online during the holiday season and beyond:

Accujazz.com: Right now I’m listening to the “Swingin’ Christmas” channel, but there are multitudes of other channels to choose from and listen to. This one has really brightened my morning. They also have a blog where they review new releases, and occasionally refer you to other sites of interest. Check it out.

Jazz.com Slightly over a year old now, this is a jazz site that is informative, funny, and visually pleasing without being so visually heavy that it takes ten minutes for a page to load. Reviews, interviews, lots of good writing, images (check out the gallery for some other great jazz photogs & artists), and Lewis Porter’s Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians. Author/Musician Ted Gioia’s site.

jazzvideoguy.tv   

http://www.planetbret.com/  Both of the above are sites that belong to Bret Primack, aka jazzvideoguy. Like mini-jazz docs. Interviews & performance mixed. Bret has been around for many years and has experience in all sorts of Jazz enterprises. Check him out.

Thanks to the Accublog for the links to Bret’s spaces.

Night Notes

Tito Puente recording session in NYC

It is late, and I am listening to Jazz Profiles on Tito Puente, not because I had planned to, but because when I was on I-Tunes searching for Christmas music that I hadn’t heard and/or wasn’t sick to death of, I clicked on the podcasts section of my library, and it just immediately started up.

It is strange to hear his voice again, speaking, telling stories. The first time I met Tito, he asked me where I was from. I told him that I’d grown up in Columbus, Ohio, and he immediately went into a whole thing about Columbus. Columbus is one of the greatest cities, they have a great jazz scene, everyone is so nice… He went into a story about losing his wallet in a hotel in Columbus when he was staying there during an appearance. It was a fairly long story, but the gist of it was that he ended up getting his wallet back after he had returned home, albeit minus the actual money that had been in it. I miss his energy. He gave off sparks, and not alot of people do that.

In other areas, I got very few Christmas recommendations after my post asking people here & other places for ideas. In the next few days I’ll put them up here, along with some of my own favorites. One suggestion that I did get was for the Manhattan Transfer Christmas CD. So, one morning I was online & listening to it, and happened to post on Twitter that I was listening to this CD, and trying to get inspired… A couple of minutes later, a guy twitted an @JanetSommer reply, saying, “Manhattan Transfer sux!” Sooo… so much for inspiration!

Classic Jazz Photography

I was photographing music events and musicians long before I knew of any of the great classic jazz photographers. I had seen photography on record covers and liner notes, of course, but I really hadn’t a clue for a long while that there were individuals who were “famous” for a body of work surrounding only jazz musicians, and of a certain time and place. Of course, once I started learning about these people, I wanted to know everything I could about them, and the circumstances under which they shot. If you are a jazz fan, you’ve probably seen the work of some of these people in various places, either online or in books or magazines, but you may not know who they are or what might have inspired their work.

I have done some research online, and wanted to share some of these great images with you. And if you’re interested enough to read about the people behind the camera, there is usually some biographical information on their sites. If not, you can always Google them to find out more. I am not posting any of the photos on this site because I have too much respect for these guys to lift the photos they have posted elsewhere.

Let us start with probably the greatest living Jazz photographer, Herman Leonard. Herman shot jazz, most notably, during the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. If you go to his site you’ll find a bio, some of his work, articles and video on him. HermanLeonard.com.

William P. Gottleib is at jazzphotos.com.
You can also go to the Library of Congress and view more photos and information on Bill. There is a link from the above site. His is an interesting story, as he was pretty much pushed into becoming a photographer while working as a journalist.

William Claxton was more of a west coast jazz photographer than either Herman or Bill, and shot more in the 50’s and 60’s, and on. Known for his many photos of Chet Baker and other “cool jazz” musicians, Claxton liked to do his work in settings that you don’t normally connect with the jazz scene. Much less of the dim smoky clubs, and more outdoor shots. His work can be seen at williamclaxton.com.

Hopefully viewing these sites will whet your appetite for more, because there are quite a few other photographers out there who have contributed mightily to the history of jazz, and the people who make it what it is. And I’d like to help guide you to them.

Making Christmas Music Interesting Again

In an effort to make my own, and others, experiences with Christmas music interesting again, I have started reaching out to others ~ on Twitter, Facebook, and now here at the blog. I want people to tell me about their favorite Jazzy Christmas music. What would you recommend? Do you know of some obscure jazz Christmas stash? SHARE IT WITH ME, PLEASE! I have my own favorites, which I plan to share after Thanksgiving, which is really when Christmas/New Year music should start, as far as I’m concerned. NOT the day after Halloween.

So. Here is my plan. I get recommendations from friends, fellow tweeters, fellow music lovers, the postman, whoever. I then share those with you. Then, I share my own favorites with everyone else. Some of mine are less well known, and some are more common. So, don’t think it has to be something no one has ever heard of. Tell me what it says to YOU. Maybe I can find joy in Christmas music once again, and maybe there are other grinches out there who can too.

Jazz Online-Share the Experience

There are more people out there “in the world” that don’t know enough about jazz music to appreciate and support it, than there are people who do. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be the problems of funding, support and appreciation that there are. Part of the problem seems to be that people wanting to learn about the music are overwhelmed by what they see as an insider attitude, exhibited by some of those “in the know.” So my first rule for those just beginning to learn and ask questions, is, Don’t be intimidated by Jerks. They exist. Move on.

Jazz also is both hurt and helped by the existance of so many sub-genres of the music. If you aready know what type you like and want to listen to, fine. There are many sites online that address specific “types” and I’m sure you can find them simply by Googling the one you are most interested in. Big Band. Bop. Fusion. Nu-jazz. Or you can simply Google Jazz and get many millions of choices. It’s all out there.

One of my favorite ways of learning more about old favorites is NPR. They have numerous choices and programs. I subscribe to Nancy Wilson’s Jazz Profiles on I-tunes podcasts. I can listen when I have time, and never have to worry that I’m missing a show. And it’s free. NPR also hosts Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz. And they have a Jazz for Kids program that I’ve never checked out, so if anyone else is familiar with it, feel free to write in and let me know what you think. Share your knowledge, and your links. In the meantime I’ll keep adding my own, and hopefully we can help a few fellow travelers to the Emerald City.

Invitation

 Years ago, I wrote a semi-regular column for the well known (now) site, All About Jazz, called Eye and Ear. I came up with the name because I was writing about jazz, reading and sometimes reviewing jazz books, listening to and reviewing CD’s, and I was a jazz photographer who sometimes interviewed well known and lesser known, jazz figures. Not just musicians, but people like Dan Morgenstern, who have spent their lives promoting jazz, educating people about jazz, loving jazz.

Doing the column was alot of fun, but could also be taxing, considering the fact that at different times while I was doing it, I was also working full-time as a photo editor/researcher/photographer. My life is less harried these days. Since I am no longer on a writing schedule for someone else, I thought I would return to my previous efforts to simply keep the music out there in front of people. Along the way, I will talk about the books I am reading, share some photography, talk to some friends about their music, and share what I am listening to. If you have something that you’d like to share, contact me, and I’ll try to include it in what I’m writing about.