dagblog - Comments for "A Brush With Immortality: Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, and Jackie Mclean "

Eric, you are in no way

Oxy Mora — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 15:11:16 +0000

Eric, you are in no way writing in a capsule. I think a mark of any creative person is to question the art---it's the same critical eye that can make the art succeed in its objective.

I'd love to hear more stories about the 52nd street scene. I worked in Manhattan near 46th and Park for more than 15 years. Commuting out to Connecticut, traveling at least once a week and raising a family didn't give me much time for other interests but it would be fun to know, from your perspective, what I missed a few blocks away from where I toiled daily in the executive ranks.

(I later had my acting-out phase in the L.A. area)

I recall hearing Charley Parker in the Village and did on occasion go to Errol Garner's venue near Grand Central (or am I remembering that correctly?)

Thank you so much, Oxy.

Wattree — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 14:40:06 +0000

In reply to This post is so beautiful

Thank you so much, Oxy.

Your words are greatly appreciated, because they let me know that I haven't gone completely over the top on this subject. As I mentioned above, while I was writing the piece I wasn't sure that others would be able to identify with my close to fanatical passion for jazz. I always attempt to inform, not merely rhapsodize over an issue that I care about, so I make every attempt to be objective. But when it comes to music, all of my objectivity flies right out the window and replaced with pure passion. It's probably because, much like people embrace their religious beliefs, the love of music became a part of me before I developed the skill of critical thinking. As a result, when it comes to the subject of jazz, it's all moist-eyed, raw emotion with me. So again, thank you for your kind words. They go a long way toward reassuring me that I'm not just contemplating my navel in public.

Thank you, RM.

Wattree — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 09:02:57 +0000

In reply to These exchanges have been

Thank you, RM.
.
I'm very gratified to be contacted by Ms. Maxine Gordon. But what I'm even more gratified about is the opportunity to open up people's eyes to a world that has been left in the shadows of American life. Many Americans really don't understand who we (as Americans) are as a people, and the true extent of what we are contributing to the world. We are much more than military strength, wealth and power. In fact, history is going to reveal that those things are actually insignificant to our ultimate contribution to the world. People like Dexter Gordon, Quincy Jones, Miles Davis, Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, and BARACK OBAMA, are some of the greatest men who ever lived, but their greatness - and America's true greatness - is being obscured by the stupidity of ignorance and racism.

This post is so beautiful

Oxy Mora — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 02:57:27 +0000

In reply to A Brush With Immortality: Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, and Jackie Mclean

This post is so beautiful that it's difficult to describe it.

I understand what you mean by the conflicts around being the best and I can relate to the intelligence it must take to transpose music at will.

This piece shows your great writing strengths. I've said it before, your stories are what I like best.

Another classic.

The 50th anniversary of the

rmrd0000 — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 23:29:07 +0000

In reply to Thank you, RM.

The 50th anniversary of the march across the Demund Pettus Bridge is today. Youth of today can read about the era from library books or vis the Internet. Young people can see the events live on television or view the depiction of events in the movie Selma. The opportunity to obtain facts is much greater than in my youth. Looking at the continued Moral Mondays fight and the BlackLivesMatter movement, I feel that there is still the same small but critical mass of activists ready to push the country forward.

We do see that racism and ignorance persists. The march was about the voting rights that the Conservatives on the Supreme Court and the GOP want to eliminate. Most of the GOP leadership was so racist that they refused to attend a remembrance of the fight for American rights. Whey are they so anti-American?

These exchanges have been

rmrd0000 — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 15:35:53 +0000

In reply to And you certainly will,

These exchanges have been amazing. Congratulations on having your writing recognized by those in the world of jazz. Thanks for allowing us to read this.

And you certainly will,

Wattree — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 15:24:15 +0000

In reply to i would like to hear from the

And you certainly will, Maxine (or as I'm sure he would call you, "Lady Gordon").
.
I felt a deep connection with your husband, and I still do. Whenever I'm depressed I pick up my horn and play his music, because it takes me back to a time when life was much simpler. It allows me, for just a little while, to revisit my dreams as a kid.
.
But something very unusual took place in my life regarding Dexter. I'm not one to believe in the supernatural, but an incident took place regarding Dexter that gave my late wife, Val, and I pause. One night I had a dream that I was living in my old house in the hood (two blocks from where Dexter grew up), and Dexter moved in next door. So I went over to talk to him and asked, "Dex, what are you doing in the hood?" And he told me, "I coming home to die." The dream had so much of an impact on me that I told my wife about it as we were getting ready to go to work. Then while we were on the freeway on the way to work (that very SAME morning), a flash came across the news announcing Dexter's death. My wife was driving, and she almost had a wreck.

.
A Swingin' Affair
.
I
Was told as a child
Blacks had no worth,
Not a nickel’s worth of dimes.
I believed that myth
‘Til Dex rode in
With his ax
In double time.
.
His
Horn was soarin’,
The changes flyin’,
His rhythm right on time;
My heart
Beat with the pleasure
Of new found pride,
Knowing,
His blood
Flowed through mine.
.
Dex
Took the chords
The keyboard played,
And danced around each note;
Then shuffled ‘em
Like a deck of cards,
And didn’t miss a stroke.
.
B minor 7 with flatted 5th,
A half diminished chord,
He substituted a lick in D,
Then really began to soar.
.
He tipped his hat
To Charlie Parker,
And quoted
Trane with Miles,
Then paid his homage to
Thelonious Monk,
In Charlie Rouse's style.
.
He took
A Scrapple From The Apple,
Then went to Billie’s Bounce,
The rhythm section, now on fire,
But he didn’t budge an ounce.
.
He just
Dug right in
To shuffle again,
This time
A Royal Flush;
Then lingered a bit
Behind the beat,
Still smokin’
But in no rush.
.
Then he
Doubled the time
Just like this rhyme,
In fluid 16th notes,
tellin’
Charlie and Lester,
"your baby boy, Dexter’s,
On top of the
Bebop you wrote."
.
Wailin’
Like a banshee,
This prince of saxophone,
His ballads dripped of honey,
His Arpeggios were strong.
.
Callin’ on his idles,
Ghost of Pres’
Within in the isles,
Smiling at his protege,
At the peak of this new style.
.
His tenor
Drenched of Blackness,
And all the things we are -
Of pain, and pleasure,
And creative greatness
Until his final bar.
.
You were blessed to have the opportunity to love this great man, and we were all blessed that he was inspired by his love for you.
.
Eric

i would like to hear from the

Maxine Gordon — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 01:34:39 +0000

In reply to A Brush With Immortality: Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, and Jackie Mclean

i would like to hear from the author of this great poem about my late husband Dexter Gordon.

maxinegordon@yahoo.com

Thank you so much, Cuthbert.

Wattree — Thu, 05 Mar 2015 08:22:19 +0000

In reply to A deeply touching article

Thank you so much, Cuthbert.

Your words are very much appreciated, and very gratifying. My woman has been urging me to write more about these issues, but considering the dumbing-down of our society, as I was writing, I couldn't help but wonder if these remembrances would be as significant to others as they are to me. Sometimes it feels like I'm spittin' in the wind. As I'm sure you know, we're currently living in a society where it seems that the only thing that's significant is Beyonce's latest video - even our politicians are clueless (Remember when they used to say that "Politics ends at the water's edge?"). I am so happy that I was educated prior to the Reagan era, and I've become nostalgic for anything from the past.

Wait a minute! I knew your name sound familiar. You wrote the biography on John Coltrane. I am very honored that you took the time to comment, Dr. Simpkins. Here's one for you:
.

A Tribute to The Man, And In Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme"

THE MAN

(A Night to Remember)

http://wattree.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-man-john-coltrane-night-to-remem...

A deeply touching article

Cuthbert Simpkins — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 22:58:57 +0000

In reply to A Brush With Immortality: Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, and Jackie Mclean

A deeply touching article that portrays for posterity a true picture of the excitement of jazz the warm welcoming hearts of the musicians and their families and the brilliance of their work. Tears came to my eyes as I read it. I also like very much the intermingling of prose and poetic formats to convey the emotion of the experiences. Congratulations Mr. Wattree!!!