Day 1: Jazz Day 72 (DDRD 1,650) May 8, 2022
After finishing Ascension: John Coltrane and His Quest yesterday, I was ready to call it quits on the whole Jazz Thing. I was just so turned off by the last part of that book that I wanted to shake the Jazz dust from my sandals and move on the the next town. But I was still wondering if I had it in me to go back to the Miles Davis autobiography. And I had a couple of books I'd checked out of the library...one of which, Living With Music: Ralph Ellison's Jazz Writings by Ralph Ellison (xxxv + 290 pages) was kind of calling to me.
Day 2: Jazz Day 73 (DDRD 1,651) May 9, 2022
Read to page 35.
André Hodeir, Dizzy Gillespie & Al Fraser, Ashley Kahn, Eric Nisenson, Miles Davis & Quincy Troupe. Over the past two and a half months, I've read about 3,000 pages of writings on Jazz by some of best known names in the business. It was usually interesting, sometimes tedious, and occasionally infuriating. I was ready to call it a day and move on to another subject area for my Daily Devotional Readings (daily goal of reading ten pages every day, though the average is now more like 20). And then came Ralph Ellison and this book of essays. And even though I'm only 25 pages into the text of the book itself (xxxv page introduction), it's already just overwhelmed me how much a difference the quality of the writer makes when it comes to a non-fiction piece of writing. Ralph Ellison's writing is so far above those other fellows that it's ridiculous. It's like comparing Shakespeare to a well-intentioned high school sophomore writer. It makes me never want to read non-fiction again unless it's written by a writer known for his / her / their fiction.
Just sayin', sir.
Day 3: Jazz Day 74 (DDRD 1,652) May 10, 2022
Read to page 51. As with my previous book, I haven't been going way overboard on the DDR Reading because I've been putting time into Edgar Rice Burroughs Tells All. I'm about a third of the way through that tome, though, so I'd guess it won't take me too many more days to polish it off.
Meanwhile....
The "Remembering Jimmy" chapter gave me yet another example of Ralph Ellison's lovely style, Ellison describes Jimmy Rushing's voice as "jetting from the dance hall like a blue flame in the dark...." (44) Mmm-hmmm. I'd never heard of Jimmy Rushing before, so I had a little look-see. Turns out he was the vocalist for Count Basie's orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Also a really big guy:
Found a video of Jimmy singing "I Left My Baby," which was a nice, bluesy song. Then found something called Jazz Casual from 1962 when Jimmy was 60, and he was still playing (the piano) and singing with great power. Ralph Ellison had written of the power of Jimmy's voice, saying that he could hear it from a club four blocks away even when the trains were going by. I believe it.
Another thing that hit me in this chapter: it was first published in The Saturday Review on July 12, 1958 (pp. 36-37)...and it mentions the Tulsa Riot of 1921. I'm a fairly well-educated, better-than-average-well-read fellow, and yet I never heard of the Tulsa Riot until I saw it referred to in the first episode of HBO's Watchmen, which premiered October 20, 2019. 61 years later. That says something about our educational system, for sure. About a lot of other things, too.
Day 4: Jazz Day 75 (DDRD 1,653) May 11, 2022
Read to page 73.
I keep thinking about the Laughing Barrel. Think I'll write a separate piece on that, but (once again) I'm astounded that I'd never heard of this before.
Day 5: Jazz Day 76 (DDRD 1,654) May 12, 2022
Read to page 100.
Had to get up and about early this morning for a biometric screening, so I took my empty stomach and Living With Music to Labcorp, anticipating that I would have time to knock back a dozen pages or so. But lo and behold, when I texted I Have Arrived (fifteen minutes early, because I am always fifteen minutes early) I almost immediately got a Come On Down return message...even though the office wasn't yet officially open. Went it, checked in, had a seat, opened my book and hadn't even read a sentence before I was called back...and it was still ten minutes before the posted opening time for the office. So. Went in, got measured, weighed, and blood pressured, then sat in the little chair for the blood draw. I put Living With Music on the arm of the chair, and the young Black * woman who was taking care of me asked what I was reading. I told her, and then mentioned that the writer, Ralph Ellison, had also written Invisible Man, thinking that she might have run across that book at some point...it being one of the most famous novels ever written by a Black man. She immediately brightened up and said, "Oh, like that movie?" She was clearly thinking of the Elisabeth Moss film of a couple of years ago. I told her no, then gave her a brief summation (a sentence) of the book. Then she got busy getting my vein to show itself, but a few minutes later she asked me if I knew the singer who had died who had one "iconic" song, and she sang the tune (with just a few words). I tried but couldn't find it. And then she said, "I really need to get back to reading. I haven't read very much lately." After I left, I thought, "You know, last time I was at Half-Price Books I saw a copy if Invisible Man for $1. I should go buy it and give it to that girl." And I really wanted to do that. But I knew it would be creepy weird, so I didn't.
In other news:
"...Ellington and Louis Armstrong were the stewards of our American optimism and guardians against the creeping irrationality which ever plagues our form of society." (80)
I found that to be quite a topical thought...and it surprised me that Ellison saw it as true of his era as well.
And then there was this, said of Mahalia Jackson:
Which reminded me of all of the people I've heard say things like, "Black guys have more athletic ability, that's why they dominate the NFL and the NBA." Which (1) is racist and (2) negates all of the hard work that these guys put into becoming superb athletes. It's about which avenues of success are open to you, folks.
* A relevant detail, I think, not included extemporaneously.
Day 6: Jazz Day 77 (DDRD 1,655) May 13, 2022
Read to page 120.
In his essay on Richard Wright--which, despite a few references to The Blues, had almost nothing to do with music *--Ralph Ellison makes reference to the fact that Black folks are not perceived as individuals by White folks. If a Black person does something wrong, it's indicative of the whole race. At the same time, a Black person is perceived as wrong because of his race. In the White world, the Black person is not allowed any individuality from any direction.
Can you imagine what that does to your psyche? I have to confess that I can't imagine it...having almost never had the experience of having my individuality denied.
* And thus actually has no place in this collection...in fact, nowhere in the essay is Jazz even mentioned!
Day 7: Jazz Day 78 (DDRD 1,656) May 14, 2022
Read to page 147, which was the end of the first fiction selection--an excerpt from Invisible Man. Which had a little bit to do with Jazz, but only if you really pushed up on your toes, extended your arms, and jumped as high as your calf muscles could propel you. And unfortunately (from my perspective), it's fiction and then a few letters and end of story. I was really looking more for the essay thing.
Day 8: Jazz Day 79 (DDRD 1,657) May 15, 2022
Read to page 171. Also read pages 255 to 264, an interview with WKY-TV. Which leaves me with four more pieces of fiction, four letters, and one more interview.
The fiction this time was the Trueblood story from Invisible Man. It's a disturbing story, for sure. Near the end of it, Trueblood talks about singing The Blues. That's the "connection" between the story and music which justifies its inclusion in "Ralph Ellison's Jazz Writings." Which is (1) pretty fucking slim and (2) pretty fucking bogus...since The Blues are not Jazz. I don't know why this irritates me so much, but it does...which is probably why I felt the need to take a break partway through and skip over to the WKY-TV interview, just to get a breath of air. I also have the feeling that it's all downhill from here, which isn't a pleasant thought. I started off this book with such great enthusiasm, and now I'm just kind of pushing myself through the second half of it. Counting down the days (about 7 to go, I think...maybe less). And already thinking ahead to What Comes Next. I've pretty much decided that I'm going to gives Miles: The Autobiography one more shot. Primarily because it irks me to leave a book half finished.
Day 9: Jazz Day 80 (DDRD 1,658) May 16, 2022
Read to page 198, which got me through two more fiction pieces, neither of which had a whole hell of a lot to do with Jazz. Two fiction pieces to go. I actually started one of them, but couldn't take it right now. You know, almost 14% of this book is from Invisible Man? That doesn't seem right to me. It's not Ralph Ellison's fault, of course. And it's not that the writing is bad, of course it's not. But this was supposed to be a book of writings on Jazz. If the editor had to include fiction, then it should have been fiction based on Jazz, not fiction with brief asides about music...mostly the Blues at that. Sigh.
Side Note: While in Half-Price Books yesterday I saw a nice hardback copy of Blues People by LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka). It was in good shape and the price was more than reasonable...$10, I think. And if this Jazz Writings book hadn't taken a great deal of wind out of my sails, I probably would have gone for it. But I'm ready to move on now, so I left it for the next guy.
Thanks for throwing off my groove, Robert O'Meally (editor).
Day 10: Jazz Day 81 (DDRD 1,659) May 17, 2022
Read to page 220.
Finished "Keep to the Rhythm" and it was just painful. Not really a story, just a set-piece in which two Black preachers deliver a sermon in tandem. Lot's of repeated phrases, lots of imbecilic statements about life, the universe, and everything. No curb appeal for me whatsoever. And, of course, nothing to do with Jazz beyond a few mentions of instruments--the older preacher had a voice like a trombone, the younger like something else, maybe a piccolo. Don't care enough to go back and look. This was definitely the nadir of the book, though...well, at least I hope so, since I still have 50 pages to read. Started the final fiction piece, "Cadillac Flambé," and it at least looks interesting... something about a guy driving a Cadillac onto some important person's lawn and then lighting it on fire. There's a bass involved in some way, so at least there's that. And then there are some letters, the other interview, and outta here. I'm definitely ready to exit, no bear needed.
ADDENDUM: Read a bit of the Letters section. Ran into this
Yeah, Ralph really hated Bebop and anything bordering on Free Jazz territory. And is kind of mean about it. "Poor, evil, lost little." Heh.
Day 11: Jazz Day 82 (DDRD 1,660) May 18, 2022
Read to page 290. The End.
And tomorrow...I'm going back to Miles Davis. We'll see how that goes.
☮📤
DDR Day 1 to 1,000: 13,449 pages read
(1) Leviathan 63 days, 729 pages
(2) Stalingrad 27 days, 982 pages
(3) Life and Fate 26 days, 880 pages
(4) The Second World War 34 + 32 + 40 + 43 + 31 + 32 days = 212 days, 4,379 pages
(5) Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming 10 days, 572 pages
(6) The Great Bridge 25 days, 636 pages
(8) Blake: Prophet Against Empire, 23 days, 523 pages
(9) Jerusalem 61 days, 1,266 pages
(10) Voice of the Fire 9 days, 320 pages
(11) The Fountainhead 15 days, 720 pages
(12) The Pacific Trilogy: Pacific Crucible 23 days, 640 pages
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