Low-key memoir by jazz musician and writer Crow. Fresh and 22, Crow
arrived in Manhattan in 1950, coming from Washington State. He
played trumpet, baritone horn, tuba, valve trombone, drums, and
tenor sax, but his main axe was the bass fiddle. Bop had hit 52nd
Street, and Crow hit Birdland - the bop mecca named after Charlie
Yardbird Parker. Although Crow later played at Birdland himself,
and adored Parker, he seems to have been a swing rather than a bop
player. Here, he tells countless stories about his career but
focuses on short takes that don't develop genuine continuity of
interest. Among his longer takes are those about Charlie Parker:
"Though I hoped to find a memory of him in Clint Eastwood's movie
Bird, I was sorry to see that, except on the soundtrack, Charlie
wasn't there. The movie missed Bird's nature, his confidence, his
intelligence, and especially his wit." In 1962, Crow was hired by
Benny Goodman to accompany his band to the Soviet Union. The
low-paying Goodman was, as recounted by many others, a terrible man
to work for, ever the ogre on the bandstand and a creature of great
vanity. Crow is also spot-on with Stan Getz: "Stan had a pleasant
disposition when he was sober, but when using drugs he could be
awash with maudlin sentiment one minute and cold, distrustful, and
cruel the next. Discussing him with friends...Zoot Sims said,
'Yeah, Stan's a nice bunch of guys.' "Other outstanding passages
tell of Crow's work with the Gerry Mulligan combos and Claude
Thornhill's band; in Broadway pit bands; and his friendship with
Dave Lambert. Well written but seldom gripping. (Kirkus Reviews)
New York in the 1950s. On the stage at Birdland is the midget master of ceremonies, 3'9" Pee Wee Marquette, dressed in a zoot suit and loud tie, smoking a huge cigar and screeching mispronounced introductions into the microphone. Pee Wee is just one of the many characters that have made Bill Crow's forty years in jazz seem like an instant. In the same key as his acclaimed Jazz Anecdotes, this collection of revealing, hilarious, and sometimes moving stories runs the full gamut of New York's nightspots, introducing us along the way to the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Stan Getz, Judy Holliday, Yul Brynner, and Simon and Garfunkel.
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