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Mezz Mezzrow
- From: robert wiener <wiener...>
- Subject: Mezz Mezzrow
- Date: Tue 17 Aug 1999 10.07 (GMT)
For those of you who would like to read some more on this character
written by others, the following comes from the All Music Guide web
site. You can find more information on his recordings there
http://allmusic.com
Mezz Mezzrow
AKA Milton Mesirow
Born Oct 9, 1899 in Chicago, IL
Died Aug 5 , 1972 in Paris, France
Genres Jazz
Styles Dixieland
Instruments Clarinet, Sax (Tenor)
Labels Storyville (7), GHB (2), Classics (2), 'X' (2)
Explore Music
AMG Pick 1928-1936 [1928] - Classics
Latest release A Schola Cantorum [1956] - Ducretet Thomp
Mezz Mezzrow occupies an odd and unique place in jazz history.
Although an enthusiastic clarinetist, he was never much of a player,
sounding best on the blues. A passionate propagandist for Chicago and
New Orleans jazz and the rights of Blacks (he meant well but tended to
overstate his case), Mezzrow was actually most significant for writing
his colorful and somewhat fanciful memoirs Really the Blues and for
being a reliable supplier of marijuana in the 1930s and '40s. In the
1920s he was part of the Chicago jazz scene, at first helping the
young White players and then annoying them with his inflexible musical
opinions. Mezzrow recorded with the Jungle Kings, the Chicago Rhythm
Kings and Eddie Condon during 1927-28, often on tenor. In the 1930s he
led a few swing-oriented dates that featured all-star integrated bands
in 1933-34 and 1936-37. The French critic Hugues Panassie was always a
big supporter of Mezzrow's playing and Mezz was well-featured on
sessions in 1938 with Tommy Ladnier and Sidney Bechet; "Really the
Blues" is a near-classic. Mezzrow had his own King Jazz label during
1945-47, mostly documenting ensemble-oriented blues jams with Bechet
and occasionally Hot Lips Page. After appearing at the 1948 Nice Jazz
festival, Mezzrow eventually moved to France where he recorded fairly
regularly during 1951-55 (including with Lee Collins and Buck Clayton)
along with a final album in 1959. -- Scott Yanow, All-Music Guide
Mezz Mezzrow While Norman Mailer probably didn't have Mezz Mezzrow
in mind when he wrote his famous essay "The White Negro," Mezzrow was
filling the bill many years before. Either the ultimate hipster or
complete fraud, depending on your perspective, Mezz Mezzrow rivaled
Eddie Condon as a jazz advocate, personality, insider and confidant,
while being among the all time great drug connections. All these
things can't completely compensate for the fact he was marginally
talented; his clarinet solos could often be hideous and at best were
barely listenable. Probably no one realized this more than he did; he
therefore worked intensely on behalf of geniunely gifted musicians,
and organized many vital sessions, including a number that were
integrated. -- Ron Wynn
Bob
-----Original Message-----
From: farfl's house <farfl (at) idirect(dot)ca>
To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Date: Tuesday, August 17, 1999 1:41 AM
Subject: Re: JEWISH-MUSIC digest 1279
>
>
>World music from a Jewish slant wrote:
>
>> JEWISH-MUSIC Digest 1279
>>
>> Topics covered in this issue include:
>>
>> 1) Re: JEWISH-MUSIC digest 1278
>> by "farfl's house" <farfl (at) idirect(dot)ca>
>> 2) Re: Recordings: do they exist? Ray Charles "Where Can I Go?"
>> by "robert wiener" <wiener (at) mindspring(dot)com>
>> 3) RE: Recordings: do they exist?
>> by Dick Rosenberg <drosenberg (at) dht(dot)com>
>> 4) Re: JEWISH-MUSIC digest 1278/ in defense of Mezz
>> by "Kame'a Media" <media (at) kamea(dot)com>
>> 5) Re: Recordings: do they exist?
>> by Hayyim Feldman <hf (at) world(dot)std(dot)com>
>> 6) Re: Recordings: do they exist?
>> by "robert wiener" <wiener (at) mindspring(dot)com>
>>
>> -----------------------------------------------------------------
-------
>>
>> Subject: Re: JEWISH-MUSIC digest 1278
>> Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 05:54:45 -0400
>> From: "farfl's house" <farfl (at) idirect(dot)ca>
>> To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>>
>> >
>> > Subject: Mezz Mezzrow
>> > Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 03:56:38 PDT
>> > From: "Judith Cohen" <judithrc (at) hotmail(dot)com>
>> > To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>> >
>> > Hi, I don't have information about a recording of Mezz Mezzrow
that reflects
>> > his background (re the query in today's Digest), but it reminded
me of an
>> > incident you might enjoy.
>>
>> I don't believe that any recordings will surface that will reflect
Mezzrow's
>> "true" background, because he actually believed that he was
African-American, or
>> rather he had physically metamorphosized into an African American,
and if one
>> reads his ridiculous autobiography, the fact that he was Jewish was
mentioned
>> only to fill in his early beginnings.
>>
>> > Years and years ago, in 1971, my first Real
>> > Hippie-Type Trip Overseas, (aside from the previous summer
hitching through
>> > ex-Yugoslavia) I was in Paris, and a Canadian friend ended up in
the
>> > American Hospital with appendicitis.I went to see him every day
for a few
>> > days, and his room-mate was none other than Mezz Mezzrow!
>>
>> Your poor, unfortunate friend! Could they not have found a nice,
semi-private
>> stairwell for Mezzrow?
>>
>> > At the time I
>> > wasn't particularly interested in klezmer or Sephardi music, and
didn't even
>> > know who he was,
>>
>> He often didn't know who he was, being so involved in the
participation in
>> various opium dens, and he certainly wasn't too sure, as evidenced
by
>> recordings, which end of the clarinet to affix a reed to.
>>
>> > but he wasn't timid about rectifying the last-mentioned of
>> > my various levels of ignorance.
>>
>> He spewed out so many fictional events for others (paraphrased: "I
taught Gene
>> Krupa how to play drums in the style of the great African-American
>> drummers......") that he eventually thought them to be the gospel
himself.
>>
>> > Anyway, I had a couple of recorders with me,
>> > and he asked me to bring them; the nurses were dubious, but he
had me play
>> > medieval and French Canadian tunes for him every day and
criticized my level
>> > of soul.....
>>
>> Don't take his opinion as having any sort of substance. The only
soul he knew
>> about was that which he had to replace on the bottom of his shoes.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Lederman
>>
>> -----------------------------------------------------------------
-------
>>
>> Subject: Re: Recordings: do they exist? Ray Charles "Where Can I
Go?"
>> Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 07:18:41 -0400
>> From: "robert wiener" <wiener (at) mindspring(dot)com>
>> To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>>
>> Wolf,
>>
>> Yes, you had told me that the Ray Charles cover of "Where Can I
Go?"
>> exists. Sorry if I didn't tell you that I had found it. Thanks.
>>
>> Here's some information from the All Music Guide web site for those
>> who might be interested:
>>
>> On CD:
>> Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul/Have a Smile with Me
>> Artist Ray Charles
>> Date of Release 1963 - 1964 (approx.) inprint
>> AMG Rating (Good)
>> Genre Rock
>> Styles Bop
>> Type compilation
>> Time 37:03
>> A two-for-one pairing of albums from 1963 (Recipe for Soul) and
1964
>> (Have a Smile with Me), with the addition of historical liner
notes.
>> Neither rate among his better albums -- both are inconsistent
mixtures
>> of hard-edged jazz/pop/soul and mainstream pop standards. Each,
>> though, has some fine cuts, notably the Top Ten hit "Busted" (on
>> Recipe) and a jazzy cover of Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" (on
>> Smile).
>> The CD also adds two bonus tracks: both parts of the orchestral pop
>> "Without a Song" single from 1965. -- Richie Unterberger, All-Music
>> Guide
>> 1997 CD Rhino
>> 72843
>> Where Can I Go? (Berland/Fuld/Miller) - 3:29
>>
>> Also available on the following LP:
>> World of Ray Charles [Argo]
>> Artist Ray Charles
>> Album Title World of Ray Charles [Argo]
>> Date of Release 1974 (release)
>> AMG Rating (Good)
>> Genre Rock
>> Styles Soul, R&B
>> Type compilation
>> Time 38:15
>> There are a few clinkers in this set, but for the most part this is
a
>> superb collection of Brother Ray's early-1960s tracks. The gorgeous
>> ballads "I Can't Stop Loving You," "Georgia on My Mind" and "Born
to
>> Lose" are included, not to mention the highly underrated "That
Lucky
>> Old Sun." For good measure, the album closes with the smash "Hit
the
>> Road Jack." All in all, an excellent single-album sampler. -- J.P.
>> Ollio, All-Music Guide
>> 1974 LP Argo
>> 361
>> Ray Charles Keyboards, Vocals
>> Where Can I Go (Berland/Fuld/Miller) - 3:30
>>
>> (I guess that you have to get the LP to get the extra second of
>> music.)
>>
>> Bob
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Kame'a Media <media (at) kamea(dot)com>
>> To: World music from a Jewish slant <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>> Date: Sunday, August 15, 1999 11:25 AM
>> Subject: Re: Recordings: do they exist?
>>
>> >We have covered this before, but
>> >thanks for the catalogue number, Hankus.
>> >(I told you it exists, Bob)!
>> >
>> >For laughs: In researching the career of Eddie Fisher, I came
>> across
>> >"Hymn to Hymie" by Molly Picon, from the Broadway musical "Milk
and
>> Honey"
>> >by Jerry Herman.
>> >
>> >Wolf
>> >
>> >PS Woodstock '30 today at original site Bethel, NY. Tickets only
>> $19.69
>> >
>> >HNetsky (at) aol(dot)com wrote:
>> >
>> >> Just accidentally came across a gorgeous Ray Charles recording
of
>> "Vu Ahin
>> >> Zol Ikh Geyn" in English ("Where Can I Go?"). Takes it out of
the
>> >> post-Holocaust Zionist context. (Ingredients in a Recipe For
Soul,
>> ABC
>> >> Paramount (LP), 465, rec. 1963 - don't know if it's on
CD) -Hankus
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >----------------------
>> jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org ---------------------+
>> >