JSngry Posted December 11, 2004 Report Posted December 11, 2004 (edited) I know Mr. Lowe primarily through his book That Devilin' Tune, one of the most fascinating book on any subject I've ever read. Not since I first discovered jazz and was enthralled by all the great jazz writers writing about music that I had yet to hear has a book so thoroughly made me want to hear (and often enough convince me that I was hearing, just throught the power of the description) a whole genre of music that I was totally unfamiliar with - so called "pre jazz" in all its forms. Love it when that happens! Allen is also a musician who's made some pretty interesting music of his own, so not only do we have a fine writer on board, we also have a fine musician. Musician and critics aren't supposed to get along (and often with good reason), but here's a man who has apparently sought to resolve the dichotomy by embracing it. HELL yeah! As well as some of the most articulate, insightful, and experienced "pure" fans that I know of, Organissimo is also home to more some of the most experienced and interesting (not always the same thing, mind you!) minds commenting on the music from "more" than a fan's perspective - Larry Kart, Chuck Nessa, Chris Albertson, Mike Fitzgerald, and now, Allen Lowe. Such people can't help but give us all, players and fans alike, food for fodder as we go along discovering ourselves in and by this great music. Welcome, Allen Lowe! Edited December 11, 2004 by JSngry Quote
Joe G Posted December 11, 2004 Report Posted December 11, 2004 Welcome, indeed! The way this bulletin board community continues to grow way beyond the VERY humble beginnings of Jim's website never ceases to amaze me. Even moreso because it hasn't lost that casual and friendly "after-hours" quality that was there from the start. Quote
ghost of miles Posted December 11, 2004 Report Posted December 11, 2004 (edited) I've been a fan of Allen's ever since Joe Milazzo hipped me to THAT DEVILIN' TUNE, and I'd also recommend his book AMERICAN POP FROM MINSTREL TO MOJO: ON RECORD 1893-1956 (available from Cadence Books). With luck, we'll soon be reading his book on 1950s jazz, which seems like a natural for this board... a warm welcome for Mr. Lowe! Edited December 11, 2004 by ghost of miles Quote
connoisseur series500 Posted December 11, 2004 Report Posted December 11, 2004 Nice to meet you, Allen. We've got serious knowledge and total nonsense in equal measure here on the board. Wouldn't want to have it any other way... Quote
JSngry Posted December 11, 2004 Author Report Posted December 11, 2004 Just a note to say that, as much of a readin' bunch as this group seems to be, that one or both of Mr. Lowe's books would, in combination w/Larry's and Dan Morgenstern's tomes, make for a Christmas Trilogy (or Trifecta, for those of a more sporting nature) that would be hard to beat. Quote
relyles Posted December 11, 2004 Report Posted December 11, 2004 I have two of his recordings on his own Fairhaven label. Enjoy them both, in particular At The Moment of Impact ..., which if I remember correctly features the great Julius Hemphill as well as Don Byron. Quote
Spontooneous Posted December 12, 2004 Report Posted December 12, 2004 Any guy who puts Doc Cheatham and David Murray together on the same record is OK with me. Glad you're here, Allen! Quote
JohnS Posted December 12, 2004 Report Posted December 12, 2004 Any guy who puts Doc Cheatham and David Murray together on the same record is OK with me. Glad you're here, Allen! I agree, good to have you here. Quote
pryan Posted December 12, 2004 Report Posted December 12, 2004 (edited) Add another book to the want-list. Welcome, Allen. Edited December 12, 2004 by pryan Quote
BruceH Posted December 12, 2004 Report Posted December 12, 2004 Welcome, Allen! (If we had a handshake smilie, I'd use it.) Quote
paul secor Posted December 13, 2004 Report Posted December 13, 2004 Welcome, Allen. I have at least five of your recordings (spun one of them this morning), but haven't read your books - on my "to read" list sometime soon down the line. Quote
AllenLowe Posted December 13, 2004 Report Posted December 13, 2004 (edited) thanks guys! sorry I'm so late in responding - I'm very touched and honored by your comments. I've spent the last 9 years in something of a musical exile up in Maine, and am just starting to do some music again, just recorded in October and hope to put a CD out by the spring - do have to warn you that it's quite different than my past work, more of a 60s rock and roll meets god-knows-what kind of improv. Songwriting in the old sense, more influenced by Mike Bloomfield and hillbillies than jazz people - of course I should mention that I play guitar on it - which I took up about 4 years ago out of sheer boredom. I love living here but gigs are few and far between. I've also completed a history of rock and roll which is slated for 2006 with a small publisher. Thanks again for all your generous words! Edited December 13, 2004 by AllenLowe Quote
Joe G Posted December 13, 2004 Report Posted December 13, 2004 As they say in the vernacular, "It's all good." B-) Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted December 13, 2004 Report Posted December 13, 2004 Mike Bloomfield? My old screaming match partner? In '66/67 when I worked at the Jazz Record Mart, Mike occasionally hung out late at night. He never spoke quietly or held back his opinions. He loved to argue and kept saying he couldn't believe I'd fallen for the "AACM bullshit" and was actually recording it. He kept screaming it was "formless garbage only a stupid white man would buy". He said Ascension was more "formless bullshit" until one night I pushed him to a chair and made him LISTEN. I miss the guy. He was fun. Quote
AllenLowe Posted December 13, 2004 Report Posted December 13, 2004 Bloomfield was a monster musician, wish I had a chance to meet him. Great story - I consider him to be one of the most important American pop musicans of the last 50 years. He could play anything from stone blues to country pickin' - I regard his blues playing as being the equal of any musican, black or white - Quote
Chuck Nessa Posted December 15, 2004 Report Posted December 15, 2004 (edited) Chuck, do you know from yr conversations (arguments) if Mike was very influenced by other, earlier avant- jazz, like Bird, Dolphy, Ornette or earlier Coltrane? his intensity is similiar to all even tho' it can come from Maxwell St (do i have that right?) side of things too. clem I don't think Mike knew much beyond what he absorbed from the typical (for the time) college/Chicago scene. By this I mean he knew the names and basic styles but was not deeply into any of it. An interesting bit of the flavor of mid '60s musical Chicago (from a white kid perspective) can be gleaned from a series of pieces by Nick Gravenites (Nick the Greek) available HERE. Nick is a bit over the top but you get the idea. Also note, Lester Bowie is not on the recording of "Whole Lotta Soul" mentioned, but Roscoe, Julian Priester and Steve McCall are. I do have one of the surviving pressings. This was recorded before Lester moved to Chicago. I think Nick remembers Lester from the Summer '68 trip by the Art Ensemble when they crashed at his place outside San Francisco. BTW, Baby Face Willette is mentioned briefly in Nick's "journal". Edited December 15, 2004 by Chuck Nessa Quote
Larry Kart Posted December 15, 2004 Report Posted December 15, 2004 Hey, I knew Bloomfield (in passing) when he was in seventh grade in Glencoe, Il. (I was a year ahead of him.) Went over with my folks to a Sunday dinner party at the house of Bob Greenspan (a greasy [very much by design] darkly handsome Bloomfield pal, later a singer with him) -- and Bloomfield was there too. Don't recall what Greenspan's father was into, but the level of wealth on display was kind of jaw-dropping, much higher than what I was used to. So after dinner, Greenspan, Bloomfield, and I retire awkwardly to the rec room, while the adults hang out upstairs and my sister and other youngsters mingle. At one point, Bloomfield or Greenspan says portentously, especially so given the house we were in: "Let's walk into town and see if we can find some ... 'action.'" This struck me as at once hilarious and insane -- at 8:30 p.m. on a Sunday night in downtown Glencoe circa 1958, there was nothing but streetlights and empty sidewalks. I still have no idea what Greenspan or Bloomfield had in mind; perhaps they were living inside some personal mental motion picture. Quote
kh1958 Posted December 15, 2004 Report Posted December 15, 2004 Chuck, do you know from yr conversations (arguments) if Mike was very influenced by other, earlier avant- jazz, like Bird, Dolphy, Ornette or earlier Coltrane? his intensity is similiar to all even tho' it can come from Maxwell St (do i have that right?) side of things too. clem I don't think Mike knew much beyond what he absorbed from the typical (for the time) college/Chicago scene. By this I mean he knew the names and basic styles but was not deeply into any of it. An interesting bit of the flavor of mid '60s musical Chicago (from a white kid perspective) can be gleaned from a series of pieces by Nick Gravenites (Nick the Greek) available HERE. Nick is a bit over the top but you get the idea. Also note, Lester Bowie is not on the recording of "Whole Lotta Soul" mentioned, but Roscoe, Julian Priester and Steve McCall are. I do have one of the surviving pressings. This was recorded before Lester moved to Chicago. I think Nick remembers Lester from the Summer '68 trip by the Art Ensemble when they crashed at his place. You're Killing My Love, from a Nick Gravenites LP, has one of my favorite Bloomfield solos. Quote
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