Peter Pullman-- Bud Powell Biography

[AllenLowe]

Schlitten seemed really on top of things. Gitler I don't know at all.

[Chuck Nessa]

Schlitten came after Ira. I know both.

[Quasimado]

well. I don't know. What does Gitler think? Like Schlitten, he was around.

In "Jazz Masters of the Forties", Gitler has this to say:

"In the late forties, Powell did trio work with Curly Russell and Max Roach. They recorded for a company called Three Deuces, after the Fifty-second Street club, but the 8 sides (including Off Minor)eventually were issued on Roost...

Just before this, Powell had recorded a fine session for Norman Granz on Mercury with Roach and Ray Brown ..."

The cover of RLP 401 (no liners or dates) has the following:

"Bud, Max and Curly are at their greatest on these 8 sides. They had just concluded working together as a trio and had many fresh ideas ..."

Q

[AllenLowe]

well, that argues for a later date on the Roosts, I guess. Interesting.

[Quasimado]

well, that argues for a later date on the Roosts, I guess. Interesting.

The "just before this" can be interpreted in 2 ways - Before the recording was actually made (for Three Deuces/ Deluxe), or before it was finally released on Roost.

The answer may reside in just when Bud, Max and Curly were active as a trio.

Actually, I've always thought this session was from '47. I think I got that info from an old European 10" Vogue release.

Q

[Niko]

Is it possible that Pullman never mentions the 1946 session with Sarah Vaughan, or did I just miss it somehow?

I haven't seen it either.

I thought doing this kindle thing would allow for full-text searching?

it does - and Pullman really doesn't mention the session...

[AllenLowe]

good point, Quasi; the Roost session may have been recorded first, issued later. Once again I wish I had questioned Curley more specifically; he told me about a lot of stockpiling of sessions prior to the ban, and he recalled the Roost thing, but it never occured to me that it might be misdated.

[Pete C]

it does - and Pullman really doesn't mention the session...

Even if Bud doesn't solo, that's an odd oversight.

[danasgoodstuff]

I hate to say it, but I thought the excerpts I read were horridly florid, but maybe it's impossible to write about Bud without that happening...

[mracz]

I hate to say it, but I thought the excerpts I read were horridly florid, but maybe it's impossible to write about Bud without that happening...

I finished reading the book last week. Yes "afram" and "euram" are annoying, there are some style issues that a sympathethic copy editor could have resolved easily, he is rather sketchy on the historical background to the development of bebop, and quite cursory in his comments on the actual music. BUT, this book represents a really extraordinary amount of careful, detailed historical research, including the medical and criminal records, Maxwell Cohen's legal files and countless detailed interviews with just about everyone who knew Bud. He gives carefully argued and balanced judgements about conflicting evidence, and has created a credible and compelling narrative (this does get better as the book goes on, and it's worth perservering). The story that emerges is deeply tragic, in some ways even more so than what we all think we know from the standard literature, and very few players in the story emerge with much credit (some honourable exceptions like Hentoff, Wolff/Lion, Randi Hultin and a few others). The graphic accounts of the mid-fifties Verve sessions produced by Leroy Lovatt or the final ESP recording with Scotty Holt and Rashied Ali are genuinely horrifying, as is the story of his last two years in NY. What really emerges in general is a sense of how badly Bud was exploited (financially, emotionally, artistically) even by individuals who thought they had his best interests at heart. A few odd omissions, like no mention of the late 50's RCA albums (how did they come about?). For all its relatively minor faults, they are far outweighed by the virtues, and I'm glad that this work was does with so much care while so many of the leading players were still alive. Essential reading, IMO. Most of all it has taken me back to the music (most recently the 1953 Birdland broadcasts, the 1962 Swiss recordings that have been recommended elsewhere on the forum)as well as to Ethan Iverson's lively, extended post on his blog. Glorious music, a wonderful artist.

[ElginThompson]

I hate to say it, but I thought the excerpts I read were horridly florid, but maybe it's impossible to write about Bud without that happening...

I finished reading the book last week. Yes "afram" and "euram" are annoying, there are some style issues that a sympathethic copy editor could have resolved easily, he is rather sketchy on the historical background to the development of bebop, and quite cursory in his comments on the actual music. BUT, this book represents a really extraordinary amount of careful, detailed historical research, including the medical and criminal records, Maxwell Cohen's legal files and countless detailed interviews with just about everyone who knew Bud. He gives carefully argued and balanced judgements about conflicting evidence, and has created a credible and compelling narrative (this does get better as the book goes on, and it's worth perservering). The story that emerges is deeply tragic, in some ways even more so than what we all think we know from the standard literature, and very few players in the story emerge with much credit (some honourable exceptions like Hentoff, Wolff/Lion, Randi Hultin and a few others). The graphic accounts of the mid-fifties Verve sessions produced by Leroy Lovatt or the final ESP recording with Scotty Holt and Rashied Ali are genuinely horrifying, as is the story of his last two years in NY. What really emerges in general is a sense of how badly Bud was exploited (financially, emotionally, artistically) even by individuals who thought they had his best interests at heart. A few odd omissions, like no mention of the late 50's RCA albums (how did they come about?). For all its relatively minor faults, they are far outweighed by the virtues, and I'm glad that this work was does with so much care while so many of the leading players were still alive. Essential reading, IMO. Most of all it has taken me back to the music (most recently the 1953 Birdland broadcasts, the 1962 Swiss recordings that have been recommended elsewhere on the forum)as well as to Ethan Iverson's lively, extended post on his blog. Glorious music, a wonderful artist.

Well said. Finished this afternoon. The use of afram and euram reflect a broader sanitized effect on the racial environment persons of color experienced in the US during the last century (and if Trayvon is a flash point, this century as well). Given the racial construct the author establishes, it seemingly glosses over the effect this environment likely had on black artists and how this probably further contributed to BP's dissapation (and reduction from a normal communicative existence).

Nonetheless, what the author lacks in presenting bebop's development, he certainly acquits himself well with the exhaustive psychiatric details he has uncovered and shared. It's the latter which I personally found equally fascinating and revolting (that and Altevia Edwards deserves her own special spot in hell - but that's another point), though not althogether surprised at how psychiatric patients were treated in the 40s-80s. Highly recommended reading - may be worth some of you to pick up a Kindle or other e-reader.

[jeffcrom]

I just started this, and am in the middle of chapter two. I was annoyed by the end of the introduction - not a good sign, and a state of affairs I think that an author would hope to avoid. So far I'm impressed by the research, and exasperated by the writing.

[Dan Gould]

With no input whatsoever from me, my wife decided to buy me a Nook (her Aunt is a manager at a Barnes & Noble) which I decided to keep solely because I could then use her gift card to purchase this book. I read it last month and I've been meaning to post about Pullman's work.

As it turned out, I did not find the Afram/Euram invented terminology annoying, but what did aggravate (occasionally) was his insistence on dropping "the" in front of certain place names. "At Blue Note" (the club) was OK but "on Lower East Side" sounded completely ridiculous and grating. Perhaps a small complaint but if it was Pullman's personal idiosyncrasies and his refusal to compromise them which led to his being dropped by a University Press he has truly cut off his nose to spite his face. This book - which is a true marvel of research, and aside from his two grammatical "tics" well written - cannot possibly find the audience it deserves as a self-published e-book, compared to the audience it might have reached if promoted by a u-press publisher.

[jeffcrom]

After over a month, I've finally finished this. What a waste of research. By that I mean that the research was very thorough; I learned a lot about Powell. But the writing is truly awful. It's bad enough that Pullman decided to single-handedly try to change standard English usage; even worse is the fact that his writing is often muddled and confusing. I read some passages several times in order to figure out what he was trying to say. I often came away with a pretty good idea of the meaning in spite of his writing, not because of it.

Too bad. If Pullman had been willing to work with a good editor, this could have been a great book.

Edited August 18, 2012 by jeffcrom

[Dan Gould]

After over a month, I've finally finished this. What a waste of research. By that I mean that the research was very thorough; I learned a lot about Powell. But the writing is truly awful. It's bad enough that Pullman decided to single-handedly try to change standard English usage; even worse is the fact that his writing is often muddled and confusing. I read some passages several times in order to figure out what he was trying to say. I often came away with a pretty good idea of the meaning in spite of his writing, not because of it.

Too bad. If Pullman had been willing to work with a good editor, this could have been a great book.

Wow, completely opposite to my reaction. I read this in a matter of days while I was visiting my Mom in June. I didn't like the racial ID system (but got used to it pretty quickly) or the dropping of "the" before proper nouns (more annoying) but never felt that the writing was otherwise terrible or in anyway difficult to follow.

Jeff could you favor me with a quote or two that you think epitomizes this problem you had?

[Michael Weiss]

Pullman has decided to publish a print edition to be sold through his website.

[jeffcrom]

After over a month, I've finally finished this. What a waste of research. By that I mean that the research was very thorough; I learned a lot about Powell. But the writing is truly awful. It's bad enough that Pullman decided to single-handedly try to change standard English usage; even worse is the fact that his writing is often muddled and confusing. I read some passages several times in order to figure out what he was trying to say. I often came away with a pretty good idea of the meaning in spite of his writing, not because of it.

Too bad. If Pullman had been willing to work with a good editor, this could have been a great book.

Wow, completely opposite to my reaction. I read this in a matter of days while I was visiting my Mom in June. I didn't like the racial ID system (but got used to it pretty quickly) or the dropping of "the" before proper nouns (more annoying) but never felt that the writing was otherwise terrible or in anyway difficult to follow.

Jeff could you favor me with a quote or two that you think epitomizes this problem you had?

I'm probably just being a curmudgeon - the writing is usually not as bad as I indicated. This morning, when I read my post from last night, it seemed overstated. But there are enough examples of muddled writing and incorrect use of punctuation that I was really put off. I'm not going to spend a bunch of time looking for examples, but here are a few quickly-found examples of what I consider bad writing, all from a few pages of Chapter Six:

Not just bebop's but Powell's time was flying, and that is reflected in the title of the first piece that he chose to play, one in which he tries to catch up, all at once, to everything that he has been missing.

For the uniqueness of the event, not Brown, Roach or Granz remembers anything of the unprecedented circumstances or Powell's dramatic response to them.

What Granz heard was more likely stride piano; that was the style that Powell had first learned from his father, and then from watching Tatum and the other after-hours pianists, and had, latterly, dashed off phrases of when a member of Cootie William's orchestra.

In each case I know what he means (sometimes after reading the sentence twice), but I doubt that any of these sentences would have passed muster with a good copy editor. Neither would Pullman's refusal to capitalize Catholic, as in the name of the Christian denomination. There was a passage or two (which I'm not going to search for) where the small "c" confused the meaning.

The nonstandard nomenclature, dropping the definite article "the," the sometimes poor sentence structure, the sometimes missing punctuation - the cumulative effect of all of these just really exasperated me. But maybe that's just me. I'm a curmudgeon when it comes to writing.

[J.A.W.]

After over a month, I've finally finished this. What a waste of research. By that I mean that the research was very thorough; I learned a lot about Powell. But the writing is truly awful. It's bad enough that Pullman decided to single-handedly try to change standard English usage; even worse is the fact that his writing is often muddled and confusing. I read some passages several times in order to figure out what he was trying to say. I often came away with a pretty good idea of the meaning in spite of his writing, not because of it.

Too bad. If Pullman had been willing to work with a good editor, this could have been a great book.

Wow, completely opposite to my reaction. I read this in a matter of days while I was visiting my Mom in June. I didn't like the racial ID system (but got used to it pretty quickly) or the dropping of "the" before proper nouns (more annoying) but never felt that the writing was otherwise terrible or in anyway difficult to follow.

Jeff could you favor me with a quote or two that you think epitomizes this problem you had?

I'm probably just being a curmudgeon - the writing is usually not as bad as I indicated. This morning, when I read my post from last night, it seemed overstated. But there are enough examples of muddled writing and incorrect use of punctuation that I was really put off. I'm not going to spend a bunch of time looking for examples, but here are a few quickly-found examples of what I consider bad writing, all from a few pages of Chapter Six:

Not just bebop's but Powell's time was flying, and that is reflected in the title of the first piece that he chose to play, one in which he tries to catch up, all at once, to everything that he has been missing.

For the uniqueness of the event, not Brown, Roach or Granz remembers anything of the unprecedented circumstances or Powell's dramatic response to them.

What Granz heard was more likely stride piano; that was the style that Powell had first learned from his father, and then from watching Tatum and the other after-hours pianists, and had, latterly, dashed off phrases of when a member of Cootie William's orchestra.

In each case I know what he means (sometimes after reading the sentence twice), but I doubt that any of these sentences would have passed muster with a good copy editor. Neither would Pullman's refusal to capitalize Catholic, as in the name of the Christian denomination. There was a passage or two (which I'm not going to search for) where the small "c" confused the meaning.

The nonstandard nomenclature, dropping the definite article "the," the sometimes poor sentence structure, the sometimes missing punctuation - the cumulative effect of all of these just really exasperated me. But maybe that's just me. I'm a curmudgeon when it comes to writing.

Judging by the examples you posted I think I'll pass. I have trouble enough reading English as it is and I don't have the patience trying to figure out what the author means; I don't need any more headaches.

[brownie]

Pullman has decided to publish a print edition to be sold through his website.

The paperback edition will be available from next month...

Wail: The Life of Bud Powell

[jlhoots]

Pullman has decided to publish a print edition to be sold through his website.

The paperback edition will be available from next month...

Wail: The Life of Bud Powell

Tomorrow is Nov. 1, & I still don't see the paperback edition.

[Fer Urbina]

Wail (paperback) can be ordered now, it will available from December 1: link.

F

[king ubu]

very good, will definitely order!

shipping is 3$ no matter where to?

[brownie]

The 'Buy the Book' section states:

'For those who reside elsewhere, the postal charge will change on your screen once the country of destination is entered on the form. As there's no media-mail rate for shipping to other countries, the postal service's cost is considerably higher to the rest of the world.'

Wish we could see how 'considerably higher' really is!

[king ubu]

okay, will see then...

[Brad]

They use something we call We Pay, which I never heard of. Why not use Paypal?