brownie Posted February 15, 2006 Report Posted February 15, 2006 Missed this book (Klook, The Story of Kenny Clarke) when it was published in England in the early '90s. I may be able to get a copy. Anybody read it? Is it a recommended biography? Quote
mikeweil Posted February 15, 2006 Report Posted February 15, 2006 I bought my copy in 1994 and read right through it. I understood Mike Hennessey was pretty close to Clarke, so the personal accounts should be accurate. It gives some insights in Klook's personality and attitudes I didn't find anywhere else. There are some minor errors (just stepped over a misattribution of the Dizzy Gillespie Musicraft sessions to Prestige), but they are negligible. If you're a fan, I'd say get it. No other book on Klook around (but there is a chapter on Klook in Ursula Broschke-Davis' "Paris without regret" that is a nice complementary reading - Hennessey doesn't cite it). The personal recollections of many musicians that knew Clarke in the last part are nice, the discography of course is out of date as far as reissues are concerned, but pretty much complete and still useable. Quote
Lazaro Vega Posted February 15, 2006 Report Posted February 15, 2006 Nice Klook discography included, too. A meaningful addition to the library. Quote
marcello Posted February 16, 2006 Report Posted February 16, 2006 Great Book! I loved the early history. Quote
Kalo Posted February 16, 2006 Report Posted February 16, 2006 Klook's probably my favorite jazz drummer. I'll have to keep an eye out for this. Quote
brownie Posted February 16, 2006 Author Report Posted February 16, 2006 OK, thanks all! I'm sold and will get this book! Quote
birdanddizzy Posted February 16, 2006 Report Posted February 16, 2006 (edited) Brownie, I agree with mikeweil's statement. I've read the book in English (from the library). Mike Hennessey sent me a German reedition a few months ago "Erinnerungen an Klook. Das Leben von Kenny Clarke", including corrections and some fine previously unpublished photographs from the Campi collection. There is also a CD-Rom joined to the book containing a very exhaustive discography of Kenny Clarke by Dr. Michael Frohne (a still-in-progress work). But I wonder why the German translation has no index. There is an index in the English version. I find it indispensable. Edited February 16, 2006 by Steven Quote
brownie Posted February 16, 2006 Author Report Posted February 16, 2006 Merci Steven! Just got the book - original 1990 copy in english - and starting to dig in! Quote
mikeweil Posted February 16, 2006 Report Posted February 16, 2006 Tell how you like it, will ya? Quote
birdanddizzy Posted February 22, 2006 Report Posted February 22, 2006 brownie said: Merci Steven! Just got the book - original 1990 copy in english - and starting to dig in! So, how you like it ? Interesting, isn't it ? Quote
wigwise Posted February 22, 2006 Report Posted February 22, 2006 What fascinated me most about the book was how private Klook was about his childhood, and what exactly kept him from returning to Pittsburg (I think he came back once or twice after he left). He also contradicted himself quite a bit, which Hennessey points out at various points in the book. Another fascinating thing was that he was a Muslim, despite the fact that he never went to the mosque, and married a Jewish woman. I wonder what his son Laurent (w/ his Dutch wife) is doing today? I'm also interested in knowing the status of the neighborhood and the house they lived in. Quote
DukeCity Posted February 22, 2006 Report Posted February 22, 2006 Only one used copy shows up on Amazon.com...for $67.79!!! Yikes!!! Anyone have suggestions for other outlets? Quote
brownie Posted February 22, 2006 Author Report Posted February 22, 2006 Have not finished the book yet but what I have read so far was very interesting. Better than I thought it would be. I was afraid that Mike Hennessey would write a one-dimensional biography (there have been too many of those) but he does a very fine job of exploring the various sides of Kenny Clarke. The story of Klook's departure from the Modern Jazz Quartet is very truthful. So were the accounts of his marriage/affairs with Carmen McRae and Annie Ross. This was also for me a voyage through the past and brought back memories of various evenings listening to this magnificient drummer at the Club Saint-Germain and the Blue Note (the Paris one!), among other places! A wonderful read so far! Quote
AllenLowe Posted February 22, 2006 Report Posted February 22, 2006 funny that he married a Jew, because he makes some anti-semitic remarks in Notes and Tones - I told Dick Katz about this and he said, "ah, don't worry about it, he's crazy." Quote
AllenLowe Posted February 22, 2006 Report Posted February 22, 2006 I'll sell my copy if I can find it - Quote
brownie Posted February 22, 2006 Author Report Posted February 22, 2006 AllenLowe said: funny that he married a Jew, because he makes some anti-semitic remarks in Notes and Tones - I told Dick Katz about this and he said, "ah, don't worry about it, he's crazy." Mike Henessey goes into the subject rather honestly and writes that 'Clarke was not completely innocent of radial prejudices himself' and made several deprecating remarks towards jews, whites, arabs, etc... also. Went with the character which could be pretty abrasive sometimes. But - will all due respect to Dick Katz - would not call him 'crazy'. There were other examples in the jazz world including LeRoi Jones (who abandoned his jewish wife and their two daughters) or John Lewis (who had an infatuation with one of Benny Goodman's daughter and was turned down by BG). Quote
AllenLowe Posted February 22, 2006 Report Posted February 22, 2006 I think what Katz meant was "that's Kenny, he is what he is" - and Dick liked him personally and thought he was a great drummer so was able to overlook certain things - Quote
_forumlogo.png.a607ef20a6e0c299ab2aa6443aa1f32e.png)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.