brownie Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 (edited) Anybody read this book? Alive at the Village Vanguard The lady has had an interesting life and she was married to Alfred Lion and Max Gordon. Beside the gossip, is this a good read? Edited April 12, 2007 by brownie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 Given the life she's led and the people she knew, I can't imagine that this isn't worthwhile. Thanks for the heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazaro Vega Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 (edited) I'm working on it. Good reading so far. Her marriage to Alfred Lion and then Max Gordon put her in the thick of it. There's a little passage in there where she talks about somebody trying to get into a club for free, it may have been Alfred, and says because of that experience she doesn't make anyone dance at the door of the Vanguard. And it dawned on me the last time I was there, heard Lou Donaldson, I paid but then later mentioned working in jazz radio and she refunded the cover charge and wouldn't hear about it any other way. Edited November 16, 2006 by Lazaro Vega Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValerieB Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 i just received the two copies i ordered from amazon today. i'm very much looking forward to this read. this lady has known everyone in jazz and everywhere else too! the back of the book has blurbs from Ahmet Ertegun, Bill Frissel, Bruce Lundvall, Charles Gwathmey (architect), Wynton Marsalis and Joe Lovano! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Kart Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Just picked it up from the library and am enjoying the heck out of it so far. Great photos. I particularly like the one taken in the Lions apartment circa 1947-8 that shows them listening to takes from a Blue Note recording session in order to pick out the best in the company of Ike Quebec and Mr. and Mrs. Ram Ramirez. The pictures on the walls and Alfred's recliner chair! Also, Lorraine was a pretty hot lady IMO or as far as I can tell. Finally, her account of becoming a jazz fan in her teens is exemplary, as they say, of a lot of us I'm sure. It's like the music somehow chose or recognized her as much as it was the other way around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValerieB Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 can you change to subject line to read "Lorraine" instead of "Elaine"? i enjoyed the book very much although it's not any literary masterpiece. it's just like her -- very forthright, honest and down-to-earth. since i lived in ny during the '60s, i remember max very well. in fact, he autographed his autobiography to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 can you change to subject line to read "Lorraine" instead of "Elaine"? i enjoyed the book very much although it's not any literary masterpiece. it's just like her -- very forthright, honest and down-to-earth. since i lived in ny during the '60s, i remember max very well. in fact, he autographed his autobiography to me. Indeed. She is an interesting figure. I'm glad she lived and I'm glad I met her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjzee Posted April 12, 2007 Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 Here's the review from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/2007/01/31/lorraine-...bookreview.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted April 12, 2007 Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 I got this for Christmas and spent an enjoyable afternoon reading her life story. I do recommend it, though I found her politics annoying, I wish she had spent more time talking about Alfred and the Blue Note years, and finally the book is short enough but feels padded with the list of the bookings at the Vanguard during the years she has run it, plus the list of live recordings. It would be far more interesting to see the list of bookings from the Max Gordon years, but at least the text does mention that Lorraine plans to publish that in an "appropriate" manner. I did find this statement toward the end of the book interesting: Max used to pay Miles Davis five hundred dollars a week. I just paid one young musician twenty seven thousand dollars for one week. This seems quite high to me, unless it was for a larger than usual size band, and it leaves me wondering what she typically pays for a one week engagement, and just how profitable that club is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcello Posted April 12, 2007 Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 Who could she paying that kind of money? Nobody. I bet the last time Miles Davis made $500 for a week is when he was playing as a single and was a junkie. I remember when Miles played a club where I worked in '68 - '69 he was paid $5500 for the week. I remember because the owner complained so much. Duffy's Backstage, in Rochester. I was a weekend busboy and after school clean up boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted April 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 can you change to subject line to read "Lorraine" instead of "Elaine"? Done -_- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Kart Posted April 12, 2007 Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 The book kind of runs out of gas after a while IMO, but the part about Gordon's upbringing and her days with Alfred Lion is invaluable. About her politics, I'd be more inclined to agree with some of the positions she took than Dan Gould is, but even so, she does seems to be more than a bit of an air-head in that realm, e.g. snuggling up to top-level Soviet officials in 1965 in the name of "peace." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted April 12, 2007 Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 "Also, Lorraine was a pretty hot lady IMO or as far as I can tell" ahh, I don't know if you remember a little anecdote I posted a few years back, though I probably should not have, Larry; I'll shoot you a private email about it. Quite funny stuff, based on a story I was told by Curley Russell. I'd post it here again, but it's probably not a good idea, though it may be in the archives. I got to know Lorraine a little bit in the late 1970s when she was booking Jabbo Smith and used to come with him and to hear him at the West End Cafe. We had some mutual friends, and I loved Jabbo (who had the most beautiful singing voice I have ever heard, I kid you not; a pity that he was never really recorded appropriately in this way; also, on a good night he could play some nice chord changes, though his range was limited) - she was/is a character, and we always wondered what was going on between her and Jabbo, who was around 75 at the time. A friend of mine (a pretty female) went over to Jabbo's apartment one day to help him clean; when Lorraine found out, she got very upset and territorial, and made sure that friend never got near Jabbo again. I liked her and I liked Max's book on the Vanguard; will have to check this one out - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjzee Posted April 12, 2007 Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 There was an intriguing passage in Max's memoir (a great book, btw), where he mentions in passing playing "that night's tapes" for Rahsaan in his hospital bed (working from memory here). How many gigs did Max tape, and are those tapes still in existence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted April 12, 2007 Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 I spoke to her by phone about a year ago and she was without a doubt the rudest person (man/woman) I have ever talked with.....that said I may still pick up the book......or see if my library has it . m~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValerieB Posted April 12, 2007 Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 can you change to subject line to read "Lorraine" instead of "Elaine"? Done -_- lorraine and i thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted April 12, 2007 Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 I met her XX years ago and while having a drink I mentioned how much I admired (and tried to emulate) her first husband. She said "Yeah, he was my idol too". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValerieB Posted April 12, 2007 Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 (edited) "Also, Lorraine was a pretty hot lady IMO or as far as I can tell" I got to know Lorraine a little bit in the late 1970s when she was booking Jabbo Smith and used to come with him and to hear him at the West End Cafe. I just looking at some of the pictures in the book show that she was pretty damn attractive with great taste (in other than jazz as well)! mention of the west end cafe certainly brings back lots of very pleasant memories for me. i worked for the college board in the '60s at 475 riverside drive and then at 113th and broadway. wonderful times! Edited April 12, 2007 by ValerieB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBlutarski Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 There was an intriguing passage in Max's memoir (a great book, btw), where he mentions in passing playing "that night's tapes" for Rahsaan in his hospital bed (working from memory here). How many gigs did Max tape, and are those tapes still in existence? what was that book called? JB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 There was an intriguing passage in Max's memoir (a great book, btw), where he mentions in passing playing "that night's tapes" for Rahsaan in his hospital bed (working from memory here). How many gigs did Max tape, and are those tapes still in existence? what was that book called? JB An Amazon search for Max Gordon turns up THIS. Pretty easy to do yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBlutarski Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 There was an intriguing passage in Max's memoir (a great book, btw), where he mentions in passing playing "that night's tapes" for Rahsaan in his hospital bed (working from memory here). How many gigs did Max tape, and are those tapes still in existence? what was that book called? JB An Amazon search for Max Gordon turns up THIS. Pretty easy to do yourself. thanks, chuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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