"Bebop Comes To Europe" on Night Lights

[ghost of miles]

Here's a recent Night Lights program about the arrival of American bebop artists on the Continent in the late 1940s, including studio recordings and concert broadcasts from Chubby Jackson, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Tadd Dameron, Charlie Parker, Max Roach, Kenny Clarke, and more:

Bebop Comes To Europe

[Big Beat Steve]

Very nice topic. Though it would have been nice hearing a yet somewhat higher share of dates made by visiting US artists with local musicians - just to show the catalytic action going on (and I admit I also had to smile at the way some of the non-U.S. names were pronounced Hugues Panassié may have been a stubborn moldiest fig but he didn't deserve THAT .... and Charles Delaunay is no relation to Delaney & Bonnie ).

But something irritated me: I haven't listened to Night Lights shows for some time but It seems to me that in past programs the actual tunes played within the program were embedded rather more directly at their place in the narrative on the site and could be clicked upon to jump to that part of the music directly (if so wished). Now it seems this is no longer the case and the Youtube links scattered throughout the text on the website sometimes lead to tracks from the tracklist, sometimes to quite different tracks. A bit of a mismatch. Puzzling ...

 

 

 

Edited December 8, 2016 by Big Beat Steve

[Lazaro Vega]

Charles Dell-lau-nay?

Hews Pan-eh-see-A ?

[ghost of miles]

As Humphrey Bogart once said, "I was misinformed."  I did check on the pronouncers for both of those with a generally reliable source... will go back and fix in the online file as soon as possible. 

[Big Beat Steve]

You're not quite as far off anymore, Lazaro ...

It's awfully hard to transcribe phonetically, particularly if you have to rethink French vowels into written word as understood by typical anglophone speakers thinking in English.

Particularly poor Hugues Panassié.

To start with, Charles is the French "Charles" and not the anglo one. I.e "shaaarl" and not more. "De" like all French "de" (which means like it's definitely not "Dee" like in Dee Dee Sharp) and then  "lew-nay".

As for Panassié, at any rate the "H" in Hugues is not proncounced, neither is the "ues". So make it "ewg" or "eoowg", maybe. And in "Panassié" the stress is on the final "e" (hence the accent). Something like "Punn-a-se-ayy". That should be close enough.

 

I really wouldn't want to make that much of a fuss out of this. It just took me aback on listening. I realize I am a bit (too) finicky about this - to me just has something to do with the respect for the person involved - at least as far as major world languages are concerned. But this is a door that swings many ways:

Quite a while ago I discussed music with a friend who is a 200% diehard fan of (older/traditional) country music and the name of Roy Acuff came up. The way he pronounced it (very German-sounding) this sounded something like "Uckeewff". I guess most country-loving English native speakers could not have avoided giggling at hearing this. My feeling in that case was that if you are that much of a hardcore music fan you ought to know at least halfway how the names of your heroes are pronounced. Not least of all in today's world when exposure to "oral" information is that much easier available via the web.

Though in other countries and languages this would be an even harder battle to fight. The average French are particularly unscrupulous when it comes to this. I move quite a bit in rockabilly circles too and have quite a few contacts over in France. You U.S. fellows would probably cringe BIG TIME at how the names of all the artists are constantly being mutilated there beyond recognition. Can you imagine offhand who "Beeew-dee Olé" is, for example?

 

 

Edited December 8, 2016 by Big Beat Steve