RIP Stanley Crouch

[clifford_thornton]

Thanks for sharing the Shipp posts, can see 'em now. I guess I am a bit young to have witnessed a lot of what he's talking about, and the outing bit is even worse than I realized.

[Justin V]

10 hours ago, Ken Dryden said:

I found Crouch's writing to be frequently overbearing, much like his public persona. During one Jazz Journalist Association he took a swing at president Howard Mandel, then there's the time he cold-cocked another writer in the side of the head while he was seated. My one encounter with him was during a JJA Awards Show, which he had bulldozed his way into being a part of it (with Mandel's blessing), even though he was not a member. He talked for a few minutes, then sat at the drums and gave a rather boring solo. Afterward, Francis Davis made fun of it when he took the microphone, but even better was comedian Al Lewis, who was a special guest that year. Lewis remarked, "I remember being on 52nd Street back in the 1940s and hearing Sid Catlett, now there was a real drummer!" The audience groaned and hooted in agreement. I always wonder if Crouch thought about taking a swing at either of them.

Wait, Grandpa Munster was there?!?!

[Dan Gould]

9 hours ago, Justin V said:

Wait, Grandpa Munster was there?!?!

I believe that late in life he split his time between jazz conferences and porn industry events.

[Niko]

apparently Shipp vs Crouch is a feud that has been going on for decades, quoting from here, text is from 1999

https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/trends/columns/cityside/189/

`Shipp has been party to several dustups over the years, most famously squaring off with the occasionally pugnacious cultural critic and Marsalis confidant Stanley Crouch after an awards dinner. For his part, Crouch, no fan of Shipp’s “European music,” says “there wasn’t going to be any great glory for me putting my foot in his ass.” '

[Rabshakeh]

It's pretty funny that Shipp was retiring from recording even back then.

[Ken Dryden]

On 9/20/2020 at 9:56 PM, Justin V said:

Wait, Grandpa Munster was there?!?!

Yeah, he was amusing. JJA would have celebrating guest emcess. The first show I attended had both Avery Brooks and Soupy Sales. 

Soupy's jokes included: "I'm in a self-help group, sex without partners."

"My grandmother was told by her doctor to walk 3 miles a day. It's been two weeks and we don't know where she is..."

[mjzee]

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/stanley-crouch-appreciation

[Patrick]

Stanley Crouch was a 2019 NEA Jazz Master honoree. I attended the associated Kennedy Center celebration primarily to fete honorees Maria Schneider and Abdullah Ibrahim. The late Bob Dorough was also honored. Great music performed to celebrate Ibrahim (ensemble that included Jason Moran, Terence Blanchard, Terri Lyne Carrington) and Schneider (ensemble that included Frank Kimbrough, Scott Robinson, Jay Anderson w Renee Fleming for great "Walking by Flashlight"). Interesting intergenerational ensemble for Dorough (that included Sheila Jordan, Kurt Elling, and Grace Kelly) that was fun ("I'm Hip"!). I wondered how one would celebrate Crouch's art. Would it by reading his written word in some dramatic fashion? Perhaps two booming orators trading 'graphs? Fortunately it was a group led by Charles McPherson and David Murray with Blanchard, Christian McBride and others. And if I recall correctly, not too many of Stanley's words were actually read during that celebration. More recollections of his general (combative) style by Wynton, McBride, and a few others.