Influences on Life

 It seems that every day, a visitor to this blog opens my eyes to yet another piece of the musical world.  One individual who tends to enlighten & educate me more on the offstage business of the industry is jazz journalist & writer Chris Albertson.  I assume most of us have arrived at our present location in life, in part, because of the influence of others.  Bessie Smith seems to have influenced his path when, in 1947, he first heard one of her recordings on Danish radio.

From that first song, an appreciation of jazz and blues music apparently has taken Mr. Albertson on a very interesting journey.  On his current blog, Stomp Off, he regularly reaches into a treasure trove of notes, letters, and original recordings of interviews he did in the past.  I'm sure others in the music business have a closet full of history too, but Chris seems to have endeared himself to a wide range of individuals in the industry, most importantly, the Artists of days gone by.  From what I have learned about Chris without personally meeting him, I think many who know him might feel similarly to what Duke Ellington felt about Stanley & Helen Oakley-Dance, long-time friends to both Ellington & Chris.

In 1970 Duke Ellington wrote:

"Stanley is well informed about my activities and those of my associates. He has been a part of our scene for a long time, maybe longer than he cares to remember. He and his wife, Helen, are the kind of people it is good to have in your corner, the kind you don't mind knowing your secrets. In other words, they are friends - and you don't have to be careful with friends."

From the beginning of my search for John Bartee, I have been influenced by the sounds & History of an era when life & Music were far different from what we experience in the mainstream of life today.  Yet it was an era that still had all the human vices & shortcomings mankind has nurtured since the beginning of its existence here on planet Earth.

Years ago, one of the first pictures that really drew me into the world of big band & jazz was this grouping of Chick Webb, Artie Shaw & Duke Ellington.

Jam Session with Jazz Giants (1937)

Helen Oakley, in the light dress, then working for Irving Mills, organized this 1937 jam session at the Brunswick Recording Studio in New York to help launch the Master and Variety record labels.
Chick Webb, Artie Shaw, and Duke Ellington all volunteered their time. Milt Gabler kneels behind Ellington; Oakley's British-born future husband, the jazz historian Stanley Dance, stands against the far wall.

And that's Teddy McRae, Back Bay Shuffle... to the left of Helen Dance.  Bandleader. George Hall, right of Shaw.

  Originally uncredited: Charles Peterson was the photographer for this event and is himself part of the pictures he created of the New York music world.  His son, Don, compiled his work in the book Swing Era New York.  Here, we come full circle, with the foreword by Stanley Dance. After seeing the preview pictures at the link above, I'm sure I'll look forward to seeing the other images Mr. Peterson lived & captured on film.  The picture above is a web link to the site where it is posted.

Turns out when Chris Albertson gives a lesson, most recently about his friend Stanley Dance... I am left wanting to know more.  Although I had seen her name before...Helen Oakley with this picture, until I did my homework, I really didn't know who she was...  Now I really know how important this picture is in music history... because it's not just about the well-known musicians Webb, Shaw & Ellington.  It's also about their friends, supporters, and promoters within the industry who helped shape and influence their success.  

That event / open house for the new Variety & Master record labels was truly an event.  As noted above, Stanley Dance stands against the far wall; he arrived in New York just a month earlier aboard the Queen Mary.  Read a brief account from him.  There is so much more history beyond what this one picture shows, yet true History is a difficult product to market.  I bet a complete motion picture screenplay could be produced from just the beginning of this picture's story.  But in today's economy, not even a film about Miles Davis gets put on the shelf.

One thing I have learned from many books published about music history is that many just scratch the surface when it comes to the individuals who aren't pictured on the album cover.  I am not sure whether this is intentional, between the writer & the publisher, to create the illusion that the product will impart information & true knowledge of the marketing subject.  But in this day and age, if someone is actually reading & then takes the step to buy a book on a subject that interests them...  wouldn't it be more beneficial to a publisher's future publications if they were known for producing well-researched, truly informative books & articles?

Through this website, I've learned that our news service industry no longer relies on first-hand research by contacting someone like Chris Albertson.  Instead, much of the best news research is done at a keyboard, collecting third- and fourth-hand accounts of events from bloggers like me.  So I add this disclaimer:   I am an authority on Custom Cabinetmaking, Genealogy research, John Bartee & visits to the emergency room... On everything else in life, I remain a lifelong student with a passion for many subjects and activities. 

If you were puzzled about the previous post... Yes, it reflects my feelings about many organizations & the fact that I base my opinion of an individual on their personal actions.  We are what WE do, not what any political, religious, or ethnic organization does.  Beyond that... it was a humorous image that just popped into my head, so I had to create it.  Not meant to offend any supporters of President Obama... You could cut and paste the face of any President of the past few decades & I would still see it the same.
If you read Thoreau's quote, it's very easy to understand the depiction.

If you're still upset with my humorous depiction of World Government in action, I refer you back to spokesperson Porky Pig.