[Dixielandjazz] Eric Hobsbawm

[fred spencer]

Dear Robert,
You probably know this already, but a collection of Eric Hobsbawm's
essays entitled "Uncommon People. Resistance, Rebellion and Jazz" was
published in 1998 and remaindered recently, which is why I have a copy!
It contains his Count Basie piece. I wonder if you have come upon his
autobiography, "Interesting Times, A Twentieth-century life", which was
reviewed in the October 4, 2002 "Times Literary Supplement", but ignored
his interest in jazz. I wonder how a Viennese academic historian became
interested in jazz? Perhaps its in there somewhere. Hobsbawm says in
"The Jazz Scene" - an excellent book - that among the "Good trumpeters"
he named were two he was "fond of " - Frankie Newton and Buck Clayton -
so perhaps this accounts for his pseudonym - Bucky Clayton might have
seemed inappropriate to his scholarly mind! A 24 page monograph  - "The
Search For Frankie Newton" -  was written by Jennifer Wagner and
published by the Historical Society of Washington County,Virginia in
2002. All the best.
Fred