[Dixielandjazz] Leonard Feather

[Don Ingle]

The Sons of Bix played the Sacro Fest several times, and one morning we had
the early bloody Mary hour set. Leonard Feather came waltzing in, and Don
Gibson, our sort-of-leader said, "hey guys, it's Leonard Feather -- let's
play ____(big lip buster not suited for a time when most of the band had not
yet puked)," and I said screw him...he doesn't like our brand of music and
is not about to write anything complimentary about us, so let's just play
our gig our way for the faithful on hand. We were about 16 bars into
Davenport Blues when Leonard spun around and left.
Two other bands we knew said he did the same thing -- a quick look-see then
split.
His charge of racism was bogus -- had there been available jazz bands of
color, they would have been hired, but there are just not many around. The
folks that help make OKOM just let it drop, and the younger ones rarely took
it up.
Feather was really a racist in reverse, disdaining the fine music also made
and being made by white players as well.
I might as well pile on -- not let Beebe have it all. He was also a mediocre
piano player at best, but got more plaudits for his playing than he deserved
just because he had access to INK.
Don Ingle
----- Original Message -----
From: <JackleeT at aol.com>
To: <jazzboard at hotmail.com>; <JimDBB at aol.com>;
<dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2003 3:05 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Leonard Feather


> In a message dated 7/17/2003 11:31:22 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> jazzboard at hotmail.com writes:
>
> >
> > I don't think Feather was despicable, but I do think he had an agenda to
> > which he adhered throughout his journalistic life and, as a result, it
led
> > to a certain mean-spiritedness, shoddy scholarship and reportage.
> >
> > Respectfully submitted,
> >
> > Bill Gunter
> > Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society
> >
>
> Bill: I respect your honesty, I thoroughly agree with your assessment of
> Feather's reportage of the Sac Jubilee, and if I were to substitute
"occasional"
> for "certain" in your description of him, I would concur whole-heartedly
with
> it.
>
> Jack Tracy
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