[Dixielandjazz] Leonard Feather, etc.

[James Kashishian]

My son, while in his last year at Boston College (last year) took a Jazz
History course offered by a 75 yr old black history professor/minister.
The professor was apparently very biased toward black musicians, and
gave little credit to anyone in the field that was white.  That, of
course, is racism, also.  He took the class to the People's Baptist
Church which was the highlight of the course. Swinging Church!   For a
Catholic kid raised in Spain, that was a fantastic experience for him.

The course text was the Ken Burns series that was recently covered in
depth on DJML.  He has given me the CD collection....which is quite
good, actually, in spite of all the comments given awhile back on DJML.

I took a similar course while getting an oversees degree from Maryland U
in Madrid.  Again, a black professor at the U.S. Air Base.   I invited
the class & teacher to attend a theater gig I was doing called "America
Negra" at the time.  It was a Spanish production, with a 10 piece Jazz
Band on stage, a Spanish singing group called The Mocedades, and one
actor.  The actor quoted lines from Negro writers, interspersed with
gospel tunes sung by the singers...all in Spanish.  

After the show, the professor asked me to translate for him to the
actor.  When the professor expressed his pleasure about the actor
reading the lines....which were about slavery, lack of schools for the
children, etc., the actor told me to tell him he "didn't give a f..k
about the black situation, he was making a point about the repression at
the time under Franco"!!   Goes to show you, folks tend to worry about
their own problems.  I told the professor the actor had said something
altogether different........."thank you very much, etc.!        :>

The show, although having received great praise from critics lasted only
4 days before Franco's Guardia Civil cops closed it down.  We opened
again about a year later, and were promptly closed down again!   

One good thing Eoin got from the course was a great appreciation for two
songs he liked.....Begin the Beguine & Rose Room.  He wanted to know why
we don't play B the B.  My answer...the bloody thing is 64 bars long!
Actually, I recorded that very song backing Julio Iglesias years ago!

Speaking of Gospel music, I have great memories of tent revival meetings
I attended as a small kid with my grandmother in California.  The music
was fantastic!  I always enjoyed the "healing part".  I try to tell the
guys here in the band about it, but they wipe it all off the table as
being a put-on.  Maybe so, but it was exciting, with good music and good
vibes!  Usually got tired of standing during 95 verses of Just As I am
at the end........, but then, I was probably 7 or 8 then.   

Anyone else have stories about revival meetings?

Jim (still a Baptist) Kash