[Dixielandjazz] Max Collie - Indianapolis, and Art Hodes

Eli Newberger newberge at massmed.org
Sat Jul 19 06:07:52 PDT 2003


Bill and list,

I certainly respect Max's music, but I think there's little doubt he was in cahoots with Sam Johnson in the planning of that Indiana fiasco.  

Whether Max knew that Sam intended to stiff his colleague musicians, the "competition" of this World Championship of Jazz sure smelled bogus to lots of us.  If I recall correctly, most of the participating bands were "sponsored" by jazz clubs, that in turn were given extra votes in the voting and weighting of the deliberations of the "jury" (that, incidentally, included some good musicians, like Terry Waldo, as well as reps of the "clubs").  I recall it was the Potomac River Jazz Club that was announced as supporting Max.  

Immediately after the Festival, Max began to promote the Rhythm Aces as the World Champions of Jazz.  (You'd see this everywhere, for example when they appeared shortly afterward, I think the next year, in a dance club in Breda, smack dab in the middle of, and in direct competition with, their annual festival.)(I know this, because Carolyn and I went to hear them, even tho' noone properly invited to play the festival was supposed to go off the reservation.  And they were great.  And the joint was full, and jumping.)  

Give the guy due credit for brass, for sure, but let's hear sometime a little sympathy for the people that got screwed, if not an effort at restitution.  In the end, I'm afraid, narcissism and cynicism ruled the day.  Nothing new in this biz, witness the current correspondence about Wild Bill and Art Hodes.  

And speaking of Hodes (while I'm speaking too long), I just put up on my website an article on jazz piano style post-Hines that includes my transcription of one of his typical solos:
http://www.elinewberger.com/articles/jazz/page4.html 
There's also an article there now on blues and boogie-woogie piano style with lots of representative transcribed choruses from the masters:
http://www.elinewberger.com/articles/blues/index.html

In contemplating the lessons learned from all this, I think wisdom is found in the  second verse of "Ace in the Hole:" (someone correct me if I'm getting this wrong)

Oh the stories that they're tellin'
Of the lemons that they're sellin'
And the hundreds that they're spendin' buyin' clothes

Everybody knows they're lyin'
It's the aces do the buyin'
That dressed them from their head down to their toes.

Some of them write to the old folks for coins
And that is their ace in the hole.
Others have pearls in the old Tenderloin
And that is their ace in the hole.

They'll tell you of money
They've made and they've spent
But not one guy can flash a big bank-roll.

And they'll end up in the breadline,
In their pockets not a dime
When they've lost that old ace in the hole.

Eli



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