[Dixielandjazz] Chasing the Devil's Tail/Buddy Bolden Biography

[D and R Hardie]

Dear Charles,
                         I must support your comments on Mr. Marquis 
book. It is the definitive biography of Buddy Bolden and best 
researched work of jazz history I have read. It puts to rest almost all 
of the false or imagined tales that formed the legend and established 
the man. Better than any detective story too. Indeed it was reading the 
work that stimulated my own interest in Earl Jazz History. It is still 
as fresh today. I met Mr Marquis very briefly at a jazz  bar, Mollies 
in the market,  some years back and he was as amiable as you suggest. 
He was at that time thinking about a 25th century edition but that does 
not seem to have eventuated. I recommend it to all list members.
regards
Dan Hardie

On Saturday, April 3, 2004, at 03:22  AM, Charles Suhor wrote:

> Still in print (or available on interlibrary loan) and still a 
> wonderful
> read is the well-researched IN SEARCH OF BUDDY BOLDEN by Donald Marquis
> (LSU Press, also a Da Capo Paperback). You might run into the amiable 
> Don
> in N.O.  He recently finished a term as editor of SECOND LINE and 
> hangs out
> a lot at Palm Court.--Charlie Suhor
>
> Hi all,
> Poor Buddy Bolden. I thought Michael Ondaatje and Danny Barker had
> already done enough to slander the man. Will they ever stop
> fictionalising him? Who is this St Cyr person? Is he a cousin of Booboo
> Valentin?
> regards
> Dan Hardie
> Check out  The Loudest Trumpet at
> http://members.ozemail.com.au/~darnhard/EarlyJazzHistory.html
>
> On Thursday, April 1, 2004, at 10:54  AM, Dan Augustine wrote:
>
>> Folks--
>>     Filling the apparent conversational lacunae with what is probably
>> only dross, i herewith commend to your attention a book i just started
>> reading called _Chasing the Devil's Tail_ by David Fulmer (2001,
>> Harcourt Books).  I haven't seen it mentioned in DJML, and i only
>> stumbled across it a couple of days ago serendipitously while persuing
>> some other wraith through the ether.
>>     Here's what Publishers Weekly (never the most critical of organs)
>> has to say about the book:
>>
>> "Storyville, New Orleans, the most historic red-light district in the
>> United States, where the music of Jelly Roll Morton and "King" Buddy
>> Bolden is ushering in the jazz age, provides the stage for this
>> riveting and provocative debut mystery of sex, alcohol, drugs,
>> insanity and murder. When two prostitutes are found murdered and
>> marked with a black rose, Tom Anderson, political boss and the "King
>> of Storyville," calls in Creole detective Valentin St. Cyr. While the
>> death toll mounts, St. Cyr doesn't want to believe that all
>> indications point to his childhood friend, Buddy Bolden. Bolden, who
>> has risen to fame with the "jass" music of his horn, has become more
>> than erratic in his behavior. As St. Cyr watches his friend
>> self-destruct, he wonders if Buddy is indeed the killer. The author
>> vividly describes early 20th-century New Orleans, from the large and
>> elegant houses of the madams to the infested rooms of the crib girls
>> that reflect the distinct and rigid caste system of the day. After a
>> frustrating investigation, the pieces of the puzzle come together in a
>> surprising and satisfying conclusion. Fulmer's use of historical
>> figures such as Tom Anderson, Buddy Bolden, piano player Ferdinand
>> LeMenthe (who would later be known as Jelly Roll Morton), E.J.
>> Bellocq, the photographer of New Orleans whores, and the famous madam
>> Lulu White authenticate an already believable and spellbinding story,
>> which will echo in the reader's mind like the mournful notes of good
>> blues."
>>
>>     The year set is 1907, and so far i like it, perhaps more for the
>> nitty-gritty feel of the milieu than for any revelations in Bolden
>> research. It's primarily a detective novel, not a portrayal of Buddy
>> Bolden, but it is interesting, and i thought i'd mention it for those
>> who might want to read it. I saw it online at Amazon.com, but i bought
>> my copy at Barnes and Noble (quality-paperback size, $14.00).
>>
>>     Dan
>> --
>> **--------------------------------------------------------------------
>> **
>> **  Dan Augustine     Austin, Texas     ds.augustine at mail.utexas.edu
>> **
>> **       "The Texan turned out to be good-natured, generous and
>> **
>> **        likable. In three days no one could stand him."
>> **
>> **                      --Joseph Heller, _Catch-22_
>> **
>> **--------------------------------------------------------------------
>> **
>>
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