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

[D and R Hardie]

  Dear Charles and all
  I meant 25th anniversary edition not 25th century edition. Mea Culpa.
Dan Hardie

On Saturday, April 3, 2004, at 07:50  AM, D and R Hardie wrote:

> 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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>>> Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
>>> http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
>>>
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