[Dixielandjazz] Jimmy Yancey

[Jack Tracy]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Farrell" <stridepiano at tesco.net>
To: "Butch Thompson" <butcht at sihope.com>; "djml" 
<dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 1:45 PM
Subject: RE: [Dixielandjazz] Jimmy Yancey


> Butch - believe me, I'm not putting Yancey down, I'm just curious to know
> why great pianist friends such as yourself, Neville Dickie, Louis Mazetier
> etc. are so captivated by his playing. I've tried very hard but just don't
> get it.
>
> Maybe one day the light will dawn, I remember that in my youth I suffered
> the same blind spot with Art Tatum until one day at a party after a drink
> too many somebody put on a Tatum LP which totally enthralled me. He has 
> been
> one of my greatest heroes ever since.
>
> John Farrell

John: Perhaps you recall (I assume you're old enough) that in the early 
1940s a great many jazz listeners had the same reaction to Thelonious Monk 
and likened his playing to that of a piano tuner plying his trade.

Not that I am comparing Yancey to Monk (although there is a startling 
similarity on one of Yancey's blues (I forget the title now) to Thelonious's 
Blue Monk.

You never know, there may come a day when, after a few scotches, someone 
will put on a Yancey record and you won't be able to wait a second longer to 
transcribe it for your piano series.

Jack Tracy