[Dixielandjazz] Re: Artie Shaw

[LeslieMRag at aol.com]

Hi, Listmates:

I found the posting on Artie Shaw's funeral quite entertaining, especially 
since Chip Deffaa has written a remembrance of him for the February issue of The 
Mississippi Rag. Shaw had a well-deserved reputation for being a curmudgeon, 
but interestingly enough he really liked Chip and Chip really liked him and 
considered him a mentor. And it was a long-time friendship because Chip first 
met Shaw 20 years ago when he first interviewed him for the RAG. Chip has told 
me that he ran a lot of ideas past Shaw and really valued his input. So, Shaw 
wasn't a grump with everyone, and Chip says he was a wonderful 
conversationalist. Also, as someone else on the DJML mentioned, the autobiography written by 
actress Evelyn Keyes, one of Shaw's wives, is excellent. She, too, managed to 
have a decent friendship with Shaw, even though they couldn't sustain a 
marriage. It's clear from her book that she was a very bright lady (I think she died 
recently), so I'm sure that was a major reason why Shaw kept in at least 
marginal contact with her.

And, totally unrelated to the above: various people on the DJML have asked me 
privately if they could have a free sample of the RAG, so we've decided that 
for a limited time we'll provide a free sample to anyone who writes to us at 
MRagbiz at aol.com. It will probably be a recent back issue or the current issue 
rather than the upcoming issue--it will just depend upon our supply and when 
during the month we get the request. 

Leslie Johnson
editor at mississippirag.com OR
lesliemrag at aol.com