[Dixielandjazz] Slim Gaillard

[ROBERT R. CALDER]

There ought to be a recording somewhere of Slim Gaillard's appearance on JAZZ SCORE, including the magnificent monologue in response to the question what is a tiple. This waxed so lyrical, with the full resources of Slim's beautiful bass voice, that the final word "melt" did seem to flow ...A transcript of the monologue would be wonderful, although even better would be its encapsulation as an mp3.  
I could listen to it over and over... 

I do remember a reference to some odd behaviour in a press review of Slim's gig on a recommissioned ferryboat during a Glasgow jazz festival.  The whole tale has been told by Maestro Mathieson in an earlier ennoblement of this page. 

I cannot remember where or when, but George Melly reminisced about Slim, and an extreme unworldiness amounting to being unaware quite how nasty things were during the period of factional strife in Northern Ireland. Melly had the impression that when Slim saw the armed personnel at the airport that he thought it had something to do with him. "Are they expecting a race riot?" Slim asked George as they disembarked. 

The TV documentary SLIM GAILLARD'S CIVILISATION came in two parts, only the first of which I remember having seen on YouTube. 

 There was also the ostensibly unrelated documentary film marking I think the centenary or perhaps longer, of the Chelsea Arts Club, in London, echoes of Oscar Wilde and James Abbot MacNeill Whistler --  the members were sitting chatting and consuming the ceremonial but filling breakfast and sounding glum talking by and large of Slim's recent demise. 

Unfortunately I missed his I think UK debut, at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh, where the efficient review suggested he hadn't quite worked out a programme.  Alastair Robertson at Hep Records would doubtless have lots to tell.  
Another thing I would like to hear and see again is the TV commercial for Scottish Amicable, who invested soundly in Slim as performer.  An admirable straight vocal performance -- and the wonderfully spoken closing line "Are you an amicable man?"  Mellifluous ... and presumably for Slim modestly lucrative.  

all the best to Pensacola and other listmates