<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=3>In a message dated 1/16/03 4:11:19 AM Central Standard Time, a.crouch@unsw.edu.au writes:<BR>
<BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Hello all<BR>
<BR>
I come neither to bury Feather, nor to praise him. However, there is some<BR>
middle ground which may lighten the black picture painted by Jim Beebe.<BR>
<BR>
On the matter of the antagonism between the "modernists" and the "mouldy<BR>
fygges" in the 1940s, there was intractable bias on both sides. Rudi Blesh,<BR>
for example, couched his views in elegant prose but he was just as<BR>
narrow-minded as Feather. Read Blesh's comments on Duke Ellington in<BR>
"Shining trumpets" or listen to him explaining what "real jazz" is, at the<BR>
Bunk Johnson concert in San Francisco in May 1943 (available on American<BR>
Music CD AMCD 16). I suspect that most DJMLers would now be appalled by<BR>
such views.<BR>
<BR>
As a record producer, Feather is deserving of some praise. Listen to his<BR>
London sessions of May 1937 and September 1938. There is both humour and<BR>
fine playing here (the band is called "Leonard Feather and Ye Olde English<BR>
Swynge Band"), the repertoire is adventurous( "jazzy" folk songs), and we<BR>
can hear that Feather was an adequate pianist.<BR>
<BR>
In America he promoted the work of relative unknowns such as alto player<BR>
Pete Brown and is particularly noteworthy for his support of female<BR>
musicians on record. Mary Lou Williams, June Rotenberg, Beryl Booker,<BR>
Vivien Garry, Edna Williams and Hazel Scott are some of the people who<BR>
benefited from Feather's work as a producer.<BR>
<BR>
All the best<BR>
Anton</BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><BR>
I suppose that Leonard Feather did have some redeeming attributes.<BR>
However, they were overshadowed by his relentless, pernicious attacks in print. As Anton points out, the Mouldy Figs were equally vitriolic, however, none of these had a national forum of any significant influence.<BR>
<BR>
I hestitated about writing my piece on Feather because his daughter was involved. But as I related, she started up the same old attacks on 'Dixieland' musicians. Over the years I have heard many stories from many musicians of Feather's negative reviews and writeups. I barely scratched this surface.<BR>
<BR>
Jim Beebe</FONT></HTML>