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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Great report, Jim. I liked the comparison to
"T." The quotes were a pleasure as well as the report of Ruby's admiration
for Louis. As an aside did you ever read the quote from Bobby Hackett about
going around town with Louis? About entering an establishment,he said, "It was
as if you were walking into a place accompanied by God."</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=JimDBB@aol.com href="mailto:JimDBB@aol.com">JimDBB@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com
href="mailto:dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com">dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, February 14, 2003 9:34
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Dixielandjazz] Ruby
Braff</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=3>In a message dated
2/14/03 7:44:22 PM Central Standard Time, <A
href="mailto:james@jiming.demon.co.uk">james@jiming.demon.co.uk</A>
writes:<BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0 style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"
face=Arial color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"
TYPE="CITE">Did I miss something? Ruby Braff passed away and I have so far
seen no<BR>>comments on the list.<BR>>Surely someone must have some
reminiscences of the man?<BR>>Brian Harvey<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Jim Denham's
reply to this was just right. Brian is right, there should be a lot of
commentary on Ruby Braff. Ruby was very quotable as he was an
unrepentent curmudgeon and a master of outrageous comment on other
musicians. And masterful comments on music
and his favorite musicians, as well.<BR><BR>I first met Ruby at a party in
Toronto in 1968. I was there with Bob Scobey and one night Ruby came in
and plunked himself right down in front of the band. He gave an
attentive ear to Scobey's trumpet playing. At a party later that night,
Ruby lit into a 2 hour dissertation on Louis Armstrong that was absolutely
fascinating.<BR>Ruby had been working with Benny Goodman and he said that
Goodman was pathologically jealous of Armstrong and to nourish that, Ruby
would cut out every good review that he found about Louis and would place it
on Benny's music stand.<BR><BR>Ruby worshipped Louis Armstrong and told of
going to see him at a club in New York he was performing in. Ruby ended
up sitting at a table with Lennie Tristano. During the set Louis played a very
slow and beautiful , "Tenderly." At the end Tristano remarked to Ruby, "
I don't get it , what is so great about this guy." With this, Ruby
jumped up and shouted at Lennie, " Now I know why your music is so fucking
lousy, you don't know good music when you hear it."<BR><BR>To me, Ruby Braff's
musicality is on a lofty par with Jack Teagarden. Both had a beautiful and
very personal sound, a marvelous sense of melodic line along with an innate
creative harmonic sense. And all of this brought together and made
possible with a unique and very flexible technique. Very few
cornetists/trumpeters can get around their horns with the ease and facillity
that Ruby Braff could.<BR><BR>The brilliant British jazz writer and radio
presenter Steve Voce has hours of recorded conversations with Ruby. Many
are hoping that these will be made available either as recordings or
transcribed in print.<BR><BR>There is one interview, written, I think, by
Whitney Balliett for the New Yorker in which Ruby carries on about playing in
clubs. Surprisingly, Ruby candidly Ruby says that he likes to hear
people talking, glasses clinking, the waiter dropping a tray and things like
that. To him it meant that people were alive and engaged in life'... or
something like that, I"ve forgotten his exact words.<BR><BR>I wonder if
anybody has access to that interview and could post it.<BR><BR>Ruby Braff was
devoted to the 'Adoration of the Melody' but we should not forget that he was
a very capable of playing Dixieland Jazz and could play very good
ensemble. He was absolutely one of the greats.<BR><BR>Jim
Beebe<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></FONT><FONT lang=0
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" face=Arial color=#000000 size=3
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><BR> JEm </FONT>
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<P></P>_______________________________________________<BR>Dixielandjazz
mailing
list<BR>Dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com<BR>http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BODY></HTML>