Obit: Artie Shaw (December, 2004, Age 93)

Subject: Obit: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: Flash Company
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 09:45 AM

It seems we can't leave 2004 without losing yet another musician, Artie Shaw has died at home in California at the age of 93'
Great clarinettist, great writer, great wit, and also managed to marry a whole bunch of beautiful women. Where did I go wrong?

FC

Subject: RE: Obit: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: Leadfingers
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 10:04 AM

Gawd !! Another good one gone , though 93 is a good run ! Wasnt Artie the guy they were referring to with the 'Ill Wind No-one blows good'?

Subject: RE: Obit: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: Amos
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 10:06 AM

Here's to an era he helped form, and to his part in it.

A

Subject: RE: Obit: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: fat B****rd
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 10:06 AM

RIP Mr. Shaw. And didn't he (literally) take his life in his hands by having Billie Holliday sing with his band ?.

Subject: RE: Obit: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: Flash Company
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 10:18 AM

fat B****rd, That is so right!, I cannot have anything but the highest regard for him for that. And he let her sing Strange Fruit.

Favourite recent story (about 5 years ago)
Reporter; So, whats the difference between you and Benny Goodman?
Artie; I'm alive!

FC

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: Peace
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 10:26 AM

Loved his music. This is a sad loss. Rest well Mr Shaw.

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 10:30 AM

And The Gramercy Five. A few years back, I bought the complete Gramercy Five recordings... what a great bunch of stuff. I grew up on Summit Ridge Drive. Not the street, which is in Chicago, but on the recording. One of the Chicago radio stations used that recording as their theme song, and it is permanently (and enjoyably) burned into my brain.

Other members of the Gramercy Five at one time or another were Barney Kessel, Roy Eldridge and most distinctively, Johnny Guarnieri on harpsichord. I believe that my idol Tal Farlow also played with the Gramercy Five, although he apparently didn't record with them.

He was a good old rounder, but he's dead and gone.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: PoppaGator
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 11:00 AM

I read today that, when asked about the difference between himself and Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw said:

"Benny, who was every bit as dedicated as I was, wanted to be an instrumentalist -- he was a superb technician -- while I wanted to be a musician. I think my mind was more complex than his."

He was also quoted as not understanding why people would dance to his music -- "I made it good enough to listen to."

Interesting guy.

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: Peace
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 11:06 AM

Some quotes from the man:

"'Swing' is an adjective or a verb, not a noun. All jazz musicians should swing. There is no such thing as a 'swing band' in music."

"I can't understand these guys who just have to have your autograph. I asked one of them 'What do you do when you get home, take it out and look at it?'"

"I was really running a music school back then, because my band wasn't making any money. I keep talking about money, because most people don't understand the part of money in running a band."

"No matter how carefully and assiduously and how deeply you bury shit, the American public will find it and buy it in large quantity, It's true, absolutely true."

"There's such a cynicism about the phrase 'I laughed all the way to the bank.' It's as though money is what you're doing, rather than playing music. If you're playing a money game, why not get into banking?"

"Somebody asked me once, 'Do you think that swing will ever come back?' And I said, 'Do you think the 1938 Form will ever come back?'"

"Dance music—as I keep saying, you can dance to a windshield wiper… a windshield wiper that's fairly steady gives you a beat and all you need is an out-of-tune playing 'Melancholy Baby' and you've got dance music."

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: mack/misophist
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 11:16 AM

Artie Shaw was the first jazz musician whose music I loved, long before I knew what jazz was. I wish he had been active longer.

"An ill wind that nobody blows good." is an oboe. It must be a Mitch Miller reference. He played it very well, though. Playing clarinet is like playing checkers; any one can learn to do it but only a handful can do it really well.

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 11:27 AM

Hey, brucie: I see I'd better add some Artie Shaw to the jazz CD I'm doing...

Jerry

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: Peace
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 11:42 AM

LOL

The man lives ON, Jerry. He LIVES on.

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: fat B****rd
Date: 31 Dec 04 - 02:41 PM

One of the UK TV companies should have a documentary on Artie in their vaults. Maybe......

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: Flash Company
Date: 01 Jan 05 - 11:22 AM

There was a very good documentary on Arena (I think) about 3 years ago. Bet they don't dig it up though (No demand!!!!!!!)
The ill wind that nobody blows good was Sir Thomas Beecham speaking of the saxaphone. Don't start me on Tommy Beecham, there are too many of them!

FC

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: Kaleea
Date: 02 Jan 05 - 01:25 AM

I lived in Denver as a child, & my parents liked to visit Elitch's Gardens. I especially loved getting to sit on the side & listen to the music & watch the dancers dancing-as in actually touching hands & all that! I got to hear some great Musicians there & Mr. Shaw was one.
    In the 2 different universities I attended, the Jazz dept's held Jazz festivals annually with Jazz greats performing & offering workshops & masterclasses. The Jazz Greats normally were delighted to participate & share their knowledge & stories with the younger Musicians. Mr. Shaw was one of those. Most of the Great Ones were quite humbled at the welcome they got from the college students, and especially the fact that the youngsters were knowledgeable of their recordings & life's work. Mr. Shaw was one of those Great Ones.

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: GUEST,Jim Ward
Date: 02 Jan 05 - 08:38 AM

Flash Company says Artie Shaw let Billie Holiday sing "Strange Fruit" with his band. Well he didn't. It is well recorded that the writer, poet Lewis Allen, met Billie when she was singing at New York's Cafe Society in 1939 just after she had left the Shaw band. He asked her to feature his poem as a song at the club which she did with great success. Her recording of the song was made with Frankie Newton's Cafe Society Band and issued on Milt Gabler's Commmodore Music Shop label. Columbia, her own recording company, wouldn't touch it. Artie and Billie were contracted to different recording companies so Billie Holiday recorded only one title with Artie Shaw, "Any Old Time", and that was withdrawn shortly after release.
    It is also on record that the first instrument Artie played was the Ukelele Banjo! He also studied classical guitar and clarinet and guested at Carnegie Hall with the National Symphony Orchestra an 1949.

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: fat B****rd
Date: 02 Jan 05 - 12:03 PM

Excellent obituary in The Grauniad (UK) Saturday Jan 1st.

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: GUEST,Joel
Date: 17 Jan 05 - 11:24 PM

A friend told me that some folks would enjoy this story:

Artie Shaw Funeral

Just got back from Artie Shaw's funeral, which was held
indoors in the chapel of the Pierce Brothers Mortuary in Westlake
Village because of the pouring rain outside. Services were supposed
to be public and held at graveside, but because of the weather,
guests were limited to family, friends, press, and a few
acquaintances (that's where I came in). It was a nice service,
filled with funny stories, "Artie-isms," and of course, music.

The coffin was flanked by an early photo of Artie at the
beginning of his career and a more recent picture of Artie in his
library, looking either pensive or annoyed. Both of these pictures
were included in the program. If anyone is interested in scans of
these, I'll be glad to send them as an attachment to whoever wants
one.

There was also the award presented by the NEA to Artie on
Friday and a framed letter of congratulations from President Bush,
dated November 30, 2004. There was a succession of speakers at the
service, which was led by Larry Rosen, Artie's longtime secretary.
As he introduced each speaker, we got an impression of a man who
was not a curmudgeon, but someone who was a Renaissance Man, a true
genius, and a perfectionist, expecting no more than the same from
people he knew. His motto: "Good enough is not good enough" sums up
his sometimes abrasive personality and mindset. Although there were
many funny stories told, I couldn't commit all of them to memory,
but here are a few highlights:

The man whose job it was to catalog Artie's massive collection
of over 10,000 books reported inscriptions in the front of three
books in the library. One was by Albert Einstein, one by Sigmund
Freud, and one by another famous author, whose name escapes me now.
The handwritten inscription in the front of the Einstein book read:
"To Artie Shaw, with profound admiration and respect." In the Freud
book, the inscription read, "To Artie Shaw, with profound
admiration and respect." Not only did the third book have the exact
same words, but the cataloguer noticed that the handwriting was the
same on all three. He asked Artie about it and Artie replied that
he had written them himself, to identify the books in case they
were ever stolen. As we speak, Artie's book collection is still at
his house. The shelves are reportedly completely full and stacks of
books are on the floor and even piled on the stairs of his
staircase.

Musician Tom Rainier chose to play two musical selections,
which were played on Artie's own boom box that was brought to the
chapel. One was a 1938 radio broadcast of Artie's hot big band
playing a song that I believe was called "Everybody's Jumpin'."
Artie wanted that played because it was five minutes long and gave
the soloists a chance to spread out (Artie hated most of his studio
sessions because of the restrictions in time). Artie took two
choruses, another was by Georgie Auld, one by Tony Pastor and I
couldn't identify the others. The other song was the result of an
interesting experiment in which Rainier took selected snippets of
Artie's playing, reassembled them and inserted them into a new
recording of Johnny Mandel's "The Shadow of Your Smile."

The intent was to predict what Artie would sound like if he
had continued to play after 1954. The result was actually pretty
amazing. Buddy DeFranco finished off the piece with an Artie-esque
8-bar cadenza that brought tumultuous applause throughout the
chapel. Artie himself had admired the work and approved of it. Then
Dick Johnson, leader of the Artie Shaw Orchestra for the past 20
years, played a poignant a cappella performance of "I'll Be Seeing
You."

Eighty-five-year-old comedian Red Buttons talked about meeting
Artie for the first time. "It was during the War," he remembered,
"and we were both in uniform. Artie was in his Navy uniform and I
was the bellhop at the Astor hotel." Buttons recalled that Shaw's
first words upon meeting him were, "What kind of a name is 'Red
Buttons'? Who in their right mind would give anyone that name?" To
which Buttons reported that his real name was Aaron Schwat, to
which Shaw immediately responded by calling Buttons "The Sultan of
Schwat."

Sid Caesar was scheduled to be there and speak but he couldn't
make it because of the rain. At that point, Larry asked if anyone
else had anything to say about their relationship with Artie and
there were a succession of very funny stories. I told of my
nerve-wracking first broadcast with him in 2000 and then my final
meeting with him in 2003 to discuss Bix Beiderbecke's 100th
birthday. Artie's admiration of Bix was not because of the notes
Bix played or his technique, it was the sound he produced on his
cornet. Artie rhapsodized about this sound and the fact that it
could only have come from Bix.

Above all, Artie admired the individual and hated when people
said they tried to play like Artie did. "Play like yourself," he'd
say. When I asked him to comment on Eddie Condon's oft-heard
description of Bix's sound, which was likening it to "a girl saying
yes," Artie paused, shook his head and said, "Poor Eddie...He must
have been pretty hard up." The end of the service came after the
playing of Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me" as sung by Lee
Wiley, Shaw's favorite singer. It was an unusual recording,
recorded in 1939, in which Wiley was accompanied by Fats Waller on
pipe organ (Liberty Music Shop L-282).

Cary Ginell Sound Thinking Music

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: GUEST,Art Thieme
Date: 18 Jan 05 - 12:42 AM

Joel,

Thanks for that. It's quite special. As was Artie.

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw
From: fat B****rd
Date: 19 Jan 05 - 03:33 PM

Documentary on Digital BBC4 tv tonight Wednesday at 10 pm. That's if you're not watching Cracker on ITV3.

Subject: RE: Obit: Artie Shaw (December, 2004, Age 93)
From: GUEST,MCP
Date: 25 Feb 05 - 02:51 PM

It's being shown on BBC2 tonight (Feb 25) Artie Shaw: Quest for Perfection, 11:35pm.

Mick