The Great Jazz Day
My copy of this book is a gift from a fellow railfan. The January 1959 issue of Esquire was devoted to "The Golden Age of Jazz." On 14 August 1958, Esquire gathered nearly sixty jazz musicians on the stoop, stairs, and sidewalk in front of a West 126th Street Harlem brownstone house for a group photograph published in that issue. The book comprises the story behind that photograph, related events, biographies of many of the musicians, and related photographs, All very interesting reading and a great picture of a an era and culture.
It is a train story, because Duke Ellington could not make the date at East 126th Street, and instead was photographed by Art Kane at the front of an "A Train" in the 207th Street, Washington Heights, yards. This photograph would be included here if reproducing a photo from a 1959 magazine and a 2000 book is permissible under TRAINS' policies. Can someone tell me? It is also on the wall of my apartment, in tribute to the Duke's music and in nostalgia for the "8th Avenue Subway," that I rode very frequently when growing up in New York.
But the most important message of the book might be the demonstration of the real brotherly love across ethnic, racial, and religious boundaries, and even professional rivalry, that Jazz produced. But only five women are represented, two singers, one the woman responsible for the successful movie about the picture A great Day in Harlem, and two others, wives of included men.
The Great Jazz Day, Charles Graham and others, De Capo Press, Woodward Publishing Company, 2000, distributed by Andrews McMeel Universal, Kansas City, Missouri
Comment from a friend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoB-a3U9jxE
"I went to a public school the first year in Kalamazoo. There was a kid who lived across the street who could play trumpet. He could play things like "Carnival of Venice" and "Flight of the Bumble Bee." I was the most envious kid you ever saw. I admired him and we were best friends.
"The next year they sent me downtown to the Catholic school. The school was right next to the Michigan Central tracks. Every day I'd go out for the recess just as the Wolverine was going by. I used to see the people sitting in the dining car, with the white tablecloths and the silverware. The Wolverine was a very classy train on the New York Central. For a long time the Wolverine had the fastest schedule of any train in the country. Those were the Michigan Central tracks, but the Michigan Central was part of the New York Central. A great train, going by. And here I am in this filthy play-yard in the freezing cold. I was envious then, too."
Another comment:
Thanks. Lots of interesting points. Your comments on Edward Kennedy Ellington struck a chord (pun intended) with me, as he was/is one of my favorite composers/artists. Take the A Train was written by Billy Strayhorn, the Duke's "alter-ego," whose 100th anniversary was celebrated on the Eighth Avenue Subway (where else?). Luckily I found out about the special train on museum R1-9s that were operated and my wife and I were aboard. See these links: