Pym

Quarantine reading for this week included Mat Johnson's hilarious Pym, a satirical work about an African American literature professor denied tenure. He happens to stumble upon a great discovery that turns Edgar Allen Poe's sole novel into a true story involving Dirk Peters and Arthur Pym's adventures in Antarctica and the South Seas. While a familiarity with the Poe source material certainly helps, there is enough material in here for laughs and social commentary to entertain and provoke all readers. From the absurdity of race relations in American academia to the tortured ways African Americans think of themselves in relation to the larger society, there is much to ruminate on here. 

Undoubtedly, the penchant for conspiracy theory among African Americans, the condescension of the "diversity committee," and metaphorical blackness and whiteness in lost beings make for entertaining reading. Particularly so when embedded in an adventure tale with much humor (Garth, for instance, is Chris Jayne's obese friend, obsessed with the Eurocentric paintings of a white artist. Did we mention his cousin, a black militant who named his dog White Folks?).  Structurally, the novel also borrows from Poe to make for entertaining reading with elements of fantasy to terrify and please. Anyone interested in the works of Poe, Lovecraft, Verne, and others likewise inspired by The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket could find something likable in this unlikely tale of African Americans in Antarctica. 

Unfortunately, the black Edenic Tsalalians do not receive as much treatment as the "albino snow monkeys" of Antarctica, so those hoping for a black utopian narrative of sorts may be disappointed by the last section of the tale. While I was hoping for a final section in which Chris finds closure of some sort at Tsalal, where the "Negro island" should offer some succor to the weary travelers, there is no easy "out" through a fictional black utopia. Perhaps, in the end, escape to Wakanda or similarly-inspired places will always be illusory when dealing with the real world. Is hip-hop culture any better than white 'cannibalism'? Can blackness exist without whiteness?

Bossa Fly Me To the Moon

Neon Genesis Evangelion used "Fly Me To the Moon" brilliantly, often changing the vocalist by incorporating members of the cast for the outro credits. This bossa-inflected take of the American standard met the interests and needs of the various characters in the show as they sought affection and connection. 

Swing Along: The Musical Life of Will Marion Cook

Although Marva Griffin Carter's biography of Will Marion Cook is too short, it is required reading for a study of one of the most pivotal figures in the prehistory of jazz music. Admittedly, I only knew of Will Marion Cook in passing through his son's reputation as one of the translators of Jacques Roumain's magnum opus, but his name is frequently mentioned in the context of African American music of the pre-jazz era. Undoubtedly, Cook's talents as a composer for black musical theater in the 1890s and 1900s helped pave the way forward for jazz by opening doors to black musicians in New York City.

The Southern Syncopated Orchestra, unfortunately, was never recorded. But if arrangements from that Cook orchestra are ever located, it would be interesting to see in what ways it was a precursor to big band jazz. We know that Cook, like Europe, wanted to develop a uniquely African American musical aesthetic, which featured aspects of ragtime and proto-jazz. The number of jazz musicians who went on to leave a significant mark in the genre are plentiful, including Duke Ellington who perhaps best encapsulated Cook's desire to combine elements of highbrow and lowbrow musical expressions into a new aesthetic reflecting "racial" consciousness.

Secrets of Voodoo

Milo Rigaud's Secrets of Voodoo is an introductory overview of Haitian Vodou that seeks to contextualize it within universal religion and theory. While one sometimes wonders how and why Rigaud reached certain conclusions (some are clearly inspired by Arthur Holly and cabalistic notions associating Jewish mysticism with ancient Egypt and Africa), it proposes some interesting theories about possible connections between Vodou and religions of the ancient world. Unlike Antoine Innocent, who proposed a possible link to ancient Rome, Rigaud, like Holly, goes back further in time to the ancient "black" civilizations of Ethiopia, Egypt, and Assyria. 

These societies, through their influence on Moses, who was allegedly a Vodou initiate, explain why Jewish mysticism and Biblical texts are relevant to explication of Vodou tenets and mysteries. In other words, Rigaud's fanciful theory for the origin of Vodou gives it a much deeper past and helps explain literary works like Ishmael Reed's Mumbo Jumbo. Reed, whose famous novel ties ancient Egypt to Haiti and "Jes Grew," ingeniously riffs on the work of Rigaud for an Afrocentric's wet dream. Zora Neale Hurston's retelling of Moses may also reflect the influence of Arthur Holly and Milo Rigaud since she conducted research in Haiti during the 1930s and was acquainted with at least the former.

Nonetheless,  Egyptian notions such as the ba and ka, as well as West African concepts and practices (Ife) are imaginatively linked and therefore can help explain some of the features of Vodou practice in today's Haiti. The idea of the solar cult, traced back to the black Ethiopian-Egyptian-Assyrian civilizations, is used to explain Legba, Erzulie (a lunar deity), and elucidate the reasoning behind several aspects of Vodou ritual, symbolism, and architecture. A trinity of sorts is proposed, consisting of Damballah, Legba, and Erzulie. However, due to the variety of forms Vodou rituals take across Haiti, with each houngan or mambo being the Pope of their temple, the Vodou pantheon and the ceremonies practiced take on several forms. Rigaud's book is largely focused on listing these in a general form for the reader. Anyone looking for more esoteric and occult interpretations may have to read Rigaud's other works or force themselves to read Arthur Holly's older texts. 

I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart

Duke, Duke, Duke. A half century of music encapsulated in one man's life and work. 

All of You on a Sunday at the Village Vanguard

Everyday can be like Sunday at the Village Vanguard during these times of crisis. "All of You" has rarely been interpreted more superbly than Bill Evans and Scott LaFaro's emotionally moving and lyrical take.

Outer Space Employment Agency

A hilarious clip from Sun Ra's Space is the Place, a low budget blaxploitation flick filmed in Oakland. It's useful to remember that Sun Ra possessed a sense of humor and didn't mean to be taken seriously at all times. The El is a sound of joy. 

Hotter than 'Ell

Sun Ra and his "political theosophy" had a number of kooky elements. But he wasn't wrong to claim the swing bandleaders such as Fletcher Henderson were our heroes. This is swing at its best, with the excellent arrangements and musicianship of Henderson's orchestra. 

Cotton Club Stomp

A classic from Duke Ellington's Cotton Club years. This swinging number, coauthored with Johnny Hodges and Harry Carney, is a good indication of the sort of dance material used by Ellington's band at the legendary (and whites-only) club.

Dahomey Dance

Reminiscing over McCoy Tyner's passing has returned this gem to my thoughts. Featuring Eric Dolphy on alto sax, this bluesy nod to our Fon forebears is a blue stroll along the path of jazz's past and future. Dolphy cannot help but express himself in that irrepressible manner of his, moaning and wailing on his alto the path forward for jazz in the early 1960s. McCoy Tyner's solo is an assertion of his own utterly singular style, and a perfect example of the relevance of the blues to jazz. This is our music. 

History of Haitian Literature

Guy Ferolus discusses the history of Haitian literature in this short video, via Haiti-Inter. His breakdown of Haitian literature bears a close resemblance to that of Christophe Charles. Nonetheless, a nice overview of Haitian literature from the pioneers, the Generation de la Ronde, and indigenism. 

The Stampede

An early swingin' number from Fletcher Henderson's band. These cats were the early masters of swing, and exemplify how far the genre had moved since the early jazz recordings from the late 1910s and early 1920s. 

Passion Dance

The news of McCoy Tyner's passing has been quite traumatic. Tyner was the first of of the jazz legends I have seen perform live, back in 2007. In those days, being the jazz neophyte I was, I did not grasp the contributions of Tyner and his legacy in the annals of jazz history. By 2011, I was well versed in the recordings of Coltrane and finally understood the pivotal piano technique and style of Tyner. While my interest in his individual career after Sahara waned, those magical years with Coltrane encapsulated an entire movement in jazz of the 1960s. Tyner himself is the origin of the quotation that inspired Wilmer's As Serious As Your Life: “Music's not a plaything – it's as serious as your life.” He may have parted ways with Coltrane when the latter moved further towards the avant-garde, but Tyner was an essential player in the evolution of Coltrane's sound, just like Elvin Jones. Rest in peace. 

I Loves You Porgy

If you can keep me

I wanna stay here 

With you forever 

And I'll be glad

Chet Baker's My Funny Valentine

Late Chet Baker at his zenith. Later recordings of Baker are, like those of the later Billie Holiday, often too painful. But this is Baker at his best, and a worthy listen. 

Fly Me To the Moon

Fly me to the moon

Let me play among the stars

Let me see what spring is like

On a, Jupiter and Mars

In other words, hold my hand

In other words, baby, kiss me

Fill my heart with song

And let me sing for ever more

You are all I long for

All I worship and adore

In other words, please be true

In other words, I love you

Fill my heart with song

Let me sing for ever more

You are all I long for

All I worship and adore

In other words, please be true

In other words, in other words

I love you.

Ad Lib on Nippon

Duke was still making excellent music late in his career. "Ad Lib on Nippon" is all the proof one needs of the sophistication and composing genius of Ellington and Strayhorn. With "exotic" impressions of Japan and the Far East, "Ad Lib on Nippon" is a journey of discovery into parts unknown that never abandons it's emotional content.