Friday, December 20, 2013
his horn is held weakly against his chest and he blows cool and easy
getout phrases and has given up. Here were the children of the American
bebop night. Stranger flowers yet---for as the Negro alto mused over
everyone’s head with dignity, the young tall slender blond kid from
Curtis street Denver, Levis and studded belt, sucked on his mouthpiece
while waiting for the others to finish; and when they did he started,
and you had to look around to see where the solo was coming from, for it
came from angelical smiling lips upon the mouthpiece and it was a soft
sweet fairytale solo on an alto. A fag alto had come into the night.
What of the others and all the soundmaking- -there was the bass player,
wiry redhead with wild eyes jabbing his hips at the fiddle with every
driving slap, at hot moments his mouth hangs open trancelike. “Man
there’s a cat who can really fuck his girl.” The sad dissipated drummer,
like our white hipster in Frisco Howard St., completely goofed, staring
into space, chewing gum, wide-eyed, rocking the neck with Reich kick
and complacent ecstasy. The piano---a big husky Italian truck-driving kid
with meaty hands, a burly and thoughtful joy. They played an hour.
Nobody was listening. Old North Clark bums lolled at the bar, whores
screeched in anger. Secret Chinamen went by. Noises of hootchykootchy
interfered. They went right on. Out on the sidewalk came an
apparition---a 16 year-old-kid with a goatee and a trombone case. Thin as
rickets, mad-faced, he wanted to join this group and blow with them.
They knew him from before and didn’t want to bother with him. He crept
into the bar and surreptitiously undid his trombone and raised it to his
lips. No opening. Nobody looked at him. They finished, packed up and
left for another bar. They were gone. The boy had his horn out,
assembled it and polished the bell and no one cares. He wants to jump,
skinny Chicago Kid. He slaps on his dark glasses, raises the trombone to
his lips alone in the bar, and goes “Baugh!” Then he rushes out after
them. They won’t let him play with them, just like the sandlot football
team in back of the gas tank. “All these guys live with their
grandmothers just like Jim Holmes and our Allen Ginsberg alto” said
Neal. We rushed after the whole gang. They went into Anita O’Day’s club
and there
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