Three Wishes
Pannonica finally got the opportunity to ask Lionel Hampton what he would wish for and his retort was:
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- “To be in tune with jazz. Jazz to me is like the human emotion of the Negro. From the time he was in bondage praying to God to give him freedom – that was the blues then, coming from the spiritual vein – and when he was freed some, he would make jazz more happy. It was coming from the Negroes. From the time of the slave in the cotton fields, swinging up, you dig? From the time it got popularized and commercial, and left the cotton fields and railroad tracks, and they were putting it in the cafes. It was the days of King Oliver and Sidney Bechet..”
- “The colored man always has been the one to change the color of jazz. As the country advanced, they changes the music. It’s always been moving along, integrated by Negroes, turning to his feelings as he advanced. From Louis Armstrong up to Fletcher Henderson, Don Redman, Edgar Sampson, and Sy Oliver. They started changing the picture of jaz. It was their orchestrations, their chart that made jazz. They began writing arrangements for Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, and so on – for the ofay bands. fats Waller, Jimmie Lunceford, those guys were all great arrangers. Then Monk, Dizzy, Prez, Don Byas, and Charlie Parker, they came in, all influencing the music, all great instrumentalists. As the Negro got free he added more ingredients. You’d need an encyclopedia to tell it all. I hope I’ll always be tuned so I can dig the transitions in jazz. Because there are more transitions coming.”
- “Lots of white folks write about jazz, but they don’t know the pains of it. You should be the one to write about it, because you understand. And musicians will talk to you. Gotta get down on that stand now, but I’ll be over to your pad tomorrow, and we’ll do this with the tape recorder. It’ll take another three of four hours, at the very least. I’ve not done more than get started on the first answer yet, you dig?”
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Three Wishes
Nica was inquisitive about the three wishes Albert Mangelsdorff would request, so she asked and he told her:
- “First, I vant to live long enough to get my playing, so I vould be satisfied.”
- “I vould say, that the life of a jazz musician vouldn’t interfere vith family life.”
- “I vish that people all over the vorld vould get smart enough that there vould be peace forever.”
“I should have made that the first vish.”
*Dialect transcribed by Nica de Koenigswarter
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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Three Wishes
While in conversation with Melba Liston, girl talk turned to the granting of three wishes and she told Pannonica that she would wish for:
- “One thing I’m concerned about is the youth music program. Kids don’t have the opportunity they should have – kids with talent, I mean. There’s an awful lot of talking, but not enough doing. There should be a workshop, or a place where they’d have a chance to learn something besides rock “n’ roll. I would love to be able to do something about that.”
- “The other things are personal…. I wish I had lots of money.”
- “I wish I had equal opportunity according to energy, ability, and desire. And sex. Mainly sex.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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Three Wishes
Richie Kamuca was hanging out with Nica when she inquired what three things he would wish for if given and he responded with:
- “I guess I’d like people to like what I play.”
- “I’d like people to like the way I play! I can’t think of anything else I’d like, man. That’s all I can wish for, baby! What else is there?”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
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Three Wishes
The Baroness asked Clarence “C” Sharpe what his three wishes would be if they could be granted:
- “That’s a big thing! Let’s see. My First wish is to have – this is going to sound rather square – love between all men.”
- “The second is musical success for my wife and myself.”
- “And for the third, I’d like to be able to leave something of musical validity to the world.”
*Excerpt from Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats ~ Compiled and Photographed by Pannonica de Koenigswarter
More Posts: baroness,history,instrumental,jazz,music,pannonica,saxophone,three,wishes