THE SIGNAL from David Katznelson
“Against the ruin of the world, there is only one defense—the creative act.” ― Kenneth Rexroth
I finished watching Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom last night and I must say, while I get that Chadwick Boseman is getting the raves, especially because it is his final film, the show stealer throughout is Viola Davis as Ma Rainey. I think that her performance might be overshadowed because it is so damn good—it almost just bleeds into the backbone of the film and into history. A true tour-de-force, Davis gives our modern world a way to look at and understand who Ma Rainey was. Yes, she was a huge star of her time--but was never filmed and rarely photographed. To watch her perform at the film’s beginning feel like a huge gift for fans who have listened to her music all of these years—to understand the charismatic, bawdy side of her that we have only been able to read about (and that only a few performers like Sugar Pie DeSanto still emulate).
In the documentary following the film, Denzel Washington admits to not having known who Ma Rainey was before getting involved in the project. And I would assume that goes for many people watching. But for blues fans…music fans…she is the starting point for so much. I put a mix together of some of my favorites of her recordings, and through the songs you can hear vocal stylings and basic melodies that have found their way into our music tapestry of today…definitely running through the delta in the early part of the century and up through the Chicago blues scene of the forties and fifties which then inspired the brits in the sixties and on and on.
She actually recorded so much during such a short period of time, it makes it hard to know where to turn to properly dig in (and adding to that, there are so many compilations of her music on Spotify, many featuring similar songs--a problem with many older artists on music streaming sites). And what is more, while all of the characters in Ma’s band in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom are fictional, she actually played with some of the greatest musicians of her day (which makes sense given her fame) including Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Fletcher Henderson, Blind Blake, Kid Ory, and Johnny Dodds. Her partnership with guitarist Tampa Red is just magnificent and to me produced some of the quintessential early blues recordings (this is all on the mix I put together).
Watching the film, I loved being able to witness a recording session from that time…mono, primitive…and loved the close-up of all the parts of the studio machine that insured a proper, in-time lathe cutting. And while the film did a decent job showcasing the deep issues around the white-led studios and record companies, I am sure it was worse. And there were few people like Rainey who could throw any weight around.
An Oscar for Viola Davis. And for what it is worth, she should take the show on the road when Covid is done. I would be in the front row.
Listening to the Joy in James Baldwin’s Record Collection
Ma Rainey refers to Bessie Smith in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, a singer who spent time touring with Ma before becoming a huge star in her own right, an artist who Ma feels stole from her craft. There is a bio-pic about Smith starring Queen Latifa (that also shows a different Rainey…still larger-than-life but not as gruff and salty) telling the story of her career. James Baldwin was a huge fan of Smiths and she is featured in the Spotify playlist put together showcasing sounds from his record collection…
Thomas Hardy archives to return to Dorset
Anyone who reads Hardy’s novels has a romantic sense of what Dorset is all about. It was his home and the dark, mysterious place where characters in his novels live, and get into a lot of trouble. It makes sense that his archives should return, as a native.
Giant Wooden Xylophone in Japanese Forest Plays the Notes of Bach’s Cantata 14
My friend Greg Dulli turned me on to this incredible instrument. Worth a trip to Japan and multiple video-viewings.
Dreams and the Human Material in Night of the Living Dead
A great article about the first modern zombie flick, talking about how “the film follows the trajectory of…dreams and the experience of the mind dissolving into sleep.” I recently tried to show the film to the kids. Still a little too much for them (I stopped it before too much gore happened). Reading this makes me realize….I gotta watch it again…SOON.
Long-Lost Morricone Score To Get First Commercial Release
Falling Leaves and Early Snow
By Kenneth Rexroth
In the years to come they will say,
“They fell like the leaves
In the autumn of nineteen thirty-nine.”
November has come to the forest,
To the meadows where we picked the cyclamen.
The year fades with the white frost
On the brown sedge in the hazy meadows,
Where the deer tracks were black in the morning.
Ice forms in the shadows;
Disheveled maples hang over the water;
Deep gold sunlight glistens on the shrunken stream.
Somnolent trout move through pillars of brown and gold.
The yellow maple leaves eddy above them,
The glittering leaves of the cottonwood,
The olive, velvety alder leaves,
The scarlet dogwood leaves,
Most poignant of all.
In the afternoon thin blades of cloud
Move over the mountains;
The storm clouds follow them;
Fine rain falls without wind.
The forest is filled with wet resonant silence.
When the rain pauses the clouds
Cling to the cliffs and the waterfalls.
In the evening the wind changes;
Snow falls in the sunset.
We stand in the snowy twilight
And watch the moon rise in a breach of cloud.
Between the black pines lie narrow bands of moonlight,
Glimmering with floating snow.
An owl cries in the sifting darkness.
The moon has a sheen like a glacier.
