Village Vanguard – Characters and the Scene
March 05, 2018, by Sara
Max Gordon’s Live at the Village Vanguard is told in anecdotal form. Each chapter is only a few pages and slots the reader into, generally one specific experience that Max Gordon had with the musician he is writing about.
This week’s excerpt told stories about some of the greats that came out of the Village Vanguard. Gordon talks about Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, and a number of others. Even his passing references are usually about “cats” that are nowadays considered some of the most famous jazz musicians in history.
The format of the book does not give the reader a huge degree of depth into any individual character or player on the scene. However, Gordon does an extraordinary job of capturing the energy of the space and the feel of each person’s character.
In chapter 15, Gordon talks writes about Rahsaan Roland Kirk, a tenor sax player that was good on just about every other woodwind instrument, too. There is a frantic, joyous manner that Gordon captures about Rahsaan’s playing. But the book also does a strong job of presenting the character of the musician away from his instrument. Gordon documents a conversation with Rahsaan where the musician is talking about Chick Corea. “Haven’t you heard? Chick’s a Scientology freak You don’t know what’s Scientology? Why it’s a cult, man, a cult that sucks money,” Rahsaan said, then he laughed his characteristic laugh.
I played in Jazz band in middle and high school, and am familiar with many of the names Gordon drops throughout. To me it seems that the Jazz musicians chronicled here have a larger than life character to go along with their music.
Gordon talks in chapter 12 about how notoriously difficult Sonny Rollins is to get ahold of on the telephone. Most of the anecdote is Gordon reaching out to Sonny and getting no response, but the story wraps with the last time Sonny every plays at the Vanguard. Even though Gordon seems frustrated with Sonny and the difficulty in contacting him, the admiration Gordon has for him is obvious. That admiration, as well as Gordon’s keen eye for the character’s that bring life to his nightclub, breathe life into his descriptions.