My Response to the Washington Post Obituary on Richard Sudhalter
by
Editor
The Washington Post
Dear Editor:
I was appalled by the one-sided obituary of Richard Sudhalter published by Mr. Matt Schudel in the Sep 20, 2008 issue of your newspaper.
The title, “Jazz History Left Bitter Note,” already gives a preview of the biased comments and views to follow. The jazz history referred to is Richard Sudhalter’s book “Lost Chords: White Musicians and Their Contribution to Jazz, 1915-1945.”
If Sudhalter’s magnificent tome “left bitter note,” it is because some did not bother to read the book beyond the first few pages, or, perhaps, even beyond the title. The essence of the book was not a political discourse about the relative importance of black and white contributions to jazz. Sudhalter’s book (890 + xxii pages) used at least 98% of the space to provide biographies of several white jazz giants, technical analyses of the music they created (several transcriptions are included), commentaries by the author, bibliographic references and notes. I estimate that less than 1% of the space is devoted to the racial questions raised Mr. Schudel.
Mr. Schudel quoted only from highly negative sources, Branford Marsalis, Gerald Early and unnamed sources who likened Richard Sudhalter to conservative commentator Pat Buchanan. Why were there no quotes from favorable reviews of the book?
In order to counteract the negative impression left by Mr. Schudel’s unrepresentative quotes, I wish to provide quotes from favorable reviews of “Lost Chords.”
Mr. Phillip D. Atteberry, Professor of Music at the University of Pittsburgh, wrote in the April 1999 issue of The Mississippi Rag, “It is not possible, in a single review, to touch upon all the excellences of this book. Suffice to say that the chapters on Artie Shaw, Red Norvo and Mildred Bailey, Pee Wee Russell and Jack Teagarden are as intelligent and insightful as anything I've read on the topic. Most books embellish or refine an existing way of thinking. Only a few books prompt us to think in fundamentally new ways, to see a subject through an entirely new lens. “Lost Chords” is one of those rare books.”
Mr. William Youngren wrote in the February 1999 issue of Atlantic Magazine, “In these politically correct times any explicit recognition of white achievement in certain areas of endeavor, of which jazz is one, is in danger of being taken as a backhanded attempt to denigrate black achievement. Nothing could be further from Sudhalter's intent.” “Lost Chords is a lifetime guide to its subject -- the sort of book that in a sense one never finishes.”
In his obituary for Richard Sudhalter, distinguished music critic and author Terry Teachout wrote, “Dick Sudhalter wrote three of the most important books ever published about jazz and American popular music, Bix: Man and Legend, Lost Chords: White Musicians and Their Contribution to Jazz, 1915-1945, and Stardust Melody: The Life and Music of Hoagy Carmichael.”
In his obituary of Richard Sudhalter, print and broadcast journalist Doug Ramsey wrote, “Because of its subtitle, “Lost Chords: White Musiicans and Their Contributions to Jazz, 1915-194.” was reflexively attacked by partisans who chose to see it as an effort to diminish the importance of black musicians. Had they bothered to read the book, they would have found that Sudhalter does quite the opposite while balancing the historical record of achievement in jazz and providing deep insights into the nature of the music.”
Clearly, Richard Sudhalter’s book was misinterpreted by some critics and musicians. It is unfortunate that Mr. Matt Schudel chose to quote only from those who misinterpreted Sudhalter’s aim in writing the book. In Sudhalter’s own words, “[This book] is anything but an exercise in one-upsmanship or retaliation: any attempt to look at the music without regard to such seminal figures as Armstrong, Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Henry Allen, Sid Catlett, Benny Carter, and the rest would be folly. Their primacy, and the reverence in which they are held, belong to the unquestioned foundation on which the whole edifice rests.”
Albert Haim
Department of Chemistry
State University of New York
Stony Brook NY 11794-3400
Voice (631)751-5602
e-mail alhaim@notes.cc.sunysb.edu
Albert Haim is Professor Emeritus at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and founder and webmaster of the site entirely devoted to jazz musician Bix Beiderbecke