#Ellington Field

[nocternalrandomness]

Helldiver against a golden sunset

[h00dsw0rld]

James Ellington

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

Well, this took me a lot of online digging & a lot of patience but this is the top songs in the charts/most popular songs for each of the winners of the Indy 500. I hope you guys enjoy the effort 😂

30th May 1911 - Ray Harroun - Arthur Collins - Steamboat Bill

30th May 1912 - Joe Dawson - Enrico Caruso - Dreams Of Long Ago

30th May 1913 - Jules Goux - Harry Lauder - It's Nicer To Be In Bed

30th May 1914 - Rene Thomas - Heidelberg Quintet - By The Beautiful Sea

31st May 1915 - Ralph DePalma - Alma Gluck - Carry Me Back To Old Viginity

30th May 1916 - Dario Resta - John McCormack - The Sunshine Of Your Smile

31st May 1919 - Howdy Wilcox - Henry Burr & Albert Campbell - i'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

31st May 1920 - Gaston Chevrolet - Al Jolson - Swanee

30th May 1921 - Tommy Milton - Marion Harris - Look For The Silver Lining

30th May 1922 - Jimmy Murphy - Al Jolson - Angel Child

30th May 1923 - Tommy Milton - Carl Fenton - Love Sends A Little Gift Of Roses

30th May 1924 - Lora L Corum & Joe Boyer - Al Jolson - California Here I Come

30th May 1925 - Pete DePaolo - Ted Lewis - O! Katharina

31st May 1926 - Frank Lockhart - Gene Austin - Five Foot Two, Eyes Of Blue

30th May 1927 - George Soulders - Ben Bernie - Ain't She Sweet?

30th May 1928 - Louis Meyer - Gene Austin - Ramona

30th May 1929 - Ray Keech - Rudy Vallee - Honey

30th May 1930 - Billy Arnold - Rudy Vallee - Stein Song (University Of Maine)

30th May 1931 - Louis Schneider - Bing Crosby - Out Of Nowhere

30th May 1932 - Fred Frame - Louis Armstrong - All Of Me

30th May 1933 - Louis Meyer - Leo Reisman ft Harold Arlen - Stormy Weather

30th May 1934 - Bill Cummings - Duke Ellington - Cocktails For Two

30th May 1935 - Kelly Petillo - Guy Lombardo - What's The Reason (I'm Not Pleasin' You)

30th May 1936 - Louis Meyer - Benny Goodman - The Glory Of Love

31st May 1937 - Wilbur Shaw - Teddy Wilson ft Billie Holiday - Carelessly

30th May 1938 - Floyd Roberts - Shep Fields - Cathedral In The Pines

30th May 1939 - Wilbur Shaw - Benny Goodman - And The Angels Sing

30th May 1940 - Wilbur Shaw - Bing Crosby - If I Had My Way

30th May 1941 - Floyd David & Mauri Rose - Deanna Durbin - Waltzing In The Clouds

30th May 1946 - George Robson - Denny Dennis & The Skyrockets - Mary Lou

30th May 1947 - Mauri Rose - Bing Crosby - Among My Souvenirs

31st May 1948 - Mauri Rose - Bing Crosby - Galway Bay

30th May 1949 - Bill Holland - Burl Ives - Lavender Blue

30th May 1950 - Johnnie Parsons - Billy Eckstine - My Foolish Heart

30th May 1951 - Lee Wallard - Les Paul & Mary Ford - Mockin' Bird Hill

30th May 1952 - Troy Ruttman - Jo Stafford - A-Round The Corner

30th May 1953 - Bill Vukovich - Frankie Laine - I Believe

31st May 1954 - Bill Vukovich - Doris Day - Secret Love

30th May 1955 - Bob Sweikert - Eddie Calvert - Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White

30th May 1956 - Pat Flaherty - Ronnie Hilton - No Other Love

30th May 1957 - Sam Hanks - Andy Williams - Butterfly

30th May 1958 - Jimmy Bryan - Connie Francis - Who's Sorry Now

30th May 1959 - Rodger Ward - Elvis Presley - A Fool Such As I

30th May 1960 - Jim Rathmann - The Everly Brothers - Cathy's Clown

30th May 1961 - AJ Foyt - Temperance Seven - You're Driving Me Crazy

30th May 1962 - Rodger Ward - Elvis Presley - Good Luck Charm

30th May 1963 - Parnelli Jones - The Beatles - From Me To You

30th May 1964 - AJ Foyt - Cilla Black - You're My World

31st May 1965 - Jim Clark - Sandie Shaw - Long Live Love

30th May 1966 - Graham Hill - The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black

31st May 1967 - AJ Foyt - The Tremeloes - Silence Is Golden

30th May 1968 - Bobby Unser - Union Gap - Young Girl

30th May 1969 - Mario Andretti - The Beatles with Billy Preston - Get Back

30th May 1970 - Al Unser - England World Cup Squad - Back Home

29th May 1971 - Al Unser - Dawn - Knock Three Times

27th May 1972 - Mark Donohue - T.Rex - Metal Guru

30th May 1973 - Gordon Johncock - Wizzard - See My Baby Jive

26th May 1974 - Johnny Rutherford - Rubettes - Sugar Baby Love

25th May 1975 - Bobby Unser - Tammy Wynette - Stand By Your Man

30th May 1976 - Johnny Rutherford - J.J Barrie - No Charge

29th May 1977 - A.J Foyt - Rod Stewart - I Don't Want To Talk About It

28th May 1978 - Al Unser - Boney M - Rivers Of Babylon

27th May 1979 - Rick Mears - Blondie - Sunday Girl

25th May 1980 - Johnny Rutherford - Hot Chocolate - No Doubt About It

24th May 1981 - Bobby Unser - Adam & The Ants - Stand & Deliver

30th May 1982 - Gordon Johncock - Madness - House of Fun

29th May 1983 - Tom Sneva - The Police - Every Breath You Take

27th May 1984 - Rick Mears - Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

26th May 1985 - Danny Sullivan - Paul Hardcastle - 19

31st May 1986 - Bobby Rahal - Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer

24th May 1987 - Al Unser - Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

29th May 1988 - Rick Mears - Wet Wet Wet - With A Little Help From My Friends

28th May 1989 - Emerson Fittipaldi - Gerry Marsden, Paul McCartney, Holly Johnson & The Christians - Ferry Cross The Mersey

27th May 1990 - Arie Luyendyk - Adamski - Killer

26th May 1991 - Rick Mears - Cher - The Shoop Shoop Song

24th May 1992 - Al Unser JR - KWS - Please Don't Go

30th May 1993 - Emerson Fittipaldi - Ace Of Base - All That She Wants

29th May 1994 - Al Unser JR - Wet Wet Wet - Love Is All Around

28th May 1995 - Jacques Villeneuve - Robson & Jerome - Unchained Melody

26th May 1996 - Buddy Lazier - Buddiel, Skinner & Lightning Seed - Three Lions

27th May 1997 - Arie Luyendyk - Eternal ft Bebe Winans - I Wanna Be The Only One

24th May 1998 - Eddie Cheever - Tamperer ft Maya - Feel It

30th May 1999 - Kenny Brack - Shanks & Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate

28th May 2000 - Juan Pablo Montoya - Sonique - It Feels So Good

27th May 2001 - Helio Castroneves - DJ Pied Piper - Do You Really Like It?

26th May 2002 - Helio Castroneves - Eminem - Without Me

25th May 2003 - Gil De Ferran - Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body

30th May 2004 - Buddy Rice - Frankee - F.U.R.B (F U Right Back)

29th May 2005 - Dan Wheldon - Akon - Lonely

28th May 2006 - Sam Hornish JR - Gnarls Barkley - Crazy

27th May 2007 - Dario Franchitti - Rihanna ft Jay-Z - Umbrella

25th May 2008 - Scott Dixon - Rihanna - Take A Bow

24th May 2009 - Helio Castroneves - Dizzee Rascal & Van Helden - Bonkers

30th May 2010 - Dario Franchitti - Dizzee Rascal - Dirtee Disco

29th May 2011 - Dan Wheldon - Pitbull ft Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer - Give Me Everything

27th May 2012 - Dario Franchitti - Fun ft Janelle Monae - We Are Young

26th May 2013 - Tony Kanaan - Naughty Boy ft Sam Smith - La La La

25th May 2014 - Ryan Hunter-Reay - Sam Smith - Stay With Me

24th May 2015 - Juan Pablo Montoya - OMI - Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)

29th May 2016 - Alexander Rossi - Drake ft Wizkid & Kyla - One Dance

28th May 2017 - Takuma Sato - Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee & Justin Bieber - Despacito

27th May 2018 - Will Power - Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa - One Kiss

26th May 2019 - Simon Pagenaud - Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber - I Don't Care

23rd August 2020 - Takuma Sato - Joel Corry ft MNEK - Head & Heart

30th May 2021 - Helio Castroneves - Olivia Rodrigo - Good 4 U

29th May 2022 - Marcus Ericsson - Harry Styles - As It Was

28th May 2023 - Josef Newgarden - Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding - Miracle

26th May 2024 - Josef Newgarden - Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso

And yes, this wouldn't be a post from me if I didn't create a playlist 😂

[library-child]

How Armstrong Feint became Hangfire

Re-reading ATWQ fueled my brainrot concerning the radicalization of Armstrong Feint. How did a loving father become a terrorist hell-bent on slaughtering children? So I did some research on common risk factors that can make people susceptible to terrorism and checked how they apply to Armstrong. Needless to say, this only made my brainrot worse. Anyway, here are the results.

Social isolation ☑️

The first risk factor is the lack of reliable social connections. You may be all alone or unable to open up emotionally to the people close to you. You might even have trouble interacting with other people in the first place. This can result in feeling alienated. There also is no one to support you when you are hurting or interfere when you start radicalizing.

While having only Ellington's limited and likely romanticized perspective on her life with her father, there are some hints Armstrong may have been lonely. He was a single parent who spent most of his time working alone in the wild. Ellington does say she contacted people who knew him, but she never mentions anyone but her father when talking about her past. This could imply they led a very isolated life. Also, Armstrong's enthusiasm about nature could have something to do with his having trouble getting along with other people. At least, he seemed to prefer plants and animals over people.

Hardship ✅

Intense suffering makes you vulnerable in many ways. If you experience hardship and don't get support, you might become more susceptible to radical views/groups. That's what's so seductive about things like cults or terror organizations, after all: They promise you a community, a sense of belonging, and an easy solution for your problems.

Again, we don't know enough about Armstrong's past. He certainly must have been stressed out by being a single parent and the only bread-earner of the family. And he must have gotten into this position somehow. We never learn why Ellington's mother has never been in the picture. Furthermore, as a nature-loving person, he must have felt extreme anguish at the destruction of his home region caused by the flood. Not to mention the destruction of his hometown and the life he had built for himself.

There is also one intriguing aspect that doesn't get explored in the books, so it's purely speculative: the war that made Colonel Colophon a hero. We don't know when exactly this war happened or how involved the Snicket country was, but it does open the possibility that Armstrong's generation had to fight as soldiers.

Lack of perspective ❓

You're in a bad place and don't see a way out. You don't see the point anymore and don't know how you want to go on. Another allure of terrorism is providing you with a 'meaningful life'.

This one is tricky. Armstrong did have a purpose in the form of a young daughter whom he undoubtedly loved with all his heart. We don't know if or how he intended to reunite with her had he succeeded. We can only speculate if he fell into resignation. Perhaps he was shaken by the futility of his life's work after one tycoon's decision had undone it. Perhaps he realized Ellington was growing up and wouldn't need him in a few years.

Powerlessness and injustice ✅

This is relevant both on a social and individual level. When you live under corruption, tyranny, etc without a way to defend yourself, you're more likely to resort to terrorism. It's also relevant if you personally feel you're being treated unfairly and there's nothing you can do about it.

The social injustice is blatantly clear: Ink Inc. was allowed to destroy Killdeer Fields for profit, and its inhabitants could not prevent it. The flooding must have started several years before the beginning of ATWQ. Who knows what Armstrong and the rest of the town did to fight it, all in vain? We also see how corrupt and incompetent the institutions, such as the police, the official fire department, the press, and the legal system, are in the Snicketverse. This might have been a reason the V.F.D. became successful in the first place: They fixed the failed state.

Armstrong's individual perception is more obscure. He certainly realized he was a victim and probably became increasingly obsessed over this. He may have started out being rightfully outraged by the injustice done to him by Stain'd-by-the-Sea and shaken by his own helplessness. But eventually, he got stuck in this state of mind until he forgot he still had agency and responsibilities.

Over-simplified worldview ✅

You tend to view the world in clear black-and-white categories: You are always the hero, and the others are the villains. You're always the victim, the others the oppressors. You're never responsible for your actions; it's everyone else's fault. You lose touch with reality as you sink deeper into a super simple, convenient narrative of how the world works, and spreading terror and violence is the only right to do.

Hangfire displays this attitude during his conversation with Lemony in book 4. He only points out Stain'd-by-the-Sea's crimes without taking ownership of his own. He equates humanity to beasts trying to survive. There are no morals; every act of violence is just self-preservation. It's kill or be killed, meaning kill the children of Stain'd before they can repeat their parents' mistakes.

Conclusion

What can I say? These books have messed up my brain.

[lboogie1906]

Charles Henry Alston (November 28, 1907 – April 27, 1977) was a painter, sculptor, illustrator, muralist, and teacher who lived and worked in Harlem. He was active in the Harlem Renaissance; he was the first African American supervisor for the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project. He designed and painted murals at the Harlem Hospital and the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Building. His bust of Martin Luther King Jr. became the first image of an African American displayed at the White House.

He graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School, where he was nominated for academic excellence and was the art editor of the school’s magazine, The Magpie. He was a member of the Arista, National Honor Society and studied drawing and anatomy at the Saturday school of the National Academy of Art. In high school, he was given his first oil paints and learned about his aunt Bessye Bearden’s art salons, which stars like Duke Ellington and Langston Hughes attended. He attended Columbia University, turning down a scholarship to the Yale School of Fine Arts.

He entered the pre-architectural program but lost interest after realizing what difficulties many African American architects had in the field. After taking classes in pre-med, he decided that math, physics, and chemistry “was not just my bag”, and he entered the fine arts program. During his time at Columbia, he joined Alpha Phi Alpha, worked on the university’s Columbia Daily Spectator, and drew cartoons for the school’s magazine Jester. He explored Harlem restaurants and clubs, where his love for jazz and Black music would be fostered. He received a fellowship to study at Teachers College, where he obtained his MA. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #alphaphialpha

[plungermusic]

The Girl With The Golden Larynx… and why not?

“Welcome to Film74 with me, Barry Norman. Tonight’s show focuses exclusively on To Shoot Another Day, the latest major emotion feature from Essex auteur (or should that be ‘auteuse’?) Rosalie Cunningham.

Cunningham demonstrates an unquestionable dramatic flair for the cinematic, right from the opening moments with the boldly Bond-evoking (both the Monty Norman/John Barry original and Wings’ West Coastiana remake) To Shoot Another Day, and there’s another nod to the great one too in the John-Barry-meets-Roy-Budd-in-a-Soho-porno-theatre Heavy Pencil which mashes up Carmen Miranda-style latin rhythms and vibes with VDGG/Focus flute-and-organ… and, somehow, pulls it off with aplomb.

More celluloid slinkiness colours In The Shade Of The Shadows, a walk-these-mean-streets-alone torch song with a gothic chorus-line erm, chorus, and a surprise detour to a New Orleans dive-cum-Tattooine cantina (which is clever, as that doesn’t happen for three years yet) for a bit of furry, extemporising saxophone; and the instrumental Smut Peddler - a moody, suspense-filled ‘George Carter tailing a suspect on a crowded street’ acoustic-led cue that explodes into a meaty electric version of same (at the point of discovery and subsequent headlong chase, one presumes) culminating in a nicely ‘blow to the head and loss of consciousness’ chaotic breakdown close.

Tinsel Town trimmings come late in Stepped Out Of Time: an anaesthesia-induced hazy out-of-body waltzing weepie that meanders from minor to major and back again (a regular feature throughout, in fact) that tugs at the heartstrings with Cunningham's silky childlike voice building to passionate Piaf-y vibrato, but all the time maintaining a cut-glass diction Celia Johnson would be proud of. A rather trippy rising maelstrom culminates in some highly Spaghetti Western mariachi brass in the dramatic finale.

So far, so Hollywood… but like Gaumont, the Archers or Messrs Waters & Gilmour, Cunningham’s essential Englishness shows through, particularly in the flashes of Edwardian musical hall psychedelia: the barrelling rocker Timothy Martin’s Conditioning School is a prime example, as are Denim Eyes (a 'Wish You Were Here in Strawberry Fields' reverie complete with vintage mellotron), Good To Be Damned which, although rather worryingly ‘blues’ is filtered through a Spectoresque wall of reverb and is ornamented with impassioned vocal acrobatics scaling ecstatic peaks and plumbing soul searing lows, with touches of whimsical Arnold Laynery, McCartneyisms (and, my producer wanted me to say, a hint of Roobarb & Custard), and the “One of these days I’m going to cut you into Jimmy Page’ portentous-riffer Spook Racket, which exudes an air of Glam menace tailor-made for a 70s football hooliganism-based Play For Today.

Appropriately (or is that ironically) enough, To Shoot Another Day closes with The Premiere, another dramatic, cinematic Bond-flavoured epic shot through with snare-rolls and operatic tutti ‘stabs’ to accompany the rolling credits.

Or not, if you have the ‘directors cut’ CD rather than the download or vinyl: in which case you can stay in your seats to polish off the last of your Payne's Poppets and enjoy the bonus features of Return Of The Ellington, an urgent 6/8 evocation of the early, funnier work of the continental colossi van Leer and Akkerman and includes some very Jobson-like electric violin, and the playfully Lovin’ Spoonful-opening quirky Home, full of more of that particularly English fairground / vaudeville / music hall Edwardian whimsy..

Cunningham is ably backed by a cast of supporting artists (more of which later) and her co-producer, co-director, and co-wriiter on four of the ten (or five of the twelve, if you’d rather) tracks here, Rosco Wilson: who, beyond his normal Technicolor guitar skills, also shows his drumming chops on several tracks - a Renaissance man, no less. That being said, To Shoot Another Day appears to be very much one woman’s vision - as you’d expect from an auteuse - and her strikingly lithe, thrilling and vivacious vocal is the golden thread that binds it all together.

Rather impressively, the creation of To Shoot Another Day was entirely a two-hander production of independent British outfit, Mushy Room Studio, which, truth be told, is the duo’s home in Southend, Essex. So, it’s all credit to them that they have combined all the gloss and glamour of the Hollywood ‘big players’ with the intrigue and depth of Art House output, spiced with bags of English eccentricity for that unmistakeable stamp of authenticity.

To sum up then, To Shoot Another Day is the perfect entertainment for any discerning cineaste, and you can’t say fairer than that..”

To Shoot Another Day is released on Friday, November 1st 2024 and is available for download from Rosalie Cunningham’s Bandcamp site, here: https://rosaliecunningham.bandcamp.com/album/to-shoot-another-day

Also on the Bandcamp site are links to pre-order the CD and Vinyl versions of the album.

CREDITS: Rosalie Cunningham 

Songwriter, producer  / Vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards & percussion 

Rosco Wilson 

Co-producer / Co-writer of tracks 4, 5, 8 &10 / Guitar, drums on 6, additional drums on 7 

SUPPORTING CAST 

Raphael Mura: drums 

David Woodcock: piano on 1, 4, 5, 7 & 9; Hammond on 4 

Ian East: flute, clarinet and sax on 3; sax on 5 

Itamar Rubinger: drums on 1 

Barkley Woodcock: bark on 7 

Recorded & mixed at Mushy Room Studio by Rosalie & Rosco 

Drums and piano on track 1 recorded at SS2 Studios & engineered by Rees Broomfield 

Mastered by Jon Astley

Photography: Rob Blackham

* We know ‘girl’ might be considered dismissive when Rosalie is a fully-grown, independent, modern woman, but it scans better, and what’s more keeps the headline shorter, OK? Apologies if you’ve been offended, but it is 1974 after all…

[kickmag]

Throwback: Digital Underground-The Humpty Dance

"The Humpty Dance" is the second single from Digital Underground's first album, Sex Packets. Shock G produced the thick whirling beat using three samples of songs by Sly and The Family Stone and Parliament plus a kick drum, snares, bass, guitar, and hi-hats. George Clinton's Sirnosedevoidofunk alter ego inspired Shock G's Humpty Hump character. Sir Nose had a big nose and was in distress about being forced to dance. Humpty's backstory was that Edward Ellington Humphrey III was the lead singer of the group Smooth Eddie and the Humpers who became a rapper after somehow burning his nose in an accident with a deep fryer, hence the fake nose. Humpty Hump is a ladies' man, and the whole song is about his encounters with various women, most famously one he met in a Burger King restroom. Shock G not only wrote, produced and performed the song, but he also drew the artwork for all of their releases. Digital Underground was another bridge between funk and hip-hop that was made easier thanks to George Clinton's early understanding and acceptance of sampling and hip-hop. Tupac Shakur made one of his earliest public appearances in the background of the hilarious video. 

"The Humpty Dance" updated those grooves for Gen X, who had a seamless understanding of Digital Underground because they had grown up listening to Clinton on the radio. P-Funk's profound influence on West Coast hip-hop was being shown in contrast to New York rap, which relied more on soul samples. The single charted well, making No. 1 on the Rap Singles chart, Top Ten on the R&B chart, and Top 40 on the pop chart, but despite its heavy popularity and influence it was not nominated for any awards. Today, "The Humpty Dance" is celebrated as one of the most creative and eminent songs in hip-hop and of the era. Artists have sampled "The Humpty Dance" over 100 times in other songs and Shock G's left-field approach to hip-hop is a precursor to California rap weirdo Tyler, The Creator.  Shock G's The Piano Man album of solo piano improvisations was posthumously released on TNT Recordings after his 2021 passing. 

[jpbjazz]

LÉGENDES DU JAZZ

SERGE CHALOFF, LA DESCENTE AUX ENFERTS D’UN SAXOPHONISTE VIRTUOSE

‘’When Serge was cleaned up, you know, straight, he could be a delight, really to be around, a lot of fun. He knew how to handle himself. He had that gift. He could get pretty raunchy when he was strung out, but he could also be charming.''

- Zoot Sims

Né le 24 novembre 1923 à Boston, au Massachusetts, Serge Chaloff était issu d’une famille musicale. Son père Julius Chaloff était compositeur et avait joué du piano avec le Boston Symphony Orchestra. Sa mère était  la professeure de piano émérite Margaret Chaloff. Mieux connue sous le surnom de ‘’Madame Chaloff’’, Margaret, qui était professeure au New England Conservatory, avait notamment enseigné à des grands noms comme Leonard Bernstein, George Shearing, Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Steve Kuhn, Chick Corea et Dick Twardzik.

Chaloff, qui avait d’abord appris le piano à partir de l’âge de six ans, avait également suivi des cours de clarinette avec Manuel Valerio du��Boston Symphony Orchestra. À l’âge de douze ans, après avoir entendu Harry Carney jouer avec l’orchestre de Duke Ellington, Chaloff avait dédidé d’apprendre à jouer du saxophone baryton en autodidacte. Comme Chaloff l’avait expliqué plus tard lors d’une entrevue accordée au critique Leonard Feather: ‘’Who could teach me? I couldn't chase [Harry] Carney around the country.''

Même s’il avait été influencé par Carney et par Jack Washington, le saxophoniste baryton de l’orchestre Count Basie, Chaloff n’avait pas tenté de les imiter. Comme l’avait déclaré son frère Richard Chaloff, Serge ‘’could play {baritone} like a tenor sax. The only time you knew it was a baritone was when he took it down low. He played it high.… He had finger dexterity, I used to watch him, you couldn't believe the speed he played. He was precise. He was a perfectionist. He would be up in his bedroom as a teenager. He would be up by the hour to one, two, three in the morning and I'm trying to sleep and he'd go over a phrase or a piece until it was perfect… I used to put the pillow over my head, we had battles.’’

DÉBUTS DE CARRIÈRE

À partir de l’âge de quatorze ans, Chaloff avait commencé à jouer au Izzy Ort's Bar & Grille, un célèbre club situé sur la rue Essex à Boston. Son frère Richard expliquait: ‘’He didn't have a permit to work but he was pretty tall and he went down to see Izzy Ort...and played for him and Izzy liked the sax...and he hired my brother to work nights… My mother used to pray on Sundays that that he'd make it outa there… My brother sat in with bandsmen that were in their thirties and forties… and here he was fourteen, fifteen years old and he played right along with them, and he did so well that they kept him.''

En 1939, à l’âge de seulement seize ans, Chaloff s’était joint au groupe de Tommy Reynolds comme saxophoniste ténor. Par la suite, Chaloff avait joué avec les groupes de Dick Rogers, Shep Fields et Ina Ray Hutton. En juillet 1944, Chaloff avait également fait partie de l’éphémère groupe de Boyd Raeburn aux côtés de Dizzy Gillespie et Al Cohn, avec qui il avait tissé une amitié qui avait duré toute sa vie. C’est d’ailleurs avec Raeburn que Chaloff avait fait ses débuts sur disque en janvier 1945, notamment dans le cadre de la pièce ‘’Interlude’’ de Dizzy Gillespie, qui s’était mieux fait connaître plus tard sous le titre de ‘’A Night in Tunisia.’’ Le son de Chaloff était particulièrement perceptible au début de l’enregistrement.

C’est durant son séjour avec le groupe de Raeburn que Chaloff avait entendu pour la première fois Charlie Parker, qui était devenu sa plus importante influence. Mais selon le critique Stuart Nicholson, plutôt que d’imiter Parker, Chaloff s’était inspiré du jeu très émotif de Parker pour bâtir son propre style. Richard Chaloff avait ajouté que son frère saisissait toutes les occasions pour jouer avec Parker à New York. Richard avait déclaré: ‘’Any time he had the chance he would pal with him. He would sit in with him at night… My brother used to say that he was up till 4,5,6, in the morning with the Bird… All the beboppers found each other out.’’

Mais les tournées avec le groupe de Raeburn étaient épuisantes. Chaloff se rappelait d’ailleurs avoir joué durant soixante soirs consécutifs et avoir parcouru jusqu’à 500 miles entre chaque contrat. C’est d’ailleurs au cours de son séjour avec le groupe que Chaloff avait commencé à consommer de l’héroïne et à ‘’marcher sur les nuages’’ comme il l’avait déclaré lui-même. Au milieu des années 1940, Chaloff avait également travaillé avec Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Harris, George Handy, Oscar Pettiford et Earl Swope. Le 21 septembre 1946, Chaloff avait enregistré sa propre version deu standard ‘’Cherokee’’ sous le titre de ‘’Blue Serge’’.

Après avoir travaillé en 1945-46 avec les big bands de Georgie Auld et Jimmy Dorsey, Chaloff avait enregistré avec de petits groupes de bebop de 1946 à 1947. Parmi ceux-ci, on remarquait le Sonny Berman's' Big Eight, le Bill Harris's Big Eight, le Ralph Burns Quintet et les Red Rodney's Be-Boppers qui comprenaient également Allen Eager au saxophone ténor. Au début de 1947, Chaloff avait d’ailleurs partagé un appartement avec Red Rodney, un autre grand consommateur d’héroïne. C’est ainsi que Chaloff était tombé dans un engrenage dont il avait pris des années à s’affranchir.

Commentant sa collaboration avec Chaloff, le saxophoniste Allen Eager avait déclaré: “Serge was a groovy guy to be around. The three of us were all pretty much in the same zone as far as musical leanings go.” En janvier 1947, Chaloff avait enregistré deux standards avec le groupe de Rodney: ‘’Elevation’’ de Gerry Mulligan et ‘’The Goof and I’’ d’Al Cohn. En 2003, les disques Uptown avaient publié du matériel inédit enregistré lors de cette session qui mettait en vedette  Eager, Chaloff, Jimmy Johnson et Buddy Rich. Toujours en janvier 1947, Chaloff s’était produit au club Three Deuces avec le sextet de Georgie Auld aux côtés de Rodney, Tiny Kahn et Lou Levy. “Wonderful band’’, avait déclaré Chaloff plus tard, même si sa collaboration avec le groupe n’avait pas été tellement lucrative. À la même époque, Chaloff avait également joué au Smalls Paradise de Harlem avec Leo Parker, un autre saxophoniste baryton qui était disparu avant de r��aliser son plein potentiel.

Durant la même période, Chaloff avait enregistré deux 78-tours avec son propre sextet pour les disques Savoy. Trois des quatre pièces figurant sur ces 78-tours avaient été écrites et arrangées par Chaloff. La quatrième composition intitulée ‘’Gabardine and Serge’’, avait été écrite par Tiny Kahn. Le critique Marc Myers écrivait: ‘’All four tunes are daredevil cute and blisteringly fast. They showcase tight unison lines and standout solos by four of the six musicians, who are in superb form....(On 'Pumpernickel') Chaloff shows off his inexhaustible and leonine approach to the baritone sax.’’

Chaloff était devenu une grande vedette en 1947 lorsqu’il s’était joint au Second Herd de Woody Herman. Le groupe s’était mérité le surnom de Four Brothers Band après que la section de saxophones composée de Chaloff, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims et Herbie Steward (qui avait été remplacé plus tard par Al Cohn) ait enregistré la composition de Jimmy Giuffre du même nom. Chaloff avait également participé à plusieurs autres enregistrements du groupe, dont ‘’Keen and Peachy’’. Chaloff avait aussi joué en solo sur des pièces comme "The Goof and I" et "Man, Don't Be Ridiculous." Selon Nicholson, sur cette dernière pièce, Chaloff avait démontré ‘’an astonishing technical facility that was quite without precedent on the instrument.’’

En 1949, l’historien et critique Leonard Feather avait écrit dans son livre Inside Be-Bop que le jeu propre et le bon goût de Chaloff avaient fait de lui ‘’the No.1 bop exponent of the baritone.'' Chaloff était d’ailleurs surnommé le ‘’Charlie Parker blanc.’’

Malheureusement, Chaloff avait aussi imité Parker sur un aspect beaucoup moins enviable de sa personnalité: il avait développé une dépendance envers l’héroïne. Selon Gene Lees, à partir de 1947, Chaloff était même devenu non seulement le principal fournisseur du groupe de Woody Herman, mais son consommateur le plus important. Toujours selon Feather, Chaloff déposait une couverture au-dessus des sièges arrière des autobus dans lesquels il se transportait afin de pouvoir vendre sa marchandises plus discrètement. Le critique Whitney Balliett avait ajouté que Chaloff avait ''a satanic reputation as a drug addict whose proselytizing ways with drugs reportedly damaged more people than just himself.’’ Plusieurs musiciens avaient d’ailleurs blâmé Chaloff pour la mort du trompettiste de vingt et un ans Sonny Berman, qui était décédé à la suite d’une overdose le 16 janvier 1947.

Le trompettiste Rolf Ericson, qui s’était joint au groupe de Woody Herman en 1950, avait décrit ainsi l’impact de la consommation de drogues sur les performances de la formation: ‘’In the band Woody had started on the coast...late in 1947, which I heard many times, several of the guys were on narcotics and four were alcoholics. When the band started a night's work they sounded wonderful, but after the intermission, during which they used the needle or lushed, the good music was over. It was horrible to see them sitting on the stage like living dead, peering into little paper envelopes when they weren't playing.''

Commentant le séjour de Chaloff avec le groupe, le critique Gene Lees écrivait: ‘’Hiring him must be accounted one of Woody’s worst errors. Serge was a serious heroin addict and like so many of his kind, a dedicated proselytizer for the drug. He would hook a number of the Second Herd bandsmen.” À l’époque, on estimait qu’environ 50% des saxophonistes du groupe de Herman étaient des adeptes de l’héroïne. D’autres musiciens consommaient des amphétamines, ce qui avait incité Herman à conclure: “Everybody was on practically everything except roller-skates… I’ve chased ‘connections’ out of clubs from coast to coast”. Il y avait aussi quatre alcooliques dans la formation.

Lors d’une performance à Washington, D.C., Herman avait eu une violente discussion avec Chaloff au sujet de sa consommation de drogues. Comme Herman l’avait raconté plus tard au journaliste Gene Lees:

‘’He was getting farther and farther out there, and the farther out he got the more he was sounding like a fagalah. He kept saying, ‘Hey, Woody, baby, I’m straight, man, I’m clean.’ And I shouted, ‘Just play your goddamn part and shut up!'....I was so depressed after that gig. There was this after-hours joint in Washington called the Turf and Grid....I had to fight my way through to get a drink, man. All I wanted was to have a drink and forget it. And finally I get a couple of drinks, and it’s hot in there, and I’m sweating, and somebody’s got their hands on me, and I hear, ‘Hey, Woody, baby, whadya wanna talk to me like that for? I’m straight, baby, I’m straight.’ And it's Mr. Chaloff. And then I remember an old Joe Venuti bit. We were jammed in there, packed in, and… I peed down Serge's leg. You know, man, when you do that to someone, it takes a while before it sinks in what's happened to him. And when Serge realized, he let out a howl like a banshee.''

Mais Chaloff était parfaitement conscient de sa valeur pour le groupe. Lorsque Herman avait menacé de le congédier, Chaloff avait simplement répliqué: “That’s the baritone book. You can’t fire me because I’m the only one that knows it by heart.”

Un des partenaires de Chaloff dans l’orchestre de Woody Herman, le vibraphoniste Terry Gibbs, avait décrit ainsi  le comportement pour le moins erratique de Chaloff:

‘'He'd fall asleep with a cigarette all the time and always burn a hole in a mattress. Always! In about twelve hotels. When we'd go to check out, the hotel owner – Serge always had his hair slicked down even though he hadn't taken a bath for three years...the manager would say, 'Mr Chaloff, you burned a hole in your mattress and...' 'How dare you. I'm the winner of the down beat and Metronome polls. How dare you?'...the manager would always say, 'I'm sorry Mr Chaloff,'...Except one time when the band got off on an air-pistol kick....Serge put a telephone book against the door and was zonked out of his bird...he got three shots at the telephone book and made the biggest hole in the door you ever saw. So when he went to the check out, the guy said, 'Mr Chaloff, it'll cost you.'...He 'how-dared' him a few times. Couldn't get away with it. He said 'Well listen, if I'm gonna pay for the door I want the door.' It was twenty four dollars. So he paid for the door. I happen to be standing close by. 'Hey Terry,' he said. 'Grab this,' and all of a sudden I found myself checking out....We're walking out of the hotel with a door.''

Un autre collègue de Chaloff, le saxophoniste Al Cohn, se demandait même comment il avait pu éviter d’être assassiné. Cohn expliquait: ‘’I don't know how we kept from being killed. Serge would always be drunk. He was quite a drinker. Everything he did, he did too much. So one time we're driving, after work. It's four o'clock in the morning, and he makes a left turn, and we're wondering why the road is so bumpy. Turned out he made a left turn into the railroad tracks, and we're going over the ties.''

Pourtant, Chaloff pouvait être adorable quand il restait sobre. Comme l’avait déclaré Zoot Sims: ‘’When Serge was cleaned up, you know, straight, he could be a delight, really to be around, a lot of fun. He knew how to handle himself. He had that gift. He could get pretty raunchy when he was strung out, but he could also be charming.''

Curieusement, les problèmes de dépendance de Chaloff n’avaient pas semblé affecter outre-mesure ses performances sur scène. Comme Herman l’avait confirmé lui-même dans  le cadre d’une entrevue accordée à William D. Clancy: “Serge was probably the freshest, newest-sounding baritone that had come along in years.”

Finalement, n’en pouvant plus, Herman avait saisi le prétexte de la perte de popularité du swing (à l’époque, plusieurs big bands avaient été contraints de mettre fin à leurs activités pour des raisons économiques) pour mettre fin à l’existence de son groupe en décembre 1949. Il faut dire que l’orchestre avait perdu énormément d’argent: environ 180 000$, l’équivalent de deux millions de dollars au cours actuel.

Faisant référence de façon discrète au comportement de Chaloff au moment de démarrer les activités d’un groupe de plus petite taille à Chicago en 1950, Herman avait déclaré: ‘’'You can't imagine how good it feels to look at my present group and find them all awake. To play a set and not have someone conk out in the middle of a chorus.’’

DERNIÈRES ANNÉES

Après avoir quitté le groupe d’Herman, Chaloff avait passé une partie de l’année 1950 à jouer avec le All Star Octet de Count Basie, un groupe de taille plus modeste que le chef d’orchestre avait formé à la suite du déclin des big bands. À l’époque, le groupe, qui avait avait enregistré quelques pièces pour les disques Victor et Columbia, comprenait Basie, Chaloff, Wardell Gray, Buddy DeFranco, Clark Terry, Freddie Green, Jimmy Lewis et Gus Johnson. Plus tard la même année, Chaloff était retourné à Boston et avait joué avec de petits groupes dans des clubs comme le High Hat, le Petty Lounge et le Red Fox Cafe.

Après être retourné à New York, Chaloff avait formé son propre groupe avec des musiciens comme Earl Swope, Bud Powell, Joe Shulman et Don Lamond en vue d’une performance au club Birland en février 1950. Le critique Barry Ulanov avait commenté dans le magazine Metronome: “Serge Chaloff waved his big baritone horn at Birdland last month and inaugurated what will be a very interesting career as a leader.” Chaloff était alors retourné à Boston pour deux semaines et s’était produit avec une section rythmique avec qui il avait interprété du matériel associé au groupe de Herman.

Une performance de Chaloff au Celebrity Club de Providence, au Rhode Island, avait même été retransmise sur les ondes de la station radiophonique WRIV. L’enregistrement avait éventuellement été publié en 1994 par les disques Uptown dans le cadre d’un CD intitulée Boston 1950. Participaient également à l’enregistrement des musiciens comme Sonny Truitt, Milt Gold, Nat Pierce et Joe Shulman. Le CD comprenait aussi une entrevue de trois minutes avec Chaloff.

Le fait de jouer avec de petits groupes avait permis à Chaloff de retourner à la base et de développer un nouveau style de jeu. En 1951, Chaloff avait déclaré que le fait de se retirer du centre de l’action lui avait permis d’ajouter plus de couleur et de flexibilité à son jeu. Poursuivant dans le même sens, le saxophoniste Al Cohn avait ajouté que le jeu de Chaloff comme soliste ne s’était véritablement développé qu’à partir du moment où il avait décidé de cesser de se produire avec des big bands. En 1952, Chaloff était retourné à Boston et avait enregistré avec le pianiste Dick Twardzik, mais la session n’avait jamais été publiée. Il avait aussi fait des apparitions à la télévision et avait dirigé le groupe-maison d’un club local.

Devenu une grande vedette, Chaloff avait remporté les sondages des magazines Down Beat et Metronome comme meilleur saxophoniste baryton à chaque année de 1949 à 1953. Il avait aussi fait partie des Metronome All-Stars en janvier 1950 aux côtés de  grands noms du jazz comme Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Lee Konitz et Kai Winding.

Malheureusement, Chaloff avait continué de se droguer et de boire abondamment, ce qui l’avait empêché de décrocher des contrats sur une base régulière. Il avait même cessé complètement de jouer en 1952-53.

À la fin de 1953, Chaloff avait tenté de faire un retour sur scène après que le disc jockey de Boston, Bob 'The Robin' Martin lui ait proposé de devenir son gérant. Avec l’aide de Martin, Chaloff avait formé un nouveau groupe qui s’était produit dans des clubs de Boston comme le Jazzorama et le Storyville. Les partenaires musicaux de Chaloff à l’époque étaient Boots Mussulli ou Charlie Mariano au saxophone alto, Herb Pomeroy à la trompette et Dick Twardzik au piano.

Même si du propre aveu de Martin, Chaloff ne jouait pas beaucoup à l’époque en raison de ses antécédents liés à la consommation de narcotiques, il se donnait à fond lorsqu’on lui donnait  l’occasion de performer. Martin expliquait: ‘’You had to talk somebody to give him a chance to play. When you got him a gig in a club or a hotel, he would usually mess it up. But when he did show...and got playing...it was,'Stand back, Baby!’’ Le saxophoniste Jay Migliori, qui avait joué avec Chaloff au Storyville, se rappelait: ‘’Serge was a wild character. We were working at Storyville and, if he was feeling good, he used to let his trousers gradually fall down during the cadenza of his feature, 'Body and Soul.' At the end of the cadenza, his trousers would hit the ground.''

En juin et septembre 1954, Chaloff avait participé à deux sessions pour les disques Storyville de George Wein. Les enregistrements avaient été publiés sous la forme de deux microsillons dix pouces. La première session avait été présentée comme un album conjoint avec le saxophoniste Boots Mussulli, et mettait en vedette un groupe composé de Russ Freeman au piano, de Jimmy Woode à la contrebasse et de Buzzy Drootin à la batterie. Wein écrivait dans les notes de pochette: ‘’ 'An alternate title for this album could be 'Serge Returns'....Each selection in these six was chosen and arranged solely by Serge.'' L’album comprenait cinq standards ainsi qu’une composition de Chaloff intitulée ‘’Zdot’’. La conclusion de la pièce avait été écrite par la mère de Chaloff, Margaret. Sur le second album intitulé The Fable of Mabel, Chaloff s’était produit avec un groupe de neuf musiciens mettant en vedette Charlie Mariano, qui avait écrit trois des cinq compositions de l’album, et Herb Pomeroy, qui avait composé la pièce ‘’Salute to Tiny’’ en hommage au batteur et arrangeur Tiny Kahn. L’ambitieuse pièce-titre avait été écrite par le pianiste Dick Twardzik, qui avait déclaré dans les notes de pochette:

‘’'The Fable of Mabel was introduced to jazz circles in 1951-52 by the Serge Chaloff Quartet. Audiences found this satirical jazz legend a welcome respite from standard night club fare. In this legend, Mabel is depicted as a woman who loves men, music and her silver saxophone that played counterpoint (her own invention which proved impractical). The work is divided into three movements: first, New Orleans; second Classical; and third, Not Too Sad An Ending. The soulful baritone solo by Serge Chaloff traces Mabel's humble beginnings working railroad cars in New Orleans to her emergence as a practising crusader for the cause of Jazz. During her Paris days on the Jazz Houseboat, her struggle for self-expression is symbolized by an unusual saxophone duet Charlie Mariano and Varty Haritrounian. Mabel always said she wanted to go out blowing. She did. The sixth track, Al Killian's 'Lets Jump', was chosen by Chaloff, who said: 'Now that we've proven how advanced we are let's show the people that we can still swing.''

Un mois après avoir complété l’enregistrement, Chaloff était entré dans une profonde crise personnelle. En octobre 1954, sans argent et incapable de se procurer de l’héroïne, Chaloff s’était inscrit volontairement au programme de réhabilitation du Bridgewater State Hospital. Après avoir passé trois mois et demi à l’hôpital, Chaloff avait été libéré en février 1955.

La même année, le gérant Bob Martin avait convaincu les disques Capitol d’enregistrer un album avec Chaloff dans le cadre de la série ‘'Stan Kenton Presents Jazz.’’ Intitulé ‘’Boston Blow-Up!’’, l’album avait été enregistré à New York en avril 1955. Chaloff était accompagné sur l’album de Boots Mussulli au saxophone alto, de Herb Pomeroy à la trompette, de Ray Santisi au piano, d’Everett Evans à la contrebasse et de Jimmy Zitano à la batterie. À l’époque, Pomeroy, Santisi et Zitano avaient développé une très grande complicité, car ils se produisaient régulièrement au Boston's Stable Club, où ils avaient enregistré l’album live Jazz in a Stable pour les disques Transition en mars précédent. Quant à Mussulli, il avait fait partie de l’orchestre de Stan Kenton de 1944 à 1947 et de 1952 à 1954.

Malgré la mauvaise réputation de Chaloff, le critique  Richard Vacca avait écrit que la présence rassurante et stable de Mussilli, qui avait déjà participé à la série Kenton Presents en 1954, avait été d’un grand réconfort pour les disques Capitol. Dans le cadre de l’album, Mussilli avait composé et arrangé cinq nouvelles pièces, dont ‘’Bob the Robin’’, qu’il avait écrite en hommage au gérant de Chaloff, Bob Martin. C’est Pomeroy qui avait écrit les arrangements des standards qui figuraient sur l’album. Très satisfait du déroulement des sessions, Chaloff avait déclaré: ‘’When I came back on the music scene, just recently, I wanted a book of fresh sounding things. I got just what I wanted from Herb and Boots. I think their writing shows us a happy group trying to create new musical entertainment by swinging all the time. Jazz has got to swing; if it doesn't, it loses its feeling of expression. This group and these sides are about the happiest I've been involved with.'' Parmi les principaux faits saillants de l’album, on remarquait les ballades "What's New?" et "Body and Soul". Commentant cette dernière pièce dans le 1956 Metronome Yearbook, le critique Bill Coss avait qualifié l’interprétation de Chaloff de ‘’frightening example of Serge's form, moaning through a seemingly autobiographical portrayal of (his) Body and Soul', an enormously emotional jazz listening experience.'' Jack Tracy, qui avait attribué cinq étoiles à l’album dans sa critique publiée dans le magazine Down Beat, avait ajouté: ‘’'Serge, for years one of music's more chaotic personalities, has made an about face of late and is again flying right. It is evident in his playing, which has become a thing of real beauty… Chaloff offers the best display of his talents ever to be put on wax. It swings, it has heart, it has maturity—it is the long-awaited coalescence of a great talent.''

Le succès inespéré de l’album Boston Blow-Up! avait éventuellement permis à Chaloff de relancer sa carrière et de décrocher de nombreux contrats. La performance de Chaloff au Boston Arts Festival en juin 1955 avait inspiré le commentaire suivant à un critique du Boston Herald: ‘’The ingenuity of Chaloff as a soloist is enormous, and his use of dissonance always conveys a sense of purpose and of form. In 'Body and Soul', he exhibited his capabilities vigorously, taking a deliberate tempo and treating the music with a lyric, delicate, tonal standpoint....the harmonies of the group are tense and the melodies resourceful and they play with a kind of controlled abandon.''

En 1956, Chaloff avait continué de se produire un peu partout à travers les États-Unis, le plus souvent en compagnie d’un saxophoniste alto. Si Chicago, Chaloff était accompagné du saxophoniste Lou Donaldson, son partenaire à Los Angeles était Sonny Stitt. Le groupe comprenait également Leroy Vinnegar, qui était alors le contrebassiste le plus dominant de la Côte ouest.

Le succès de la performance de Chaloff à Los Angeles lui avait permis d’enregistrer un second album pour les disques Capitol en mars 1956. Avaient également participé à l’enregistrement le pianiste Sonny Clark et le contrebassiste Leroy Vinnegar. Comme batteur, on retrouvait Philly Joe Jones, qui était de passage à Los Angeles avec le quintet de Miles Davis. Décrivant l’enregistrement de l’album, Chaloff avait commenté:

‘’'My last record, Boston Blow-up! was one of those carefully planned things....But this time I was feeling a little more easy-going, and I decided to make a record just to blow. I picked out what I felt was the best rhythm section around and told them just to show up...no rehearsals...no tunes set...and trust to luck and musicianship....I'd never worked with these guys before except for jamming briefy with Joe Jones eight years ago, but I knew from hearing them what they could do....We were shooting for an impromptu feeling and we got it. It has more freedom and spark than anything I've recorded before. And I don't think there's a better recommendation than that when it comes to honest jazz.''

Vladimir Somosko écrivait dans sa biographie de Chaloff intitulée ‘’Serge Chaloff: A Musical Biography and Discography’’, publiée en 1998: ‘’'The rapport of the group was as moving as the music, and the net effect was of every note being in place, flawlessly executed, as if even the slightest nuance was carefully chosen for maximum aesthetic impact. This is a level of achievement beyond all but the masters, and from an ensemble that was not even a working group it takes on an aura of the miraculous.''

Analysant le jeu de Chaloff sur la pièce "A Handful of Stars", le critique Stuart Nicholson avait précisé: ‘’Paraphrase becomes central to his performance of 'A Handful of Stars' where he scrupulously avoids stating the melody as written. At one point he plumbs the baritone for a bumptious bass note and soars to the top of the instrument's range in one breath, effortlessly concealing the remarkable technical skill required for such seemingly throw-away trifles. This sheer joy at music making seems to give his playing a life-force of its own.'' Après avoir qualifié l’album de chef-d’oeuvre, Richard Cook et Brian Morton avaient écrit dans le Penguin Guide to Jazz: ‘’Thanks for the Memory" is overpoweringly beautiful as Chaloff creates a series of melodic variations which match the improviser's ideal of fashioning an entirely new song. 'Stairway to the Stars' is almost as fine, and the thoughtful 'The Goof and I' and 'Susie's Blues' show that Chaloff still had plenty of ideas about what could be done with a bebopper's basic materials. This important session has retained all its power.’'

Après la publication de l’album, Chaloff avait continué de travailler sur la Côte ouest, se produisant notamment au Starlite Club d’Hollywood en mai 1956. Durant le même mois, Chaloff avait été victime de douleurs au dos et à l’abdomen qui avaient entraîné une paralysie de ses deux jambes. Chaloff était retourné de toute urgence à Boston, où une opération exploratoire avait permis de découvrir qu’il était atteint d’un cancer de la moelle épinière. Le frère de Chaloff, Richard, expliquait: ‘’We took him down there [Massachusetts General Hospital] and they found he had lesions on his spine.....they operated and took most of the lesions away, and then he went on a series of X-ray treatments. Oh they were terrible. He must have had twenty or twenty-five in a row. And in those days they really gave you heavy doses of it. Then occasionally he got spots on the lungs''.

Malgré sa maladie et le traitement qui s’en était suivi, Chaloff avait continué de se produire en concert. Le 18 juin 1956, Chaloff avait dû se déplacer en chaise roulante pour enregistrer la composition "Billie's Bounce" de Charlie Parker avec les Metronome All Stars. Avaient également participé à l’enregistrement Zoot Sims, Art Blakey, Charles Mingus et Billy Taylor.

Chaloff avait fait son dernier enregistrement dans le cadre de l’album-réunion The Four Brothers... Together Again!. Le groupe était composé de Zoot Sims, d’Al Cohn, d’Herbie Steward et de Chaloff aux saxophones, d’Elliot Lawrence au piano, de Buddy Jones à la contrebasse et de Don Lamond à la batterie. Sur les dernières pièces de l’album, Charlie O'Kane avait remplacé Chaloff dans les parties collectives afin de lui permettre de conserver ses forces pour les solos. Décrivant l’enregistrement de l’album, Richard Chaloff avait commenté: ‘’He took a wheelchair down to make that recording, you know. They didn't think he was going to make it. I heard stories from people there. But when he stood up and played, you never knew he was a sick fellow. He played dynamic. If you listen to the record he sounds like the old Serge. He pulled himself together. I don't know how he did it. But he had tremendous drive, tremendous stamina.’’ Dans son compte rendu publié dans le magazine Down Beat, le critique Don Gold écrivait: ‘’'This last session before his death represents a fervent expression of a fatally ill man. It is a kind of significant farewell in the language he knew best.''

Chaloff avait présenté sa dernière performance au Stable Club de Boston en mai 1957. Lors d’une entrevue qu’il avait accordée en 1993, le pianiste Charlie ‘’the Whale’’ Johnson avait décrit les dernières performances de Chaloff de la façon suivante: ‘’'I remember pushing Chaloff's wheelchair into The Stable for his last appearances there. He was in bad shape but could still really play, standing leaning on a pillar. However, he didn't have much stamina. He couldn't really finish the gig. I also had to go get pot and booze for him. He was still using these steadily, even in the hospital at the end.''

Chaloff était à l’agonie lorsqu’il avait été admis au Massachusetts General Hospital le 15 juillet 1957. Selon son frère Richard, Chaloff avait apporté son saxophone ainsi que son singe miniature à l’hôpital. Richard expliquait:

‘'He still had the kinkajou monkey Mother got him to keep him company. And he had his horn. I was told they wheeled him into a vacant operating theatre so he could practise, and that was his last gig, his last public performance, solo baritone sax alone in an operating theatre. Nurses, doctors and even patients were standing outside and listening. He fought it to the end. Mother would visit him and urge him on, saying, 'You can beat it' and things. But that last day, they brought a priest to visit him, and the priest saw Serge in bed looking so wasted, and the priest thought he was supposed to perform the last rites. Serge woke up in the middle of it and really panicked, sliding away from him and yelling 'No! No! Get out!' But after that he seemed to give up. I think that's when he realized it was all over.''

Chaloff était mort le lendemain. Il avait seulement trente-trois ans. Chaloff a été inhumé au Forest Hills Cemetery, dans le comté de Suffolk, au Massachusetts.

Reconnu comme le premier saxophoniste baryton à avoir joué du bebop, Chaloff avait contribué à démontrer, à l’instar de ses pairs Leo Parker et Cecil Payne, que le saxophone baryton pouvait très bien s’adapter à l’évolution du jazz moderne.

©-2024, tous droits réservés, Les Productions de l’Imaginaire historique

SOURCES:

JACK, Gordon. ‘’Serge Chaloff: the bebop lowdown.’’ Jazz Journal, 11 mai 2021.

‘’Serge Chaloff.’’ Wikipedia, 2024.

‘’Serge Chaloff.’’ All About Jazz, 2024.

[afterthegreatunknown]

my story will be starring me just like yours ooh ooh

who knows when will it end

what matters most is how you bring joy to life so

After escaping the prison car, the sixteen-year-old Ellington decides it’s best to be on the low-down for the time being. As luck would have it, there’s also another sixteen-year-old stuck in the same predicament as her. That girl’s name is Kit, and for a whole month, the two stuck together. Ellington thought Kit as a very nice girl, though also mysterious. Kit didn’t say her last name, or how she got arrested in the first place, other than admitting to stealing something in the City and got caught.

The mystery surrounding Kit grew throughout the month, with Kit growing more nervous whenever Elington talks of the Volunteer Fire Department, or how one member, Lemony Snicket, betrayed her trust by claiming to help Ellington try finding her father, yet knew where he was the whole time -and knew he was a villain- and pushed him to his death. Ellington suspected the possibility Kit is part of VFD and is Lemony’s sister. After all, Kit never said her surname. But Ellington told herself otherwise, that maybe if Kit is in VFD, she’s his sister figure. Ellington just wants to have a friend who won’t hurt her, in any way or form. That’s all she wants, even for a short amount of time.

But said hurt happened. The reveal happened at a motel they were staying at. Kit tried to explain everything, but Ellington left the room to think about her next move of actions. Upon returning back, Kit is also gone, but foolishly left her things. Ellington figures it’s best to leave, and as petty retaliation, stole some of Kit’s belongings. Just some money (not all of it though) and a list of what Ellington suspect is of volunteers, mainly of Kit’s generation.

Ellington after this point, is pretty much on the run of sorts. She moves from places to places, uses fake names, and steals what she can. When becoming of age, Ellington decides to hold down temporary jobs, taking payment in cash or getting checks to deposit them into cash. Despite not wanting too, Ellington meets volunteers from VFD, mainly from Kit and Lemony’s generation, and usually once. Having done a good job of hiding her identity, Ellington takes some pleasure in seeing these volunteers questioning themselves if the person standing before them is who they think they are (Jacques Snicket, aka, Kit and Lemony’s brother, gave Ellington a warning about herself. If Ellington wasn’t so hurt, she would find it funny).

There is however, one exception. This particular volunteer had interacted with Ellington before he was recruited, when they were children living in Killdeer Field and attended the same school. Different classes, same grade, students who saw each other only at lunchtime and in passing. They interacted once, and most people would forget something simple. Yet Ellington never could forget, as strange as it sounds.

In their second meeting, Ellington -who currently lives far away from the City and Land of Districts- recognized the man as her former classmate. Ellington also recognized him as part of the Volunteer Fire Department, for the list of volunteers names she stole from Kit years ago included him-name, brief description, and personal notes. Yet when the man introduced himself, he gave a different name. A name Ellington faintly recalls, as the man’s birth name.

Ellington quickly deduces the man doesn’t recognize her, and plays pretend to not recognize him either. She also deduces her former classmate is done with VFD, alongside two others (one who is also on the fore-mentioned list). Considering they’re also with children -a set of triplets, and a girl with triangle glasses- Ellington suspect they want out for their sake. So Ellington decides to help them, provided they do something for her in return.

Due to a series of events, the man returns something to Ellington. Or rather, of her father. Ellington does her best to keep her emotions in as she asks him about it. And the man tells Ellington how an old classmate gave it to him to stop a bleeding nose. And Ellington is stun; stun that while he doesn’t remember her, he remembers her good deed. Upon getting some alone time (the man decided to look around the area they were at), Ellington cried tears of joy.  As strange as it sounds, despite everything her father ever done -especially to her- Ellington grateful for having one thing back of his.

[nocternalrandomness]

NASA's WB-57 research aircraft at Edwards AFB ready to depart back to Ellington Field, TX

[h00dsw0rld]

James Ellington

[gordopickett]

El Gordo Just Might (For All Mankind 2.4 "Pathfinder" missing scene)

The first part is the entire hangar scene from ep 2.4 "Pathfinder," and then I've written a "missing scene" where Gordo & Ed take out their frustrations with each other on the Ellington Field apron.

El Gordo Just Might (3116 words) by GordoPickett Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: For All Mankind (TV 2019) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Gordo Stevens, Ed Baldwin Additional Tags: for all mankind, Episode: s02e04 Pathfinder (For All Mankind, For All Mankind Pathfinder, For All Mankind missing scene, For All Mankind deleted scene, Missing Scene, Deleted Scene, Pathfinder - Freeform, hangar, T-38, El Gordo, El Gordo Just Might, Male Friendship, Dogfighting, NASA, Ellington Field, Fighting, Fear, Anxiety, Tough Love, turning point Series: Part 3 of For All Mankind Summary: The first part is the entire hangar scene from ep 2.4 "Pathfinder," and then I've written a "missing scene" where Gordo & Ed take out their frustrations with each other on the Ellington Field apron.

[blogwelberfotos-blog]

astronautas do Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) Butch Wilmore e Suni Williams em atividades pré-vôo do T-38 em Ellington Field. Data da foto: 16 de agosto de 2022. Local: Ellington Field, Hangar 276/Flight Line.

[library-child]

Killdeer Fields

Written for @asouefanworkevent

Content warning: Alcoholism, utter mental deterioration

"And a man calling himself Hangfire told you you'd never see your father again? That's all?" police officer Hallward asked.

Ellington just nodded, too tired to speak.

He put his pen and notebook away and gave her a sympathetic look. The station typewriter had already been put away in one of the wooden boxes stacked against the walls of the shed. The police station itself had been flooded months ago when the water had reached the center of Killdeer Fields. Officer Hallward had moved to an abandoned farm shed uptown, but now, he was leaving along with everyone else.

"What are we to do now?"

"I'll send a telegram to the authorities once I'm at the train station. But first, we'll need to find someone who will take you along."

"I can't leave!" Ellington protested. "What if he comes back and I'm not here?"

Officer Hallward sighed. "No one will ever come back here."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ellington ran up the muddy road past the abandoned farms, ignoring her aching feet. Everyone had always complained about the upper part of Main Street being an uneven clay road. Now, it was the only part left. All the shiny new cobblestones downtown had been washed away by brackish water.

She reached the last farm where some sickly-looking cows still stood on the field.

"Bill," she called, knocking at the door of the farmhouse. She had only ever known the farmer who had supplied her father with milk for the rescued animals as Old Bill. "Are you home?"

There was no answer, but Ellington found the door was open. The smell of rot and cold smoke hit her as she moved down a dim hallway until she arrived in the kitchen and nearly gagged.

Old Bill sat slumped on a bench at the table, surrounded by bottles and dirty dishes. The table and the floor were stained with tobacco. His sparse hair and worn clothes were crusted with dirt.

"Why, Ellington." He broke into a slow smile as he noticed her. His few remaining teeth were black. "How nice. Where's your father? I haven't seen him in a while."

Ellington swallowed hard to force back the tears. She was terrified. "So - so you don't know where he might be? He's been kidnapped! Nobody knows why!"

Bill coughed violently, steadying himself by clutching a half-empty whisky bottle.

"Kidnapped, you say? Ah. Probably those blasted other farmers. They've been making my cows sick, you know. They're jealous. Every night, they sneak over the fence to poison them."

Ellington ran.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I understand you've been asking everyone about your father's whereabouts."

Mrs. Gray, mayor no more, watched the movers carrying the furniture out of her grand hall onto waiting trucks. She had lost the election as the flood had risen.

"You claim he was kidnapped by a man named Hangfire."

"Hangfire claimed it. He called me on the phone. His voice was terrible." Ellington had no strength left to hold back her tears. She just wept.

Mrs. Gray sighed with a mixture of pity and disgust on her face.

"You need to stop that. Nobody has time to deal with such nonsense. You should have come to see me before anyone else."

She gave Ellington a handkerchief and patted her shoulder.

"Pack your things and come back here tomorrow morning. We'll take you with us and get you a job at a farm. You are a capable girl. In a few years, you'll surely manage to build your own place. Wouldn't you like that?"

Ellington didn't argue with Mrs. Gray. She went home to pack her suitcase. But she never showed up at Mrs. Gray's house. Instead, she dragged her suitcase behind her all the way to the train station and snuck into an empty cargo car. Her arms ached from carrying her father's record player. She feared the music might give her away, but nobody was around, and she couldn't bear the silence.

[opineonionated]

Spectral Evolution

After a two-decade interlude, Jim O’Rourke’s Moikai returns with Spectral Evolution, a major new work by Rafael Toral. Making his name in the mid-1990s with influential guitar drone platters like "Sound Mind Sound Body" and "Wave Field" (both reissued by Drag City in recent years), Toral has never been one to rest on his laurels repeating his past glories. In the early years of the 21st century, Toral laid the guitar aside, along with the focus on extended tones that had defined much of his music until that point. He began his ‘Space Program’, a thirteen-year investigation of the performance possibilities of an ever-expanding set of custom electronic instruments, played with a fluid phrasing and rhythmic flexibility inspired by jazz. Dedicated to honing his skills on these idiosyncratic instruments, Toral has performed with them extensively both solo and in many collaborations, including in his Space Quartet, where his mini-amplifier feedback integrates seamlessly into the frontline of a classic post-free jazz quartet rounded out with saxophone, double bass, and drums.   Since 2017, Toral’s work has been entering a new phase, often still centred around the arsenal of self-built instruments developed in the Space Program, but with a renewed interest in the long tones and almost static textures of his earlier work; he has also, after more than a decade, returned to the electric guitar. Spectral Evolution is undoubtedly Toral’s most sophisticated work to date, bringing together seemingly incompatible threads from his entire career into a powerful new synthesis, both wildly experimental and emotionally affecting.   The record begins with a brief ‘Intro’ that sets the stage for the unique sound world explored throughout the remainder of its duration: over sparkling clean guitar figures, Toral stages a duet between two streams of modulated feedback, seeming less electronic than like mutant takes on a muted trumpet and an ocarina. This segues seamlessly into the stunning ‘Changes’, where a dense array of Space instruments solo with wild abandon over a thick carpet of slowly moving chords, growing increasingly chaotic over the course of eight minutes yet always fastened to the lush harmonic foundation. On these and many other moments on the record, Toral manages the almost miraculous feat of having his self-built electronic instruments (which in the past he had seen as ‘inadequate to play any music based on the Western system’) play in tune. In an unexpected sidestep away from any of his previous work, the chord changes that underpin many of the episodes on Spectral Evolution are derived from classic jazz harmony, including takes on the archetypal Gershwin ‘Rhythm changes’ and Ellington-Strayhorn’s ‘Take the “A” Train’, albeit slowed to such an extent that each chord becomes a kind of environment in its own right.   Threading together twelve distinct episodes into a flowing whole, "Spectral Evolution" alternates moments of airy instrumental interplay with dense sonic mass, breaking up the pieces based on chord changes with ambient ‘Spaces’. At points reduced to almost a whisper, at other moments Toral’s electronics wail, squelch, and squeak like David Tudor’s live-electronic rainforest. Similarly, his use of the guitar encompasses an enormous dynamic and textural range, from chiming chords to expansive drones, from crystal clarity to fuzzy grit: on the beautiful ‘Your Goodbye’, his filtered, distorted soloing recalls Loren Connors in its emotive depth and wandering melodic sensibility.  The product of three years of experimentation and recording, and synthesizing the insights of more than thirty years of musical research, "Spectral Evolution" is the quintessential album of guitar music from Rafael Toral. 

released February 23, 2024

[warsofasoiaf]

What was the war department thinking in setting up camp Logan in heavy segregated and racist Texas and then sending the all black 24th infantry there? Was Wilson and his idiot advisors trying to cause problems?

Camp Logan and Ellington Field were set up because the City of Houston signed a $2 million dollar deal with the government to provide land for two training facilities, necessary after the declaration of war against Germany as the US Army was positively miniscule at the time period. Houston had promised no ill treatment to black soldiers "in the spirit of patriotism." The 24th were skeptical, they had negative experiences in Texas before, but they went because they were ordered to.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King