Diane Arbus in Gene Smith’s Loft
Below is a photograph called “Diane Arbus in Gene Smith’s Loft” by Dave Heath circa 1960. Several years ago I interviewed Dave in Toronto and he told me Smith taped the conversations that night. Jazz Loft Project Research Associate and chief archivist Dan Partridge hasn’t heard that tape, yet. But he’s still got about 900 to 1000 compact discs remaining to be heard. This is one of the most interesting tape sessions of Smith’s that we’ve been told about but not found in the collection, yet.
The other exciting tapes we’ve heard about but not found, yet, are with Ornette Coleman playing piano. We’re told he’d let himself into the loft in the mid-1960s and play the Baldwin baby grand that Gene and Carole Thomas inherited on the 5th floor when Jimmy and Sandy Stevenson moved out. Carole said Gene recorded a lot of those solo piano sessions. I asked Ornette about it last year and he replied, “If she said it happened then it probably did. Let me know if you find those tapes.” Gene wrote a letter of support for Ornette’s successful late 1960’s Guggenheim Fellowship application (Gene won three Guggenheim awards in his career).
-Sam Stephenson
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Dave Sage Said,
May 5, 2010 @ 1:03 am
Diane Arbus was my original inspiration to make photographs and remains a personal hero/icon/talisman whatever.
I have been able to obtain a copy of the Project book from our local university library. It is a mighty mighty document. Must have been terribly difficult editing and winnowing it all down for the final published presentation.
I would LOVE to read or better still hear the conversation with Arbus. My gawd, like the Coleman tape and so many other things that you all are unearthing, these are incredible and significant finds IMO. Hope you have a chance to put out the Arbus stuff in some form without the estate stepping in. *sigh*
Nonetheless, how lucky for the archivist and the rest of you who have worked on this project.
D
Dave Sage Said,
May 5, 2010 @ 1:04 am
P.S. Any chance we might see a somewhat larger version of this image sometime or are you saving it for another volume of the Project? *smile*
D
admin Said,
May 5, 2010 @ 7:39 am
Dave, thanks for the note. You are the second person to ask if we could put up a larger version of that image. We’ll try, maybe in another blog entry or in a permanent spot in the IMAGES section of the site. More soon.
We’re tantalized by this conversation between Arbus and Smith that hopefully we’ll find one day. Despite a comment from one correspondent recently, who said about the sounds on our website, “Even the silence is interesting,” some of the material Dan has to endure will turn you into a fog of bewildered boredom. But just when you’re about to start sticking pencils in your eyes you hear something good. One time we had drummer Ron Free down here to listen for a week and after a couple of days of hearing jam sessions, mostly mediocre stuff he thought, it was about all he could stand. Then we skipped ahead a few tracks on the CD and we heard Ornette’s alto blasting mid-tune accompanied by Higgins and Ron’s eyes lit up and he said, “Hello! Hello! That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” As we listened a few more seconds we realized it was THE SHAPE OF JAZZ TO COME on Smith’s turntable, not Ornette in a loft jam session. We were disappointed.
groove68 Said,
May 5, 2010 @ 5:14 pm
Watch Shirley Clarke’s documentary about Ornette Coleman as video on demand stream
http://www.realeyz.tv/en/shirley-clarke-ornette-made-in-america_cont2029.html