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Quand Mezzrow Enregistre Du Meme Auteur QUAND MEZZROW ENREGISTRE DU MEME AUTEUR Le Jazz Hot, éditions Corrêa, 1934 (épuisé). 144 Hot Jazz Records, éditions R.C.A., Camden, New Jersey, 1939 (épuisé). The Real Jazz, Smith and Durrell, New York, 1942. La Musique de Jazz et le Swing, éditions Corrêa, Paris, 1943. Les Rois du Jazz, éditions Ch. Grasset, Genève, 1944 (épuisé). Le Rugby, éditions Les Presses Rapides, Paris, 1946. Douze années de Jazz (1927-1938), éditions Corrêa, Paris, 1946. La Véritable Musique de Jazz, éditions Robert Laf- font, 1946 (épuisé). (Une édition revue et augmen- tée de cet ouvrage est en réimpression.) Cinq mois à New York (octobre 1938-février 1939), éditions Corrêa, 1947. Louis Armstrong, éditions du Belvédère, Paris, 1947. Discographie critique des meilleurs Disques de Jazz, éditions Corrêa, 1951 (épuisé). Jazz Panorama, éditions des Deux-Rives, Paris, 1950. A PARAITRE Réflexions anachroniques, éditions Corrêa. HUGUES PANASSIÉ QUAND MEZZROW ENREGISTRE Histoire des disques de Milton Mezzrow et Tommy Ladnier Préface de Milton Mezzrow ROBERT LAFFONT 30, Rue de l'Université PARIS Copyright 1952 by Robert haffont, Paris. L'ÉDITION ORIGINALE DE CET OUVRAGE A ÉTÉ PUBLIÉE PAR CHARLES GRASSET A GENÈVE SOUS LE TITRE : HISTOIRE DES DISQUES SWING. IMPRIMÉ EN FRANCE Au Révérend Père LOUIS MARIE DE SAINT-JOSEPH. Moi, nu-tête dans l'angle, je scrute le nord; le corps vers où l'aiguille tourne sans savoir pourquoi. Pierre REVERDY (La Peau de l'Homme, p. 185.) PRÉFACE Me demander d'écrire une préface à çe livre est certes un honneur et un plaisir pour moi car je ne saurais imaginer tâche meilleure et qui m'enchante plus, en ce moment. Quand je songe à ces quelques phrases que je mis écrire, ma mémoire s'emballe et me prend de vitesse; rétrospectivement, je vois tant de choses que je voudrais dire, sur Hugues et son œuvre, qu'il m'apparaît que jamais ce bref espace dont je dispose ne me permettra de lui rendre pleinement justice et de chanlter les louanges qu'il mérite. Je voudrais qu'on se pénètre de cette idée que l'homme dont je vais parler ici, mon ambition serait qu'il passe à la postérité comme le plus grand de tous ceux qui ont patronné et commenté cette nouvelle, forme d'art le jazz. Hugues est l'homme le plus sin- cère, le plus inlassable que j'aie rencontré dans toute une vie de voyages. Mon sentiment est que quiconque a jamais approché de son œuvre, devrait lui tirer son chapeau et pous- ser un fameux Bravo. Des années durant, il a exploré de fond en comble ce phénomène naturel nouveau qu'est le Jazz. Il a scruté l'esprit de ceux qui font le Jazz. Les ignorants ne lui ont pas ménagé les humiliations, mais rien ne l'a arrêté; il continue à œuvrer et se démener en créant autour de lui un climat scolastique d'une telle sincérité que je rends grâces à l'éternité d'avoir placé parmi nous cette forte personnalité. Le voir à l'œuvre, chez lui, au milieu de mille et mille disques, le regarder aller droit à une étagère et y choisir aussitôt l'enregis- trement que l'on cherche, c'est vraiment un privilège que l'on voudrait moins rare. Non seulement il choisit le disque et le fait tour- ner pour vous; l'étonnant, c'est l'analyse qu'il en donne. L'exactitude avec laquelle il vous cite les noms de ceux qui jouent, vous dit qui exécute tel solo, et le goût extraordinaire qu'il apporte à définir ses préférences ou ses aversions. Nous avons les mêmes goûts l'un et l'autre, et ce sont ceux — plaisirs et déplaisirs — qui maintiennent continuellement ouvert le débat entre les plus grands musiciens de Jazz et ce peuple dont le Jazz conte l'histoire et nous l'a révélée. Comme vous le savez tous, j'imagine, le jazz, c'est l'histoire de l'oppression des noirs et c'est aussi la seule forme d'art véritable dont l'Amérique puisse revendiquer l'authen- ticité. Il comporte un nouvel idiome et c'est cet idiome que nous nous acharnons tous à garder vivant. Hugues Panassié, à cet égard, c'est l'ange gardien. Il est honnête et la franchise ne lui fait pas peur. C'est un « monsieur » et un érudit ; je suis sûr que, lisant ce livre, on aura l'im- pression d'écouter un maître qui sait de quoi il parle. Un homme qui se moque bien d'écrire pour faire de l'argent ou satisfaire son petit moi, comme tant d'autres que je connais; mais qui a une conscience et qui connaît à fond son sujet. Naturellement, je ne l'ignore pas... la perfection n'existe pas en ce monde, et n'importe qui peut se tromper dans la vie (c'est pour ça qu'on a inventé la gomme à crayon, non?), mais il n'y a que les grands qui avouent leurs erreurs; et Panassié est fait de ce bois-là. Sans notre rencontre à Paris, en 1929, vous n'auriez pas connu les joies que vous a appor- tées le Jazz; et c'est pourquoi vous devriez sentir cet homme comme moi, qui suis dis- ciple de Panassié et surtout membre du Hot- Club de France. Lisez ce livre et, j'en suis Certain, vous verrez, à travers lé mouvement perpétuel et l'endutance tenace de Panassié, naître la lu- mière qui vous révélera le Royaume du Jazz. Et par le truchement de la musique, vous connaîtrez grâce à lui des amitiés et des bon- heurs que vous n'imaginez pas. Il y a quelqu'un d'autre qui ne ménage pas ses veilles pour vous aider à mieux compren- dre et goûter les plaisirs de notre musique — quelqu'un dont on ne parle guère; une femme qui a été la collaboratrice étonnante et fidèle de Hugues. Je veux dire : Madeleine Gautier. A elle aussi, je tire mon chapeau; en dehors de ma propre femme, c'est la créature de ce sexe la plus admirable que J'aie rencontrée dans tout ce vaste monde; et croyez-moi, elle en met un sacré coup. Evidemment, Je sais d'avance, exactement, ce que diront nos petits copains, les éternels envieux et blasés, en lisant cette préface : « Bon, vu ; voilà Mezzrow et Panassié qui remettent ça à coup d'eticensoir, ». A quoi je me contenterai de répondre : Est-ce que vous n'aimeriez pas avoir un ami aussi proche de vous que nous le som- mes l'un de l'autre, pour puiser aux mêmes sources de joie? N'oubliez pas, mes chers petits amis, que c'est la musique — le Jazz et uniquement le Jazz — qui a créé entre nous cette intimité! alors, lisez, tournez ces pages, instruisez-vous, écoutez le message du Jazz, transmis cette fois par Panassié. Vous verrez comment se font les disques, vous apprendrez à connaître ceux qui les font. Cela vous aidera à mieux comprendre l'aspect humain de notre musique, et aussi ce qui est cause qu'elle tourne rond. J'arrête. Simplement, je dis encore : « Col- lez à la musique, c'est le bon chemin, vous ne vous tromperez pas. » Sincèrement, MILTON « MEZZ » MEZZROW. CHAPITRE 1 PREMIERE SEANCE REVOLUTION ARY BLUES ET COMIN' ON WITH THE COME ON Au moment de mettre, pour la première A fois, le pied sur le sol américain, en octobre 1938, je débordais de joie à l'idée de voir, d'entendre en chair et en os tant de musiciens que, grâce au disque, je connais- sais et aimais passionnément depuis des années. Mais je n'étais pas moins heureux en songeant que j'allais également pouvoir enre- gistrer en toute liberté quelques-uns de mes musiciens favoris dont la plupart étaient ordinairement tenus à l'écart des studios d'enregistrement. Dès que j'eus acquis la certitude, deux mois environ avant de quitter la France, qu'on me donnerait la faculté de faire enregistrer quel- ques disques pour la marque « Swing » (1) pendant mon séjour à New-York, je me mis à faire des projets, à penser aux musiciens que je devrais réunir pour obtenir les meil- leurs enregistrements. Ce que je désirais avant tout, c'était de faire des disques de style « New-Orleans », d'un genre analogue à ceux de la grande époque du jazz, puisque ce style représentait, pour moi, le jazz dans sa plus grande pureté. Je souffrais depuis longtemps de voir qu'on n'enregistrait plus jamais de pareils disques. Je savais néanmoins que ce projet serait difficile à réaliser, étant donné qu'il restait peu de grands musiciens capables de jouer dans ce style et que ce peu était éparpillé aux quatre coins des Etats-Unis au lieu de se trouver dans la même ville. Je comptais d'une façon à peu près certaine sur Milton Mezzrow et Bechet comme clarinettistes (2), Zutty comme drummer, Jess Stacy comme pianiste et je pensais trouver aisément à New-York un contrebassiste et un guitariste faisant l'affaire (je me trompais, du reste, (1) Quoiqu'originellement publiés sous l'étiquette « Swing », ces disques sont maintenant édités sous l'étiquette « La Voix de son Maître ». Voir la liste en appendice. (2) Il ne pouvait être question de Jimmie Noone et Johnny Dodds, ces deux musiciens étant à Chicago. N 1938 et 1939, Hugues Panassié fit un séjour à New-York, pour enregistrer avec Mezzrow et avec d'autres célèbres musiciens de jazz comme Ladnier, Bechet, Newton, etc, quelques disques de style New- Orléans. Il a raconté son séjour dans le livre qui est publié aujourd'hui, mais c'est bien plus qu'un journal de voyage que Panassié nous donne : c'est en des pages à la fois précises, brillantes, et brûlantes d'un inaltérable enthousiasme, une évocation du milieu new-yorkais du jazz.
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