Frank Diaz Escalet sing me the blues
Frank Diaz Escalet sing me the blues
Meredith Ward Fine Art 44 east 74th street suite g new york ny 10021 tel 212 744 7306 info @ meredithwardfineart.com
Baile de los Jivaros, 1992 Acrylic on board, 48 x 48 inches In Baile de los Jivaros or Dance of the Jibaros, Escalet depicts a country dance. While historically Jibaros were farmers who worked Puerto Rico’s mountainous interior, the term jibaro is now associated with the island’s cultural heritage and traditional values. On the left-hand side of the painting, Escalet has included musicians playing the trumpet, güiro, and accordion, instruments associated with plena, a style of Puerto Rican folk music.
4
Introduction Every night, after a full day of work in his Bowery studio, Frank Diaz Escalet (1930-2012) would visit local jazz clubs to listen to music. Escalet loved jazz, and in New York in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, he was able to hear some of the greatest artists of the day—Thelonious Monk, Eric Dolphy, and Lester Young, among others. These artists became Escalet’s subjects, as he reimagined the pulse and passion of these performances in his innovative paintings and inlaid cut leather works. Escalet’s love of music and dance also extended to his native Puerto Rico. In paintings like Baile de los Jivaros, he celebrated traditional folk culture, capturing the rhythm of swaying bodies and the beat of dancing feet on a crowded dance floor. We are delighted to present Frank Diaz Escalet: Sing Me the Blues, the second exhibition of the artist’s work at the gallery, which focuses on his images of music, dance, and entertainment. In these exuberant works, Escalet shares the joy of experiences that were integral to his life and close to his heart.
u Many thanks to Sheldon Geringer and Peter Lameray for their enthusiastic ongoing support of Escalet’s work as we reintroduce him to the public. I am extremely grateful to Gallery Director, Debra Wieder, who brought new insight to this project, and to Meghan Schwab, who oversaw all aspects of the exhibition and catalogue.
Meredith Ward
5
Collision. Monk & Dolphy, What if!, 1996 Acrylic on board, 48 x 36 inches 6
Bird, 1975 Cut leather on masonite, 21 3/4 x 12 inches This abstracted bird, which echoes the shape of a saxophone, may be a reference to legendary bebop saxophonist Charlie Parker, whose nickname was “Yardbird” or “Bird.” left Jazz greats Eric Dolphy and Thelonious Monk never recorded together. Escalet’s painting imagines the two musicians playing side-by-side, Monk at the piano wearing one of his distinctive hats with Dolphy on the clarinet sporting his characteristic goatee. Although they were contemporaries, Dolphy was ten years younger than Monk and played with West-coast based musicians like Charles Mingus. Monk was a creator of bebop and is widely recognized as one of the greatest jazz pianists. Despite his early death, multi-instrumentalist Dolphy was also highly influential in
the history of jazz, and helped to establish both the bass clarinet and flute in the genre. 7
Jazz Road, c. 1974-75 Cut leather on masonite, 30 x 24 inches 8
Royal Roost 1940’s, 1989 Acrylic on board, 30 x 48 inches The Royal Roost opened in the Theatre District in 1948 and quickly became the first bebop club in the city. The club’s layout included a novel bleacher section so that underage fans and those who didn’t want to pay a drink minimum could listen to jazz legends such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and the Miles Davis Nonet. Escalet’s love of jazz may have drawn him to the Royal Roost before it closed in the early 1950s. The bird’s eye viewpoint in this painting, which is typical of Escalet’s compositions, may also be inspired by a memory of sitting in the bleacher section of the Royal Roost. 9
Taxi Dancers 1940’s, 1985 Acrylic on board, 18 x 24 inches Taxi dancing was a popular nightlife entertainment in the early and mid-20th century. Taxi dancers were young women who were hired per dance, and made a commission on each dance with male patrons who visited dance halls for a night of rejection-free socializing. A taxi dancer’s earning potential was more than twice what it would be working in a factory or store. Not allowed to mingle freely with the patrons, the dancers would often cultivate a “look” to attract the attention of a partner from the side of the dance floor, as Escalet shows them here. 10
Tango No. 12, 1977 Cut leather on masonite, 24 x 18 inches 11
Musical Trio, 1985 Acrylic on board, 18 x 24 inches 12
The King’s Drummers, 1988 Acrylic on board, 24 x 18 inches These drummers are using curved beaters most likely to play West African talking drums, whose pitch can mimic the tone and tenor of human speech. West African musical traditions were brought to Puerto Rico in the 17th century by enslaved populations who developed bomba music, the island’s oldest music genre. 13
Jazz Eye, 1977 Cut leather on masonite, 36 x 27 inches 14
published in conjunction with the exhibition
Frank Diaz Escalet sing me the blues april 29 – june 24, 2022 Meredith Ward Fine Art 44 east 74th street suite g new york new york 10021 tel 212 744 7306 fax 212 744 7308 info @ meredithwardfineart.com www. meredithwardfineart.com
design Katie Michel, New York photography Michael Tramis, New York
cover Bessie! Sing Me the Blues, 1985, acrylic on board, 24 x 18 inches
The “Empress of the Blues,” Bessie Smith was a Jazz Age singer whose extraordinary talent made her the highest paid black entertainer of the era. Smith’s emotionally rich and resonant voice spoke to the core of human experience. Her ability to make each song her own, through technical mastery and personal storytelling, had a profound impact on both her jazz contemporaries and later generations of artists. frontispiece Prez ‘n’ Blue, 1980, cut leather on masonite, 30 x 24 inches
“Prez” was the nickname for jazz tenor saxophonist, Lester Willis Young. Young’s close friend and collaborator Billie Holiday gave him the nickname and, in return, Young called Holiday “Lady Day.” A member of the Count Basie Orchestra and a solo artist in his own right, Young was highly influential on his instrument, directly influencing Charlie Parker and paving the way for the bebop movement. publication copyright © 2022 meredith ward fine art
Meredith Ward Fine Art 44 east 74th street suite g new york new york 10021