3 minute read
Book Review
from May-June 2020
continued from page 15 Now, more than ever, relationships are key to everyone’s survival. Industry professionals like Art Good, who has weathered the impact of streaming and the digital age on musical careers, has identified an old-school trend that supports the possibility of recovery. “Something has happened in the last three or four years,” Good revealed. “There’s an evolution of things. Festival promoters have to make it, and nobody wants a jazz festival to fail. Even if you hate a promoter, you want them to succeed because we are all in this together.” And, right now, the only thing to hate is COVID-19, and its ravages on human life. Routing an artist on the smooth jazz circuit requires timing and mapping skills
By Travis Atria Chicago Review Press 2020 • 304 pages • $27.99
Reviewed by Darcy Peters
Arthur Briggs is not a well-known name in the history of jazz. But Travis Atria has done scrupulous research to write about the life and times of one of the most talented trumpet players in the world of jazz, who was known as the Louis Armstrong of Paris. Born in Grenada, Briggs traveled to America as a teenager, and immediately began working on his music. The young horn player was disappointed with the segregation problems he found there. So, when he was invited to perform in England, where American jazz was becoming popular, that’s where he went. Briggs performed with various groups there and even played for the King of England. For several years, he performed all over England, and then returned to America, where he encountered the high energy of the music scene in Harlem. However, while touring in the South, Briggs experienced racism like he had never known. The disgusted musician returned to Europe, where he toured extensively. During the wild times of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and their friend Ernest Hemingway, Briggs settled in Paris. His group played for Josephine Baker, who became a stupendous star first in France’s famous capital, and then throughout Europe. Music was the most important thing to Briggs. His groups performed in palaces and dives, but Briggs always played at his best and was well-respected for doing so. Over the years, he brought together many groups and became known for adjusting the types of music played based on the audience. He was known for treating his musicians fairly and bucking up against the promoters who often ripped them off. Upon returning from his last trip to America, times had changed in Paris. Hitler was on the move, and the city no longer supported the nightlife it once had. Paris residents still hoped not to be drawn into the war, but once the Maginot Line was broken, Paris was lost. The Germans invaded, going through group after group of people to remove. Briggs hid out in his apartment with his wife, and only went out to walk his beloved dog. It was on one of these walks when he was arrested and sent to a camp. Soon after arrival, he was transferred to another camp, St. Denis, where he remained for almost four years because the German commander was interested in music. Briggs worked with other imprisoned musicians, and trained for a performance that was very well received. He was required to blow his horn to wake up the camp every morning, and for lights out each night. Over time, his musical abilities made life more bearable in the camp. The prisoners had little knowledge of what was going on in the outside world, but as Germany experienced problems with the Allies and the Russians, the changes in staff made them suspect something new was happening. Once the Allied bombs started falling, they began to slowly make their way out. Briggs was welcomed back to Paris by all the remaining musicians and, quickly attempted to work again. However, jazz had changed with newcomers like Glenn Miller and swing becoming more popular than jazz. Briggs worked to learn the new music, but even as he did, Miles Davis and others were creating new jazz. Briggs fell behind in new styles. He ended up teaching, and never came back to the United States. For all his tremendous amount of work and talent, Briggs is, unfortunately, not a famous name in American jazz history.
