BLUES FOR BUSINESS BUT BEETHOVEN FOR PLEASURE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 9, Issue 218, 27 August 1943, Page 5

BLUES FOR BUSINESS BUT BEETHOVEN FOR PLEASURE

Artie Shaw On Duty And Off

HE biggest event so far in the musical memory of many ‘ swing fans in New Zealand has been the visit of one of America’s foremost dance-band leaders, Artie Shaw. Petty-Officer Shaw is leading a United States Navy Band which has been touring the Southwest Pacific, entertaining servicemen. Nearly 2,400 people crowded into a Wellington theatre the other day when a performance was given for the benefit of U.S. Marines and other personnel; and Petty-Officer Shaw would be mobbed by autograph-hunters if he gave them the chance. But he has made it known that he is of a retiring disposition, and when The Listener sought an interview, we learned that he had neither the inclination nor the permission. Of the few things we have found out about him while he has been here, the most interesting is that when he goes off duty this arch-clarinettist, second only to Benny Goodman among danceband clarinettists, asks either for quiet or for Beethoven. His job is a noisy one

-the music that excites and stimulates people who can come and go from it as they please exhausts the man who directs its production. Not only that, but a genuine liking for the lasting joys of serious music makes Artie Shaw retire to Beethoven’s pianoforte sonatas-preferably as recorded by Artur Schnabel-when he wants to forget "St. Louis Blues" or "Begin the Beguine" (two of the most popular items played here). Music in a Vault He would have been an interesting subject for interview. We could have asked him, for instance, what it felt like to put away a recording made under his baton for the edification of the civilisation that is expected to exist in 6000 years’ time. For in 1939, a collection of representative samples of 20th century music was sealed up in a "century-proof" vault in the Crypt of Civilisation at Oglethorpe University, Georgia. Symphony, swing and "straight" popular tunes will be bedféllows for all that time, since the records chosen included a Haydn Symphony (conducted by Arturo Toscanini) some Richard Himber dance records, and four by Artie Shaw. "Begin the Beguine," "Nightmare," "Deep Purple" and "Jungle Drums." However, failing an interview, we have secured a few details of Shaw’s career. He was born in New York 29 years ago, and haunted vaudeville shows in his childhood. He heard a saxophonist take a solo in the Palace Theatre, and started saving to buy himself an instrument. With it came five free lessons

-the. only instruction he ever had. In his teens, he won an essay contest which gave him a free trip to Hollywood, where he joined Irving Aaronson’s orchestra, and finally returned to New York. In 1936, at a big swing concert he created a sensation with a small dance group featuring strings, and was booked for engagements where he might have "made the big time," but his hopes were premature. The band was reorganised, and clicked. With recordings of "Begin the Beguine" and "Indian Love Call," the "big time" was made. Once, after playing for the inmates of San Quentin prison, Artie Shaw said it was the best audience he had ever had. Wags «promptly christened the prison "Swing Swing." A Leader with Convictions Artie Shaw cultivates no "individual style" such as other bands have actually patented. He believes that each number makes it own demands on the manner of arrangement. One thing that distinguishes his own band is its use of strings. His feeling about this was so strong that he disbanded his own organisation at the peak of its popularity and returned with a 30-piece orchestra which includes (besides the regular saxophones, brass, and "traps"), eight violis, four violas, and three ’cellos. With such a group he holds put for polished work, and refuses to record with less than a week’s rehearsal. Shaw was married to, but divorced the film star Lana Turner, and has since married a daughter of the composer Jerome Kern. He is father of a monthold baby which he hasn’t yet seen. +*

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ARTIE SHAW His music is buried before him