"Straight Life" — slang, The truth. each episode will begin with a little of Art's narrative from the original tapes, some bits of music, and one complete track of music, Art's original, "Sometime", with George Cables, Tony Dumas, Billy Higgins, Art on clarinet.
lyrics
STRAIGHT LIFE was published in 1979. It got rave reviews in the New Yorker, the Village Voice, Time Magazine. It has become a classic. But It's unlikely any publisher today would want it. It is grossly politically incorrect. It was an honest book in which Art spoke the language of his class, his race, his gender, his time. So, if anyone is triggered by drugs, violence, dirty words, misogyny, racism, rape, and a generally rotten attitude, AVOID THIS BOOK.
BECAUSE the publisher won't spring for an audio edition of Straight Life, and BECAUSE I can't afford to hire a studio or an actor, I'm sitting here, in front of my computer with a nice little mic and reading it to you myself. All of it. A little at a time.
I'm going to turn this into a podcast eventually. When I've recorded enough chapters.
I do have the original tapes on which I recorded Art's voice telling me his story. And I would LOVE to give you the story in his voice which I do prefer to mine. But
1. many of the tapes are noisy and mumbly and inaudible.
2. Much of the material in the book is missing from the tapes. A lot of the narrative I wrote was gleaned from unrecorded conversations.
3. The material that was recorded would need massive editing. I've already done that once. It took seven years. I can't do it again. BUT...
what I can do is offer little bonus tracks like the one I've added.: Art talking about the book and his life. Unedited and REAL.
credits
from Straight Life Book Audiocast (episodes so far),
released January 13, 2021
Straight Life: Art with Milcho Leviev, Tony Dumas, Carl Burnett; Duo Blues, with Ron Carter, The Trip, Milcho Leviev, Bob Magnusson, Carl Burnett; Sometime, George Cables, Tony Dumas, Billy Higgins
Born in 1925 in Gardena, CA, and raised in San Pedro, CA. Incredible life can't be summarized here! Read all about it in STRAIGHT LIFE at Amazon. Read what it was like being married to him in ART: Why I Stuck with a Junkie Jazzman. Amazon ditto.
The Arkadia Jazz All-Stars deliver a low-lit, elegant take on Duke Ellington classics, each note delivered with tenderness and grace. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 19, 2022
A robust album of rich ballads, afro-psych, and noir-cumbia, pulling from house music, the Blues, Latinx punk and salsa. Bandcamp New & Notable May 15, 2018