Jazz

It seems Harvard men just won't take no for an answers. Letters keep pouring in by the thimbleful from A students with time on their hands asking us where one goes in Boston for scintillating evenings of jazz in the flesh. A few weeks ago this column brought out its mudiest colors in an attempt to present an accurate portrait of the gloomy and tragic local hot music situation. Unfortunately our palette doesn't contain paints black enough to do real justice to the situation.

Of the vast pre-war array of hit music emporiums in this puritanical city, only the Savoy, on a moderate re-bop kick, and occasionally the Rio, featuring at present Andy Kirk and his atomic guitarist, Floyd Smith, are rocking to any other beat than three quarter time. Gone are the days when the respective hearts of the Boston Jazz Society, the Copley Terrace, the Ken, Maxie's, and the Tic-Toc were young and gay. O tempore, O mores! Some of us can be found of a gloomy week day eve crying in our beer at the Show Time where at least they sing a fairly complete, uninhibited version of "Hey-bob-o-re-bop."

A more spirited group of local jam session devotees are raking valiant efforts to entertain themselves. WHCN puts on several hot record shows a week including a special Battle of Jazz between the two and four beat advocates. Whether or not the program has created any serious dissensions in the student body as a whole, is not as yet known but there is a definite possibility that the Network building may split down the middle over the question. No one should betake himself to that vicinity on Friday nights without at least a steel helmet.

Two live groups, some of the members of whom are refugees from the BVDeed Football Band have been serenading themselves and others for several weeks from a variety of locations. The two beat section, The Harvard Banana Orchestra (the band with appeal) featuring "Hot Lips" Loring, "Slush Pump" Pines, and "Spanker" Spencer holds forth on Wednesday evenings. The Gillespieites under "Rebop" Whitehouse give out on Thursdays. Holden Chapel, a building which has seen nearly everything during its two hundred and two years of existence is destined for at least one new sight when these two groups introduce it to le jazz hot this week. Perhaps the freshmen living in the vicinity could arrange to go to a movie or something on those evenings.

The outlook isn't brilliant for those who have neither instruments nor radios. There's nothing for them except parlor games like the one where a group of enthusiasts gather together and see who can listen to the "Jazz At The Philharmonic" Album Number Three the longest without screaming. Oh yes, if three dollars are available any given Saturday, you can always hear the Football Band's trumphet section give out with its "fight" cheer.