4 Comments
Dec 3, 2022Liked by Robert C. Gilbert

I wonder about the truth of this, but it's said that Fats Waller's last words were something like, "Hawkins really blowin' out there tonight," which led someone to assert that Waller was comparing the intensity of the storm outside his train that evening to a Coleman Hawkins solo.

Expand full comment

I've never heard of The Hawke, but I have experienced Chicago in the heat of summer and I've felt the cold wind coming off the lake. I was visiting NY in the 90's when they were struggling to break the ice on the Hudson, and all 3 airports were closed in a winter blizzard. I was hoping it would last a bit longer, so I could stay. I live in New Zealand and other than clothes for skiing, which you wouldn't wear to a concert in Manhattan, I don't own winter clothes. I stood in a line at Macys to buy the last beanie on the shelf, which was 2 sizes to big for me, but warm. I love those blues era classics you mentioned, that so many of that era lent their interpretations to. And it aint nobodies business if I do.

Expand full comment
author

Have never been to Chicago, but have experienced the wind off the Hudson more than once in sub-zerro temperatures. To call it bracing is putting it mildly.

Expand full comment

Chicago in the winter is brutal. Likening the wind to razor blades is a pretty apt comparison.

Expand full comment