Jazz According to G
Ted Panken (who I used to listen to on WKCR all the time) has a great new blog, which has already featured some gems–among them, this classic interview with Kenny G, in which Mr. G advances the curious claim that Charlie Parker was nicknamed "Bird" because his reed squeaked. The jazz Twitterverse jumped on this with a vengeance, and has since been abuzz with hundreds of other surprising #kennygjazzfacts. Arcane jazz-nerdery meets humorous lists? I'm there!
My contributions (so far) to the fact-fiesta:
They called Louis Armstrong "Pops" because he founded the Boston Pops, and ate Corn Pops, and had so many children.
They called the album "Kind of Blue" because Miles was suffering from hypothermia.
"Birdland" was actually named after the movie "The Birds" and Harold Land.
They call it the saxophone because the first one was actually made out of a phone.
"Take The A Train" was supposed to be either "Take The Train" or "Take A Train," not both!
Few people know that "Songbird" was actually a reharmonization of "Ascension."
Who knew that jazz would grow from its beginnings in David Lee Roth's "Just a Gigolo" to become a worldwide phenomenon?
No family has done more for jazz than the Jones brothers--Elvin, Thad, Hank, Tom, James Earl, and Barnaby.
Coltrane called his tune "Giant Steps" in honor of Wilt Chamberlain's feet.
Chick Webb was an inspiration to every chick with with webbed feet who dreamed of playing jazz.
Few people know that Herbie Hancock got his nickname because he Goes Bananas.
Jazz evolved in the late 1800s when rustic field hollers began to incorporate synth bass, DX-7s, and QuadraVerb.
WC Handy was such a big sports fan that he named his most famous composition after his favorite hockey team.
The word "jazz" was a common American slang term meaning "as exciting as basketball in Utah.”
I used to think Charlie Parker was great, until I found out he was just reading all those solos out of the Omnibook.
Jelly Roll Morton changed his name because "Croissant Morton" sounded too fancy.
Coltrane took such long solos because he had lockjaw, which is how he got the nickname Eddie "Lockjaw" Coltrane.
King Oliver's nickname came from his favorite movie, "Oliver!"
Joe Henderson wrote "Inner Urge" after waiting in an especially long line for the mens' room.
Everyone knows Kenny G invented jazz, but few remember Wynton Marsalis invented classical music.
More of my questionable attempts at internet humor can be found here.
UPDATE: Some of my favorites from other folks:
Is that the "Jazz Masters Cemetery" up ahead? Good–pull over. I gotta pee. (@AtmosTrio)
Tina Brooks is a huge influence on me, both as a saxophone player and as someone who constantly gets mistaken for a woman. (@keithflentge)
Trumpeter Booker Little was not only a librarian but a dwarf as well. His real name remains a mystery. (@peterhum)
And I'm grateful to WBGO for giving a shout out to this list! (I'd be even more grateful if they'd give my CD a spin.)
**No really, why have I had more luck getting attention on the web by being funny than by playing jazz? Is the universe trying to tell me something?