Music: From Batavia
Since scholarly Frenchman Hugues Panassié (Le Jazz Hot) went seeking the kingdom of swing in the U. S. (1938), other foreign pilgrims have followed him. Latest is a diminutive, 21-year-old Javanese named Harry Lim, editor in chief of the Batavia, Dutch East Indies magazine Swing (Officieel Orgaan van the Batavia Rhythm Club), circulation 800. Critic Lim, whose favorite band leader is Duke Ellington, visited Manhattan, listened reverently in hotspots, bought about 1,500 jazz records to take home with him. Critic Lim did not like jitterbugs. They seemed like irreverent, undignified drunkards. "If," said he, "we in Batavia were ever so lucky as to hear a concert by Duke Ellington or Tommy Dorsey, we would study it, sit and revel in the sound of it, but we would not shake our fingers at it nor cut the carpet with our shoes. . . ."
Most Popular »
- Five Things the U.S. Can Learn from China
- World Leaders Put Off a Climate Change Treaty
- China Investigates Deaths After Swine Flu Shot
- How a Bank Robber Became an Antihero in France
- Good and Bad News for Boxing: Only One Pacquiao
- The Prisoner Review: A Pretentious Reimagining
- Box Office Weekend: 2012 Masters Disaster
- The Meaning and Mythos of Manny Pacquiao
- YouTube Effect: Making Money From Viral Videos
- Does Mexico City Need a Red-Light District?
- Five Things the U.S. Can Learn from China
- China Investigates Deaths After Swine Flu Shot
- Good and Bad News for Boxing: Only One Pacquiao
- Did a Time-Traveling Bird Sabotage the Collider?
- Happiness Paradox: Why Are Americans So Cheery?
- In Fight Against AIDS, Kenya Confronts Gay Taboo
- Beijing: 10 Things to Do in 24 Hours
- How a Bank Robber Became an Antihero in France
- Time Essay: The Death Penalty: Cruel and Unusual?
- Gay Weddings in Washington by Winter?







RSS