TT 326: Honk, Flute, and Repair
many interesting things + comics by George Booth and Roz Chast
Belatedly learned cartoonist George Booth passed away last year at age 96. Booth drew a fair number of musical scenarios, including one that conjures Anthony Braxton, who more or less invented the contrabass saxophone as an instrument:
Caption: “I do apologize, Rinehart. The cat has never bitten anyone previously.”
Must read! Sarah Deming has a hilarious and sad essay about a few public “Street Fights” in the estimable Threepenny Review.
The NYT hosts a seemingly no-holds-barred interview with famous literary agent Andrew Wylie by David Marchese (who amusingly footnotes the text a la David Foster Wallace).
In somewhat related news, John Le Carré's son is writing a new George Smiley book. [frowns] There’s simply too much recycled IP these days….Earlier this year I re-read and reviewed the first four Smiley books.
On Substack:
Evan Shinners, aka WTF Bach, is publishing major work about J.S. Bach. Evan is also a highly skilled practitioner, he’s definitely someone to have on your radar if you are interested in the master from Leipzig. The latest entry is on Bach’s Solo String Music.
I really like Harmony Holiday’s take on André 3000's New Blue Sun. More of this, please…
Darrell Grant, an excellent jazz pianist, writes on the closing of Portland’s jazz club The 1905.
Journalist Robert Doershuck is unveiling an impressive archive of interviews, including this reasonably frank discussion with Wynton Marsalis in 1999.
“Turkey in the Straw” is not actually about Thanksgiving, but it was the best I could do.
Roz Chast is active on Instagram! After learning about George Booth I looked her up. Chast will always be my number one. A recent post:
We’ll be reading against the backdrop of another agonizing presidential election. Wonder if, based on Harkaway’s description, the contemporary context will influence the reading. One of JLC’s strong points in his fiction, even the later stuff which for me is generally less effective
I’ll also second your love of Roz Chast! I read an interview with her years ago where she said when The New Yorker first started publishing her work it was so different from the other cartoonists that she figured they all thought William Shawn, the then editor, must owe her parents money!