bean stalkin' on president's day...
"As far as I'm concerned, I think Coleman Hawkins was the President first, right? As far as myself, I think I'm the second one." Lester Young, 1959
it seems that changes are made for two basic reasons... commerce and convenience. president's day, which was initially a celebration of george washington's birthday ON his birthday, and abraham lincoln's birthday ON his birthday, has now become a three day weekend and a lot of "president's day" sales at department stores. since the idea of celebrating the birth of some of the most important humans in american history with barbeques and new bedsheets seems somewhat misguided, i propose an alternative...
here at the archives we are celebrating president's day with real meaning, starting with a nod to the first president of the saxaphone... coleman hawkins. hopefully the inclusion of some deep listening (and finger snapping and toe tapping) will give president's day back some of the lustre it has lost over the years...
Labels: 78's, holidays, jazz, listen, presidents
