Song for My Fathers
A New Orleans Story in Black and White
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Song for My Fathers is the story of a young white boy driven by a
consuming passion to learn the music and ways of a group of aging
black jazzmen in the twilight years of the segregation era.
Contemporaries of Louis Armstrong, most of them had played in local
obscurity until Preservation Hall launched a nationwide revival of
interest in traditional jazz. They called themselves “the mens.” And
they welcomed the young apprentice into their ranks.
The boy was introduced into this remarkable fellowship by his
father, an eccentric Southern liberal and failed novelist whose powerful
articles on race had made him one of the most effective polemicists
of the early Civil Rights movement. Nurtured on his father’s belief in
racial equality, the aspiring clarinetist embraced the old musicians
with a boundless love and admiration. The narrative unfolds against
the vivid backdrop of New Orleans in the 1950s and ‘60s. But that
magical place is more than decor; it is perhaps the central player, for
this story could not have taken place in any other city in the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this beguiling coming-of-age memoir, a former Time Paris bureau chief takes a heartfelt look at his unusual Crescent City childhood during the 1950s and '60s. At 13, the author, son of a liberal white journalist-turned-novelist and a Mississippi debutante, begins clarinet lessons, learning to play traditional New Orleans jazz from veteran black musicians who were the heart of Preservation Hall in the famous French Quarter and the soul of the local black community. Sancton loves the music, but at the same time lives the life of a middle-class white teen, expected to share the prejudices and enthusiasms of his peers. Caught between disparate social worlds and racial realities, he, "ike Clark Kent..., had a double identity." This enduring portrait of a particular side of New Orleans which Sancton (Death of a Princess) notes "had mostly faded into history long before Katrina struck" vividly captures the author's complicated relationships with his father, his hometown and the wonderful characters drawn to it. Sketches pay homage to clarinetist George Lewis, banjoist Creole George Guesnon and others in prose that can emotionally mimic the sound of a horn and summon the taste of red beans and rice. Photos. Author tour. Look for an upcoming Q&A with Tom Sancton. Ed.
