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Bob Myers

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@ Weeksville Heritage Center

Bob Myers

Description

Bob Myers describes his experience with jazz music. Born in Queens, his encounter with jazz music began in early childhood when his grandmother, a piano teacher, would play the music of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. He attributes his initial enthusiasm to the album covers of popular performers at the time, such as Creed Taylor, Blue Note, Miles Davis. As a college student at Syracuse University, he would acquire the albums for their artistic covers without much regard for the actual records, but he remembers some of the popular artists he listed to at the time were Art Blakey, GiGi Gryce, Freddie Hubbard, and Cedar Walton. Myers lived in different areas of Brooklyn, but identifies Crown Heights as the most memorable neighborhood. In particular, Crown Heights had important jazz sites with many clubs and performers, all along Nostrand Avenue toward Fulton. Myers notes that the Blue Coronet was a Mecca for musicians; while a small luncheonette on Nostrand and Fulton called Bixfords was a prime location for informal gatherings. Reggie Workman created The Muse, which served as an important site for education in jazz music. Myers describes The Muse’s importance and gives details regarding the site’s creation. Myers discusses the changes in the Crown Height’s neighborhood after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He remembers that in 1968, the area was in transition as clubs began to close down; soldiers returned from Vietnam; and drug use in the community increased. He also notes that there was a transition to...
Type:
Oral History
Contributors:
Willard JenkinsWeeksville Heritage Center
Created Date:
April 7, 2018
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From Collection

Lost Jazz Shrines

Record Contributed By

Weeksville Heritage Center