"Monday
night...Eddie Condon and his jazz mob was in town. Eddie had intended for the jazz concert to be
held in Constitution Hall, but the D.A.R. had different ideas on the subject
'because of the nature of the audience which would be attracted' (Where does
that put me?) This is the same DAR which
barred Marian Anderson, one of the best contraltos in the country, from the
hall on the grounds that she is a Negro--nothing else. Biggest star of the Condon show was Sidney
Betchet, Negro soprano saxophonist. So
Condon among his other cracks at the DAR announced 'Sidney and I are going to
throw a little party down at Constitution Hall after the show'. It was interesting to note that the Willard
Hotel ballroom where the show was finally held was decorated with a huge
American flag. 'The music we play is as
American as popcorn' said Condon in noting the DAR slur at it and the color of
its performers. (It might be best if Aunt Estella doesn't read this one.) Star performers were Joe Sullivan, pianist,
on 'Room with a View', Bechet on 'Summertime', Joe Dixon, youthful
clarinettist, on 'The Man I Love', and Davey Tough with his sensational
drumming."
--Letter
from my father, Washington, D.C., to his family, Bloomington, Kans., Sunday,
March 26, 1946.
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