Dressed in his usual uniform of a starched white shirt and black tie partially covered by a freshly laundered blue barber smock, Pops cracked his stiff neck. Two dirty fans swiftly whirled overhead, and the sweet scent of sizzling bacon drifted from Sara’s Luncheonette next door. Exhaling a whiff of smoke through thin lips, he sullenly glared out of the Shalimar’s dusty plate-glass window on its final day of business. Lighting his first Marlboro that chilly April morning, his usually steady fingers trembled. Pops from the barbershop knew the end of an era had arrived the moment he heard those dreadful diesels slithering down 7th Avenue. Presently, I'm trying to think of a good story so I can swap the title "Money Jungle." Last, but not least, I'd like to give a big shout out to my homie Duke Ellington, whose music, style and innovation has been a constant inspiration since I first heard "In a Sentimental Mood" when I was six. Recently I explained to a friend how, for me, barber shops were therapeutic to this day, the buzz of clippers have a way of lulling me to that perfect place. In addition to my own Harlem nostalgia, I've always loved hanging out in barber shops, listening to men philosophize about everything from politics to women to who is the best MC. This being the '60s, when men were into heavy duty marcelling, my mom has horror stories of how raw daddy's hands would be from conking hair all day. Owned by the late Luther "Red" Randolph, it was also where daddy worked for years. The last time I checked, about six months ago, the storefront was boarded up.
The real Shalimar barbershop, not to be confused with the fictional account below, used to be downstairs from daddy's apartment on 7th Avenue and 123rd Street. As a Harlemnite who still visits my old block as well as my mom's former beautician Jackie (I spent so much time in that shop, Jackie's like an aunt to me) and my late stepfather's apartment building, it was shocking to see much the neighborhood had changed. This story, about gentrification in Harlem and the plight of small business owners, came to me one night while walking to the A train from the Studio Museum. 2.Under fiction editor SekouWrites, "Such Sweet Thunder" was first published in 2005 in Uptown magazine. I SPEND LOTS OF TIME FOR THIS, PLEASE ENJOY! DOWNLOADBitshare: Code: http: //bitshare. Title:Such Sweet Thunder: Music of the Duke Ellington Year Of Release:2004 Label. Such Sweet Thunder: Music of the Duke Ellington Year Of Release:2004 Label. Bluebird of Delhi (Mynah) (take 9) - 3: 2.ĭuke Ellington & His Orchestra: Digital Duke. Tourist Point of View (take 4) - 5: 2.Īmad (take 7) - 4: 1. Blue Pepper (Far East of the Blues) - 3: 0. Tourist Point of View - 5: 1.īluebird of Delhi (Mynah) - 3: 1. Pretty Girl (aka The Star- Crossed Lovers) (first recording) - 8: 5.
Half the Fun (aka Lately) (alternate take) - 4: 1. Circle of Fourths (stereo LP master) - 1: 5. The Star- Crossed Lovers (stereo LP master) - 4: 1. Such Sweet Thunder:Music of the Duke Ellington.rar. Such Sweet Thunder: Music of the Duke Ellington Year Of.The Complete Columbia Studio Albums Collection 1951-1958.
Up and Down, Up and Down (I Will Lead Them Up and Down) - 3: 0. Lorraine Feather Such Sweet ThunderMusic. Such Sweet ThunderMusic of the Duke Ellington Such Sweet Thunder. Such Sweet Thunder: Music of the Duke Ellington Year Of.