Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com
Last week I posted on German pianist Jutta Hipp, who recorded in the 1950s before disappearing from the jazz scene. I also mentioned that Katja von Schuttenbach—a jazz historian and journalist [pictured above]—had researched and written about Hipp. I sent Katja a handful of questions and she kindly responded. Here’s our e-conversation:
JazzWax: Jutta Hipp seems like a tragic figure—in part a victim of her own issues. Do we know what she went through as a teen living under Nazi rule?
Katja von Schuttenbach: Jutta was 8 years old when Hitler became chancellor (1933); 14 when Germany invaded Poland (1939); and 21 when she became a refugee (1946). As a Lutheran/Protestant in Germany, she did not suffer from religious persecution. However, along with millions of other German civilians, she went through massive bombing raids on her hometown of Leipzig. After the war she became a displaced person and suffered from malnutrition and lacked most basic necessities. [Photo above of Jutta Hipp provided by Han Schulte in the Netherlands]
JW: How do we know this?
KVS: I established a timeline of Hipp’s life based on articles about her in Germany and the U.S. between 1952 and 2010. I also conducted more than 35 interviews with people who knew her and I read about 300 of Hipp’s personal letters, in which she sometimes reminisced.
JW: Right after the war, what was life like for Hipp?
KVS: She was deprived of what we would consider a normal teenager’s life and, no doubt, her pregnancy in 1948 was also overshadowed by insufficient prenatal care. She was so poor that she did not even have an apartment of her own but lived in a room made available for individuals working for the United States Special Services.
JW: Pregnancy?
KVS: Hipp gave birth to a son, Lionel, whose father was a black G.I. stationed in Germany. Black G.I.s were not allowed to accept paternity back then if they fathered a child with a white woman—even if they had wanted to. The U.S. military was still segregated. This means that Jutta and Lionel’s father were not engaged or married. Lionel does not know who his father is but he would like to know. Unfortunately, without a reliable name, information on where he was stationed in and around Munich and details about his tour of duty, it's impossible to search. [Photo above of Hipp and Lionel, 1 1/2, taken in June 1950]
JW: How did Hipp learn to play jazz?
KVS: Hipp had been raised sheltered in a small, culturally inclined middle-class family. She began taking formal piano lessons at age 9, but a harsh teacher killed her enthusiasm, diverting her to jazz. Since jazz was frowned upon as “degenerate music” under Nazi rule, jazz musicians were always in danger of persecution and severe punishment. Hipp's listening sessions were confined to clandestine gatherings in friends’ homes and much of her continuing musical appreciation and education took place during bombing raids. Instead of joining her parents and brother in the basement shelter—she hunkered down in front of the radio transcribing jazz tunes played on forbidden radio stations. [Pictured above: Hipp, second from right]
JW: Where and how did she meet Leonard Feather?
KVS: Feather had received a tape from a G.I. that included Hipp playing. Feather loved what he heard and was eager to meet Hipp in person. In January 1954, when he toured Germany with “Jazz Club USA”—featuring Billie Holiday, Buddy DeFranco and other top American jazz musicians—he made a late-night side trip to Duisburg, where he found Hipp jamming in a cellar club. [Photo above: Leonard Feather gives pianist Mary Lou Williams his famed blindfold test]
JW: Was Feather responsible for her being recorded in Germany that year?
KVS: Yes. By April 1954 Feather arranged for a recording session in Frankfurt/Main, featuring the Jutta Hipp Quintet. Eventually the tape became New Faces – New Sounds from Germany, which was released by Blue Note as its first Hipp release in the States in 1956.
JW: Why did Feather bother?
KVS: Feather was not likely doing this because of a personal interest in Hipp but because he hoped to make money by bringing European jazz talent to the States. For example, he also had sponsored George Shearing’s immigration.
JW: After Hipp arrived in New York, what role did Horace Silver play?
KVS: Not much. I was able to contact Horace Silver only through his biographer Phil Pastras back in 2005. Silver only conveyed that he had known Jutta but added that he did not know her well. Jutta was greatly influenced by Silver’s blues-inspired rhythmic abilities, which led to her to move away from cool and bebop.
JW: Hipp performed at Newport in 1956?
KVS: Yes, she performed a magnificent version of the St. Louis Blues. Aside from being an artistic influence, Silver had no other apparent influence on Hipp’s career and was not romantically involved with her.
JW: Is there a recording available of Hipp's appearance at Newport in ’56?
SVK: Not yet, but hopefully soon.
Used with permission by Marc Myers
JazzWax: Jutta Hipp seems like a tragic figure—in part a victim of her own issues. Do we know what she went through as a teen living under Nazi rule?
Katja von Schuttenbach: Jutta was 8 years old when Hitler became chancellor (1933); 14 when Germany invaded Poland (1939); and 21 when she became a refugee (1946). As a Lutheran/Protestant in Germany, she did not suffer from religious persecution. However, along with millions of other German civilians, she went through massive bombing raids on her hometown of Leipzig. After the war she became a displaced person and suffered from malnutrition and lacked most basic necessities. [Photo above of Jutta Hipp provided by Han Schulte in the Netherlands]
JW: How do we know this?
KVS: I established a timeline of Hipp’s life based on articles about her in Germany and the U.S. between 1952 and 2010. I also conducted more than 35 interviews with people who knew her and I read about 300 of Hipp’s personal letters, in which she sometimes reminisced.
JW: Right after the war, what was life like for Hipp?
KVS: She was deprived of what we would consider a normal teenager’s life and, no doubt, her pregnancy in 1948 was also overshadowed by insufficient prenatal care. She was so poor that she did not even have an apartment of her own but lived in a room made available for individuals working for the United States Special Services.
JW: Pregnancy?
KVS: Hipp gave birth to a son, Lionel, whose father was a black G.I. stationed in Germany. Black G.I.s were not allowed to accept paternity back then if they fathered a child with a white woman—even if they had wanted to. The U.S. military was still segregated. This means that Jutta and Lionel’s father were not engaged or married. Lionel does not know who his father is but he would like to know. Unfortunately, without a reliable name, information on where he was stationed in and around Munich and details about his tour of duty, it's impossible to search. [Photo above of Hipp and Lionel, 1 1/2, taken in June 1950]
JW: How did Hipp learn to play jazz?
KVS: Hipp had been raised sheltered in a small, culturally inclined middle-class family. She began taking formal piano lessons at age 9, but a harsh teacher killed her enthusiasm, diverting her to jazz. Since jazz was frowned upon as “degenerate music” under Nazi rule, jazz musicians were always in danger of persecution and severe punishment. Hipp's listening sessions were confined to clandestine gatherings in friends’ homes and much of her continuing musical appreciation and education took place during bombing raids. Instead of joining her parents and brother in the basement shelter—she hunkered down in front of the radio transcribing jazz tunes played on forbidden radio stations. [Pictured above: Hipp, second from right]
JW: Where and how did she meet Leonard Feather?
KVS: Feather had received a tape from a G.I. that included Hipp playing. Feather loved what he heard and was eager to meet Hipp in person. In January 1954, when he toured Germany with “Jazz Club USA”—featuring Billie Holiday, Buddy DeFranco and other top American jazz musicians—he made a late-night side trip to Duisburg, where he found Hipp jamming in a cellar club. [Photo above: Leonard Feather gives pianist Mary Lou Williams his famed blindfold test]
JW: Was Feather responsible for her being recorded in Germany that year?
KVS: Yes. By April 1954 Feather arranged for a recording session in Frankfurt/Main, featuring the Jutta Hipp Quintet. Eventually the tape became New Faces – New Sounds from Germany, which was released by Blue Note as its first Hipp release in the States in 1956.
JW: Why did Feather bother?
KVS: Feather was not likely doing this because of a personal interest in Hipp but because he hoped to make money by bringing European jazz talent to the States. For example, he also had sponsored George Shearing’s immigration.
JW: After Hipp arrived in New York, what role did Horace Silver play?
KVS: Not much. I was able to contact Horace Silver only through his biographer Phil Pastras back in 2005. Silver only conveyed that he had known Jutta but added that he did not know her well. Jutta was greatly influenced by Silver’s blues-inspired rhythmic abilities, which led to her to move away from cool and bebop.
JW: Hipp performed at Newport in 1956?
KVS: Yes, she performed a magnificent version of the St. Louis Blues. Aside from being an artistic influence, Silver had no other apparent influence on Hipp’s career and was not romantically involved with her.
JW: Is there a recording available of Hipp's appearance at Newport in ’56?
SVK: Not yet, but hopefully soon.
Used with permission by Marc Myers
Read more: http://www.jazzwax.com/2013/05/jutta-hipp-the-inside-story.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Jazzwax+%28JazzWax%29
0 Comments:
Post a Comment