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The Jazz Musician's Tarot Deck
ByMatt Lavelle
trumpetb.1970
Perhaps the closest literary antecedent to Tarot Deck is Nathaniel Mackey's From a Broken Bottle Traces of Perfume Still Emanate, which also combines the world of jazz with magical realism. Tarot Deck starts with Lavelle encountering a sad woman on a bench in New York City. But this is no ordinary woman; she is Alto Clarinet, a beautiful instrument who has been woefully neglected. Lavelle volunteers to help Alto, which leads to a phantasmagoric journey to the Tone World, the place where sound is born. Their vision quest also includes visits to Trumpet Mountain, Tenor Town, Clarinet City, Sun Ra's Saturn, finally ending up in

Ornette Coleman
saxophone, alto1930 - 2015
Along the way, Lavelle and Alto encounter the great pantheon of jazz musicians who have passed out of the earth plane, but who fortunately still exist in other realms. Each musician presents Alto with a tarot card, explaining the card's meaning and the advice it contains for musical blossoming. Lavelle crafts insightful, often amusing, sketches of these luminaries, and the cards they provide are aptly chosen:

Miles Davis
trumpet1926 - 1991

Billie Holiday
vocals1915 - 1959

Lester Young
saxophone1909 - 1959

Charlie Parker
saxophone, alto1920 - 1955

Thelonious Monk
piano1917 - 1982

John Coltrane
saxophone1926 - 1967
The book also mentions plenty of the living jazz musicians, including bassist

William Parker
bassb.1952

Bern Nix
guitar1950 - 2017

Roy Campbell
trumpet1952 - 2014

Art Baron
tromboneWoven throughout the story are nuggets of information about music and musicians, such as the fact that Miles Davis told arranger

Gil Evans
composer / conductor1912 - 1988

Clark Terry
trumpet1920 - 2015

Louis Armstrong
trumpet and vocals1901 - 1971
Above all, Tarot Deck is a love storynot between a man and a woman, but between a man and a musical instrument. Obviously musicians are intimate with the instruments they play, but Lavelle is brave enough to affirm this love, including declarations such as "I gently led my fingertip up the side of Alto's forearm like a painter applying a gentle brushstroke of paint." There's even some funny scenes where Lavelle gets jealous of Alto's relationships with other musicians, particularly Miles Davis and his notorious powers of seduction.
Overall The Jazz Musician's Tarot Deck is something fresh in the realm of jazz fiction. The story is a lot of fun, but it's also an extended meditation on music: the history, the players, and the never-ending journey of finding and celebrating one's individual sound. It's a bold, thoughtful, mischievous work that's well worth checking out.
Tags
Matt Lavelle
Book Reviews
Florence Wetzel
United States
Lulu
Ornette Coleman
Miles Davis
Billie Holiday
Lester Young
Charlie Parker
Thelonious Monk
John Coltrane
William Parker
Bern Nix
Roy Campbell
Art Baron
Gil Evans
Clark Terry
Louis Armstrong
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