[78-L] Lost Chords, lost and found

[Jeff Sultanof]

I first met Dick Sudhalter around the time that he was finishing "Lost
Chords." Oxford U.P. originally did not want to publish such a huge book,
and Dick luckily knew someone (I never found out who, and I really don't
care) who paid Oxford some money so that the complete volume could come out.

I consider it one of the great historical volumes of the recent era of jazz
scholarship, and the accompanying 2 CD set a great collection to underscore
what he was trying to say in the book. The fact that several critics
immediately called it a racist book was very hurtful to Dick, and I don't
know that he ever got over it.

I am delighted that you got a copy of this. I told Dick that after all the
B.S. about it's content, that it would remain an important and much read
volume. He started to see that happen before he died.

He was a dear, dear man and a good friend, and reading the e-mail about him
and his book has made my day special. Pardon me for being sentimental, but I
miss him and his conversation very much. It was an honor to know him.

Jeff Sultanof