Langston,

I am floored by your scenarios and I want to do them all! I have especially wanted for a very long time to do the kind of music-dance survey you have done in Mister Jazz - your treatment is tremendous! In fact, John Sellers and I had planned to do this kind of survey together in a concert last May at the YWCA at 51st and 8th (where your Ballad of the Brown King was performed) but because of my trying to do too many things at once we decided to put it off until fall. Our idea had a lot of songs in it plus John talking a great deal and a small dance company dancing some of the songs plus some pure dance ideas. How I wish you would join us in the project - or perhaps we could do Mister Jazz?

I have always nursed the idea too of putting together a revue for dancers --a "dansical" - sketches, sketches and songs and ballets - mostly dances of course - and peopled by a company of 7 or 8: Dancers who sing and singers who dance. Or perhaps we could do all theater pieces by you - a dance revue composed of all your material. Blues Boy is great and I'd love to both stage the work and be Blues Boy. Carmen de Lavallade or a tall marvelous girl from the Martha Graham company - Matt Turney - would be perfect great as the Amazon Queen. This could be tried out at the YWCA in the fall on a very experimental basis for one or two or more performances and then perhaps moved by some enterprising young producer to an off-Broadway house.

I'd like very much to hear the music written for Mister Jazz - does it exist on tape or record? Also any other scores written for your scenarios. There are so many excitingly talented jazz composers around now that I'm sure there'd be no trouble getting the likes of John Lewis or Margaret Bonds or Quincy Jones or Bobby Timmons to score any that have no music.....I tried unsuccessfully to get Jacob Lawrence to design a set of costumes for a ballet once...perhaps there are other talented young people who would like to work in this area of theater...

LETTERS TO L. H. from Alvin Ailey / transcribed 1/31/64
by g. h. b.

Mr. H--

Another note to enclose one of the newspaper articles re
boxers I was impressed by -- the other involved Will pep
(I think) and was a photograph of the small figure of the
boxer standing on a rooftop threatening to jump and priests,
etc. trying to dissuade him. I haven always thought the phenomenon
of the Negro boxer in our society a fascinating one and also
was thinking that your musical song-play form could be especially
well handled -- maybe with popular music -- a great occasion
to use some small combo of jazz musicians -- and scenes in
the gym of the rhythms of the punching bag, jump rope, etc.
--Also a chance somehow to use the great inventiveness of the
Negro teenagers in their madison, slop, wobble, etc... social
dances. Have been thinking for a long time about Charlie
Parker and how this society strangled him -- I have been
thinking of calling it "For Yardbird, With Love" or "Bird
Lives" or some such. Here I wanted to get into the musicians'
life -- their finding inspiration in and out of their lives -
the jam session -- the dope addiction of parker -- perhaps
the form is that of a session on the stand with his combo
or in the slow motion and surrealist world of the dope
dream. An intriguing "play for musicians" for some such.
I'm rambling on and on and must stop. You must be busy.
Anyhow I'd love to talk to you about some of these works if
they interest you at all. Also I am going to appear CHEZ-VOUS
one evening, at George's invitation to gig into your material
re the Freedom Riders and Sit-Ins about whom I want to make
a ballet.

Alvin

LETTER NO. 2

Monday morning.

Mr. H--

This is a brief note to say hello and to give you my
new address and phone # -- 46 West 83rd Street, NYC / TR 3-4174.
Also to say that in the process of moving I have come amiss of
our "Bessie Descending" scenario and would love to have another
copy if possible. Also no longer have the "ASK YOUR MAMA"
breakdown you once did for me -- would love that too if
possible -- am just really getting into "PRODIGAL SON"
Reads Great! Did I ever say to you that XXXXX it was
a great pleasure for me to finally work with you-- and I
do hope ours turns into a long and fruitful personal and
artistic relationship.

With affection and admiration