Observations from the Bar

by Leslie Ann Nash

Throughout jazz history there have been nightclubs where the music and the atmosphere live on to become legendary, like Minton's in Harlem or Lincoln Gardens in Chicago. In Paris in the late 1940's , it was Aerobleu -- notorious for its all-night jam sessions and its enigmatic owner, Max Morgan. In the heady chaos and excitement of postwar Paris, in a time that was every bit as shadowy, as sensual, as idealistic as it was reported to be, all paths crossed at Aerobleu. Drawn by a feverish mix of music and martinis, Janet Flanner, Hemingway, Picasso, and Bogart all flocked to hear the best jazz this side of Harlem. And when Max Morgon won an old DC-3 in an all-night poker game, Miles Davis and Max Roach were there, giving flight to the music in legendary jam sessions en route to New York, Paris, London, and New Orleans. In the late 1950s, the ever-elusive Max Morgan disappeared, vanishing mysteriously from Havana, leaving behind some of the best jazz ever played and a state of mind that has come to be known as "Aerobleu."

108 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Bruce]

Awesome read. When you're through reading it ... don't bother asking me ... the answer is: I have no clue! And yes, everyone I know who has read it, including myself, has had the same question.

[Luna]

Observations from the Bar is a spellbinding journal collection that chronicles the manager of a jazz club in Paris in the immediate post-WW2 era. She drinks too much, listens to world-famous jazz musicians, reminisces about the past, has affairs with spies, and generally lives a fascinating and exciting life filled with ennui and longing. Her writing is reminiscent of Jack Kerouac at times, and you can really see the influence of the era on her style.

From the afterword by Alston Chase, who found the journals in the attic of their deceased parents' house, "Nash comes across as a free spirit, born too late to be a flapper and too early to be a feminist. She was a liberated female when liberation wasn't in fashion — bright, sensitive, but with guts." Nash really is a strikingly iconic person, and I am left wanting more after reading the last page in her journal.

If you must spoil yourself for the truthfulness of the story, the copyright notice page does provide a definite answer, but I will leave that as an exercise to the reader.

[Alexis Cattley]

It’s been a long time since I read this book but it’s unique look, feel, appearance and style is still with me a decade later.
Written in diary form in a manner that leaves me unsure if it’s a recreation or a fabrication, I am unwilling to discover what is real for fear of destroying the magic.
Heartily recommended for those looking for something that feels more real or intimate than the average experience

[Tabatha Delphi]

A good supplement when learning about historical figures. The larger than life artists and authors mentioned in this journal are written about, more often than not, with disdain. It’s interesting to see such famous figures spoken about as annoying or snobbishly pretentious.