Comments on: The Kareem Kronicles: How I (almost) (sky)hooked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 02:33:49 +0000

I can tell you from experience that this Deborah is a piece of work to deal with – difficult doesn’t begin to define her. Your problem is that you weren’t offering any money – that’s the only thing she understands. And once you get on that road, she will try and squeeze you for every nickel you have. The way she handled this was classless, there’s no sin in being persistent – especially the way she led you down the path of “we’ll set something up.” Total b.s. on her part – plus based on the text you posted of her replies, she needs to invest in a spelling/grammar checker.

By: Michael Anderson

Michael Anderson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:01:51 +0000

Pretty sad … I know we are living in an age where celebrities honestly believe they are better than the rest of us ‘little people’, but I have found many older celebs still hold on to the ideals of being more in touch. I don’t know where Kareem stands with that stuff, but it is clear that his handlers make no qualms about how they deal with folks.

By: Dean

Dean — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:32:15 +0000

Well done, man. I disagree completely with anyone who thinks you were “stalking” or rude. You have every right to hold someone to their word, and at the very least, follow up until you get a clear answer (a “yes” or “no” would be a fantastic thing to hear, but they couldn’t even give you that!). I’m learning that the best way to be persistent is to be more and more polite with each follow up. That really freaks the person out, since they think you’ll be getting more frustrated, or you’ll give up. You kept that going nicely until the end, but you finally had to call her out. She was blatantly disrespecting you.

By: Jason Crane

Jason Crane — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:15:32 +0000

@Jim: Thanks for reading and commenting. I guess I approach interviewing from a different perspective. The main question I ask is, “Does the person have something interesting to say about jazz?” I thought that Kareem would, given how much of his life he’s spent listening to and researching the music. That was my only angle. I don’t do this show for any reason than to promote the music and the people who make it. Sounds altruistic and naive, but there it is.

By: Jim Szabo

Jim Szabo — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:59:25 +0000

Jason,

It’s clear from your email exchange that K A-J was never a part of it – didn’t know of your request, didn’t make any decision regarding his availability. It’s only due to your questionable persistence that your request didn’t hit the recycle bin sooner. Ask yourself: what’s in it for K A-J? Hawking “On the Shoulders of Giants”? Too late to get publishing pub. Just get airtime to show how much of a great (?) guy he is? He can go on the Tavis Smiley TV show and get much, much, more. A boutique interview for the hard-core jazz audience? C’mon.

By: Jason Crane

Jason Crane — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:03:18 +0000

@Josh: Thanks for reading. Of course I disagree with your characterization of what I was doing and how I did it, but I’m glad to have you at the site.

@Ken: I generally agree, which is why nearly all of the other 100+ episodes have been interviews with musicians. In this case, though, it seemed like there was some benefit to interviewing a household name — and an athlete, at that — who is also very into the music. (Doug Ramsey has been on my show, by the way: http://thejazzsession.com/2007/06/01/tjs-extra-2-jazz-writer-doug-ramsey/). Thanks for everything you do for the music, Ken.

By: Ken Dryden

Ken Dryden — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:44:13 +0000

Frankly, I think most jazz fans would rather hear a jazz musician interviewed than someone who is a jazz collector or writer. Obvious exceptions would be people with a wealth of first person stories to tell about the musicians, like Orrin Keepnews, Doug Ramsey, etc.

By: josh

josh — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:01:08 +0000

I’m a jazz musician.
IMO, you come off as naive and heavy handed here, stalking this guy through his staff for free content. Now you’re dragging him through the mud for at least trying to entertain your request, is that professional?
you have a web show. the guy’s absurdly busy. get real.

By: Jason Crane

Jason Crane — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:35:59 +0000

@ Von: I’m sure your inquiry was filtered, like mine, in the PR office. Too bad, man.

@S.: Bittersweet, but interesting? I’ll take it.

@Gerard: You’re right on, man. I don’t think any of this reflects on the man himself. It’s just annoying. Thanks for coming over from SLAM. And thanks for the good wishes — the show is doing really well, without or without KA-J. Come back anytime, OK?

Jason

By: Gerard Himself

Gerard Himself — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:01:07 +0000

Wow. This article was linked via SLAMonline.com, and I was wonder what it was about exactly. Now reading it…. that’s a sad story. I mean, let’s be honest here: your assumption that Kareem never heard of this e-mail exchange couldn’t be more right. I hope that in the feature you’ll be able to book him – although I wouldn’t know how (but let the folks at SLAMonline know about it)

good luck with the show

By: s.powers

s.powers — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:04:21 +0000

I, too, was jumping and whooping for joy when reading that Kareem would be a guest on “TheJazzSession”. Thanks for putting the email exchange on line. It was mighty interesting reading. (bittersweet)

By: Von Babasin

Von Babasin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:09:45 +0000

Funny stuff, Jason…

I contacted someone at Iconomy also to see if Mr. Abdul-Jabbar might be interested in helping me make my documentary. They seemed interested enough to invite me to send a full proposal.

Alas, I received a rejection similar to yours – ‘Mr. Abdul-Jabbar will not be able to join you at this time. We applaud your efforts to help so many. We hope that your project is a tremendous success!’

Mind you, it wasn’t signed by Kareem himself. In fact, there is no indication if he even heard about to make the decision himself. Just from the generic – ‘Private Office of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’.

There’s always a staff of people who weed out what actually gets put in front the person you’re trying to get to. Problem is, they are like antibiotics – they kill the good with the bad.

Oh well… onward…

By: SLAM ONLINE | » Did Kareem Want to Talk Jazz or Not?

SLAM ONLINE | » Did Kareem Want to Talk Jazz or Not? — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:36:38 +0000

[...] amusing, if frustrating to the writer, story from a source we don’t often read: The Jazz Session with Jason Crane recaps Crane’s lengthy and ultimately fruitless attempts to get noted jazz expert Kareem [...]