MEMO IR of a Gunfighter

Archie Shepp will mark his 83rd year on May 24, and will surely have to delay celebrating it in proper style until the coronavirus crisis passes. These days, he moves at a more deliberate pace than he once did, using a stylish French walking stick, ebony and white. It fits with the sartorial sense he favors these days—tailored suits, fedoras with snap-down brims—a far different look from what he wore when he first rose to prominence in the 1960s. Then he was the outsider fighting his way onto the scene, and came to serve as the spearpoint of The New Thing: a generational movement focused on politically charged, avant-garde jazz. Sixty years on, with almost 100 albums to his credit, he looks and fits the role of an éminence grise.

For the fortunate sold-out crowd who recently caught him performing as part of the PDX Jazz Festival in Portland, Oregon on February 22—and sharing stories and answering questions in a pre-concert talk—the experience proved historic, both because it preceded the current national lockdown, and because it was, according to the legendary saxophonist, his first Portland appearance in more than 40 years.

Shepp is judicious in choosing when to perform and where, and mindful of various health challenges, including dental issues which have affected his embouchure. His wife and manager Monette Berthomier is now a constant in his life. He still divides his time between western Massachusetts—where he taught for many years at UMass Amherst—and Paris, where he has initiated a number of projects like the big-band revival of his classic 1971 album (which generated the live album on his Archieball label) and groups like Citizen Jazz (which has included a rotating lineup with the likes of Shabaka Hutchings, Jason Moran, Nasheet Waits, and vocalist Marion Rampal) and a smaller