(BILLIE) HOLIDAY, LADY SINGS THE BLUES--[Louis Armstrong's] recording of ‘West End Blues’... used to gas me. It was the first time I ever heard anybody sing without using any words. I didn't know he was singing whatever came into his head when he forgot the lyrics.
A victrola was a big deal in those days, and there weren't any parlors around that had one except Alice's. I spent many a wonderful hour there listening to Pops and Bessie. I remember Pops' recording of "West End Blues" and how it used to gas me. It was the first time I ever heard anybody sing without using any words. I didn't know he was singing whatever came into his head when he forgot the lyrics.
| A. | Like opera and classical music, by repute | HIGHBROW |
| B. | Socially excluded sort | OUTSIDER |
| C. | With Answer G., tenor sax player nicknamed "Pres" | LESTER |
| D. | Old keyboard composition, in part | IVORY |
| E. | Siphoned away (2 wds.) | DREWOFF |
| F. | Something Bono and Pink have in common with Eminem | ASTHMA |
| G. | See Clue C. | YOUNG |
| H. | Scoop, skinny, dope; rotten | LOWDOWN |
| I. | Clarinetist on a pop version of "Summertime" in 1936 (2 wds.) | ARTIESHAW |
| J. | Suppliers of unwanted possessions? | DEMONS |
| K. | 2008 campaign slogan (3 wds.) | YESWECAN |
| L. | Section in which a lot of bowing occurs | STRINGS |
| M. | Near one end of the spectrum, visibly | INDIGO |
| N. | Side hustle option for nine-to-fivers (2 wds.) | NIGHTSHIFT |
| O. | Sweet-smelling decorative bloom | GARDENIA |
| P. | Dubious, for a deal; tree-lined, for a lane | SHADY |
| Q. | Moved, as by kindness; slightly mad | TOUCHED |
| R. | Producer of chart-toppers | HITMAKER |
| S. | Wax rhapsodic, gush | ENTHUSE |
| T. | Largest member of the ukulele family | BARITONE |
| U. | Garnish for a gin martini, maybe (2 wds.) | LIMETWIST |
| V. | Reveal, expose | UNCOVER |
| W. | Envelope-pushing quality | EDGINESS |
| X. | Playground apparatus for a jazz combo to play on? (2 wds.) | SWINGSET |