duaneiac

A unique event next week -- Rahsaan Roland Kirk's stritch, which, strange as it may seem, for the past few years has resided in a bar/cafe named after the instrument here in San Jose, will be played by James Carter in a series of concerts in honor of RRK. Some info here: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_28567171/pizarro:-stage-set-for-musical-history-at-cafe-stritch

Greg Abate- really good & really overlooked

A few SF area pianists who deserve more attention than they get: Larry Vuckovich Mike Greensill Mike Lipskin The late Smith Dobson The late Norma Teagarden

I saw Catherine Russell at the SF Jazz Center last night, a really good show. She is there through Sunday doing a program of songs associated with Louis Armstrong. She is accompanied by a trio with Mark Shane on piano, but I didn't catch the names of the guitarist (who is also the musical director) or the bassist. She sang "Our Monday Date", "Jubilee", "I Won't Dance", "Aunt Hagar's Blues", "Basin Street Blues", "Back O' Town Blues", "You're A Lucky Guy", "Muskrat Ramble" (does any one know if Louis Armstrong ever recorded a vocal version of this? I can't think of one offhand.) among others. For an encore she sang a song her father Luis Russell had written for Mr. Armstrong, but which he never recorded. A demo recording of the song was discovered among the items in his archive. It's a shame he never recorded it as it is a lovely song and it seems to incorporate much of what he felt about "Lucille". If Ms. Russell is ever performing near you, it's well worth taking the time to catch her.

File under "clowns" . . .

"Overlooked" is always subjective. Jazz as a whole is more often than not "overlooked" by popular culture today. Within jazz, certain genres/players seem to get short shrift even from most jazz fans. So it's possible that some of the following are overlooked by some otherwise knowledgeable jazz fans: Don Ewell Jane Jarvis Eddie Higgins Dick Wellstood Ted Rosenthal Bill Mays Dave Frishberg (overlooked as a pianist, not as a singer/songwriter) Bob Dorough (ditto) Jon Jang Tee Carson Butch Thompson Mike Melvoin Sonny Bravo

I was never a Trekkie, but I watched this show on Saturday mornings as a kid. I'd seen some of the original series shows in syndicated reruns ( a local channel would usually show ST for half the year and then Lost In Space in that timeslot for the other half of the year -- I liked the cheesiness of the latter better as a kid). The animation of this series was kind of bare bones at times and they often just reused footage to pad out the runtime it seemed, but yeah the stories were good and not really "dumbed down" to a Saturday morning kid's show level. "The one where Spock is removed from time and then goes back to Vulcan to save his own life as a child do he can return to the present as himself, if that had been done live-action, it would be legendary" I'm not sure now, but I think that was the episode used for the View-Master set for this series. I still have it (and all my boyhood View-Master reels) stored somewhere in the closet. I'll have to check and see one of these days.

I suppose the winners are performers because part of description of the prize in the article : The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song honors living musical artists whose lifetime contributions in the field of popular song exemplify the standard of excellence associated with George and Ira Gershwin, by promoting the genre of song as a vehicle of cultural understanding; entertaining and informing audiences; and inspiring new generations. That "entertaining and informing audiences" part probably gets heavy consideration and is why singer-songwriters get more attention in the process. But if it's an award to honor "popular song", it's a shame they missed the opportunity to honor Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller while both men were alive. Or the Sherman Brothers. I suppose Stephen Sondheim would not merit consideration (not that he needs any more honors/awards) because he really has written only one popular song, "Send In The Clowns".

The only time I ever go to see him play in person was post-stroke and he actually still played with both hands, it's just that his left hand use was greatly reduced.

I look forward to watching this film. I've long been a fan of her music. Granted, her output is very much a mixed bag of jazz, blues, folk, rock, and soul music -- some of it works (and at times, sublimely), but some of it doesn't. I don't think she thought of herself as a jazz artist since she never intended to be a professional singer. She wanted to be a professional pianist, but not a jazz pianist. She covered a lot of material in a lot of different genres, but always made it unmistakably her own. This clip from Montreux has long fascinated me. She takes perhaps the worst popular song ever written and turns it into an unforgettably compelling moment. This was not a "performance". This is a soul laid bare, as real as it gets, as uncomfortable as that may be. I don't know what was going on in her life at that time, but it must not have been a picnic being Nina Simone.

Oh my goodness. The Avengers ranked right up there with Batman, Wild, Wild West and Get Smart! as my favorite TV shows as a kid. I was just watching a couple of episodes on DVD earlier this week. It is a show which still holds up well. May Mr. Macnee rest in peace. I wonder if his final words were --

I got 27 out of 27 right as well. It got pretty difficult by the end.

Man, I still miss listening to Jazzbeaux on Sat. & Sun. nights on KCSM. The man was as cool as the Purple Groteaux itself! I wish radio still had room for personalities instead of cookie cutter hosts.

I have the album on vinyl and had always held off buying a CD copy because I was hoping they might one day come out with a version with some bonus tracks from the concert. This release far exceeds my wildest dreams! Now I can't wait for September!

I've seen him in concert three times. One was fabulous, one of the best concerts I've ever seen. One (when he had Sam Butera as his opening act) was good and the other (when he was touring with Linda Gail Lewis) was okay for the most part, but the highlight was when they did an explosive medley of 1950's rock and roll that really brought to life how fresh and vital and thrilling this music must have sounded to teenagers of that era.

I honestly had no idea he was still alive. I've enjoyed his performing in everything I've seen him in. Just last night I was watching The House That Dripped Blood, a 1970 film in which he starred along with Peter Cushing. Not a great movie, but both of those gentlemen gave their usual good performances. I only wish he had undertaken the Sherlock Holmes role more frequently. He was ideally suited for it. I vaguely remember a sketch he did when he hosted SNL. He played the Grim Reaper in a scene with Gilda Radner as a little girl. it was both funny and touching. May he rest in peace, After that long and busy career, he richly deserves to.

If ever there lived a man about whose impact on his chosen field it could honestly be said, "and nothing was the same again", it must be Les Paul. The man had an enormous lasting impact on the field of popular music. Not just a talented musician, he was also an innovative audio/electrical engineer and a visionary inventor. He had an influence on country music, jazz, pop and of course, rock and roll. He forever changed the way music was recorded and with his electric guitar, he created a sound that is virtually endemic to rock, and thus, has been monumentally influential world wide for the past 60 years. The word "genius" gets bandied about rather freely, but in my book at least, Les Paul was a true American genius. Today marks the 100th anniversary of his birth. Happy birthday, wherever he may be, and thanks for everything! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp4N910QaNY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rITJyZVTfy4