Bright Moments

I disagree with this. Whether he wants to be on the road or doesn't, he's a professional musician playing for paying customers. Its not exactly professional to berate your audience, unless, that is, you are Don Rickles. Knowing what I have heard about Jimmy, I would not go see him if he came to south Florida, because I don't need to pay good money to watch someone abuse his audience and possibly walk off for 1/4 or more of the set. Being an 80 year old legend who may not want to perform anymore doesn't give you carte blanche to yell "Fuck you!" to a teenage girl who yells out "we love you." good points dan, but if he comes to south florida, i'll be there. the man can PLAY!!!!

i want this set BAD!!!

used to have mine with a glass of Tang! B)

john-you are amazing!

happy birthday!

for those of you in the anti-betty camp, do you feel the same way about nina simone (whom i adore)? it seems to me nina and betty had a lot in common in the way that they would approach any song and make it their own through their own peculiar (particular) interpretation. B)

up for TedR. B) b

wow! thanks for the info!

I'm really glad that i could start a thread full of so much controversy!!

very nice pic mike! what was the story about the near fatal brubeck trio accident in hawaii? i haven't ever heard this.

ping pong

Alvino Rey, the "king of the steel guitar" has died at age 95. From Spaceagepop.com: Alvino Rey -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Born Alvin McBurney, 1 July 1908, Oakland, California -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If all you knew of Alvino Rey was seeing him on the King Family variety show--possibly the only show on television more whitebread than Lawrence Welk's, you'd never guess there was a hep cat's heart beating inside his stolid exterior. But Alvino Rey's is a name to be remembered by exotica fans. He began performing under his own name, playing guitar with sweet bands like Russ Morgan's, Freddy Martin's, and Horace Heidt's. He became a star of Heidt's band when he began playing the steel guitar, which he later modified and came to call the console guitar. He changed his name to Alvino Rey and struck out on his own in 1939, taking with him Heidt's trio of singing King Sisters, having married Louise King a few years earlier. In 1942, he reshaped his band, anticipating Stan Kenton with a huge brass section and six saxophones. Although this band quickly failed when the musician's union imposed its recording ban in 1943, included future arrangers Ray Conniff, Neal Hefti, Billy May, and Johnny Mandel. His sax section included Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, and Herbie Stewart, who went on to form 3/4ths of Woody Herman's famous "Four Brothers" line-up. This band did make a couple of quickie musicals for Hollywood, but by the end of 1943, Rey was out of business, working as a mechanic in the Lockheed aircraft factory in Burbank. He joined the Navy in 1944 and was assigned to lead a service band. After he separated in 1946, he formed another band, which earned a contract with Capitol and placed a few numbers like "Cement Mixer" in the pop charts. He broke up this band around 1950 as the interest in big bands began to fade, and he performed with a smaller combo, mostly in the Southern California area, sometimes with his brother-in-law, Buddy Cole, throughout the 1950s. In the early 1960s, Rey and the King Sisters put together a concept for a variety show aimed squarely at the middle of the road, featuring lots of patriotic and spiritual numbers, and "The King Family Show" ran for over 5 years. Rey produced a number of albums featuring the sisters and other ensembles from the show. Avoid these LPs at all costs. For exotica fans, Rey's greatest fame is as one of the pivotal session men of exotica. The other worldly Theremin-like sounds he coaxed from his console guitar were sought out by Esquivel, George Cates, and others. Rey also played alongside Jack Costanzo, Irv Cottler, Emil Richards, and Jimmy Rowles in the Surfmen, a session-man supergroup that recorded three albums of killer Martin Denny knock-offs for budget labels Alshire and Somerset. ________________________________

i can't wait for you guys to give this one a caption!

Happy birthday!

I recently discovered and fell in love with the deep, breathy vocals of Betty Carter. She really belts out the standards and also can scat lightning fast. My favorite (so far) is "Social Call" (see below), but I'm looking for recommendations. Can anybody tell me some interesting tidbits about Betty, her life & loves? B)

Evan, I see that your avatar has had a, umm, "wardrobe malfunction." let's hope the fcc doesn't fine me!

we are going straight to h*ll!