In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actress Lauren Graham of TV's "Gilmore Girls" on her wild childhood growing up with her dad after her parents divorced. Her mom went off to study to be a painter and then sang with a rock band (go here). Meanwhile, Lauren and her dad moved around quite a bit before settling in Virginia.
Also in the WSJ, I interviewed Adam Grant, professor of management and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and the author of Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World. We talked about his favorite song, Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire (go here).
Shelly Manne. Last week, I heard from the ever-fabulous Flip Manne, Shelly Manne's wife. Here's her email (with her permission, of course)...
"Happy New Year! Regarding that clip of Shelly with the Jackson 5 that you posted, I was backstage with him that night at the 1974 Grammy Awards. He was on a turntable stage that was supposed to turn around as soon as they came down the ramp but it temporarily malfunctioned. As a result, he was late turning and had to come out playing with no idea where they were in the music. Shelly had amazing timing and it always saved him."
Here's the clip...
Denny Zeitlin. Next Thursday, you'll be able to hear a live concert by piano legend Denny Zeitlin on your computer from anywhere in the world. KCSM, the San Francisco Bay Area jazz station,
will present Remembering Miles Davis, with Denny playing solo piano. It's sure to be hugely exciting and is part of Jim Bennett's In the Moment show. Tune in on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 9 p.m. (PST). You'll find the show on the radio in the Bay Area at 91.1-FM—or on your computer by going here.
Stan Hasselgard. Following my post on the Swedish clarinetist who had a fatal auto accident at age 26 in 1948, I heard from Michael Bloom of Michael Bloom Public Relations...
"Your comments on the dangers of driving great distances in those days really resonated with me. While on leave from the Navy in the late '40s, my dad embarked on a crazy cross-county driving marathon with a couple of his buddies, going from Baltimore to the West Coast. While traversing Missouri, the driver (not my dad) nodded off, went off the road and crashed. Amazingly no one was seriously hurt, but the car was totaled. They gave the car to a farmer who had given them a ride to the nearest town that had a bus station. The farmer said he planned to use the car engine to run a water pump for his fields. It was one of several times throughout his life that my dad cheated death. I used to kid him about having nine lives, like a cat. He passed away of natural causes in 2012."
Los Angeles' Red Car saga. Ryan Fabian (above), who hosts the Terrifying World site (go here), is smart and hilarious, and delivers history in a wonderful way. Here's his take on The Life and Death of Public Transit in Los Angeles...
George Wallington radio. On Sunday, Jan. 15, "Symphony" Sid Gribetz will host a five-hour "Jazz Profiles" radio show on WKCR-FM in New York celebrating the pianist and composer George Wallington. You can tune in from anywhere in the world by going here. Sid's show runs from 2 to 7 p.m. (EST) and is always an education.
As Sid notes: "Wallington was one of the legendary pianists of the bebop era but never achieved great fame. With his early retirement from a musical career, he remains a more obscure figure in jazz history. However, he was an especially swinging pianist and inventive composer who deserves continued attention."
Elis Regina. Pete Michaels sent along this marvelous behind-the-scenes video of the famed Antonio Carlos Jobim and Elis Regina (above) recording session of 1974 that included the captivating Waters of March duet. For more on this session and Elis's tragic end, here's a terrific article from the Los Angeles Times.
Stephen Sondheim. Director Raymond De Felitta sent along this clip of Stephen Sondheim in May 1961 on CBS's American Musical Theater hosted by singer-actor Earl Wrightson. What's most stunning is the articulate and scintillating way in which Sondheim discusses his lyric for West Side Story and Gypsy without a single pause to think. Brilliant...
What the heck. Here are surviving members of the Winstons in 2009 performing their 1969 hit, Color Him Father...
Oddball album cover of the week.
I get the concept—a flute so sweet models in sheer tops swoon. But what's up with the poodle? And while we're at it, that's some left leg on the model. The days before airbrushing.
from JazzWax http://ift.tt/2jGWYiw
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