In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed Rose Marie (go here), who was a singing star before Shirley Temple was born. Best known now as Sally Rogers on The Dick Van Dyke Show, Rose Marie was a pal of Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel, and she was married to Bobby Guy, Bing Crosby's trumpeter. She is one of the last remaining pre-World War II singers with recorded hits. Interviewing her was like take a time machine back to another era. Fortunately for you Rose Marie is the subject of an excellent new documentary, Wait for Your Laugh. [Photo above of Rose Marie, left, with Mary Tyler Moore, Morey Amsterdam and Dick Van Dyke, seated]
Here's the documentary trailer...
Here's Rose Marie in action in 1929...
And here she is singing on The Dick Van Dyke Show...
Also in the WSJ, my chat with actress Jenifer Lewis on Aretha Franklin's First Snow in Kokomo (go here). Here's Jenifer in action last week on The View...
If you'd like the links to my WSJ interviews from last week with Ashley Judd ("House Call") and former NBA star Bernard King ("Playlist"), go here and here.
Perfect for the holidays: The paperback edition of my book, Anatomy of a Song (Grove), which was published last week and now is a #1 New Release at Amazon. In the U.S., go here, and in the U.K., go here. Reads like a literary jukebox.
Don't fuhgeddaboudit. This photo of my book was snapped a couple of weeks ago in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn.
Jon Hendricks. Here's Jon with Dave Lambert and Annie Ross, the hippest of the hip, singing Four backed by the Les McCann Trio. Dig Jon following Miles Davis's trumpet solo along every subtle ridge. And dig how Lambert, Hendricks and Ross approach the mic at the start—the epitome of cool...
And here's Lambert, Hendricks & Ross with Ossie Smith backed by the Count Basie Band. Looks like Budd Johnson just behind LH&R on tenor sax...
Basie's New Testament Band. Following my post on the people and forces at play that allowed for Count Basie's New Testament Band to form in 1952, Aurin Primack reached out with the following email (Aurin is the son of Morris Primack, one of the original investors in Birdland)...
"When I was interviewed by Richard Carlin, author of the book Godfather of the Music Business: Morris Levy, I certainly concurred with the positive impact that Basie and Birdland had for each other. By framing your question, did Basie owe Morris Levy or was Levy doing a favor, I think you missed an obvious third alternative: it may have been just a smart business decision by Levy. In support of this alternative, I can remember stressful conversations between my dad and mom during the first 18 months of Birdland's opening, when the club was floundering and a real possibility of its failure existed. Hard to imagine now, but very real then, I can assure you. I think the first time I heard Basie was over Christmas and New Year's in 1952. I may be wrong, but I think Ella Fitzgerald performed as well. I had never experienced (and don't think I did again in the same way experience) the acoustic impact of that band in Birdland's small space. Not only did you hear the music, you quite literally felt it."
Brushes. Following my post on the late drummer Grady Tate and his brush work, I received the following from Kenny Harris, drummer for the British Jazz Trio...
"I love playing with brushes. When I was with the Ralph Sharon Sextet in the U.K. and with Ralph's trio in the U.S., he insisted I play only with brushes. One of my friends still calls me Mr. Brushes. Two other favorites who play brushes—Ed Thigpen and Jeff Hamilton. My favorite of all time is Frank Isola. Listen to him with Gerry Mulligan in Paris"...
Music to the eyes. Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, young people owned stereo systems. They'd sit in front of them and watch the speakers as music played, with album covers on their laps. Many pined for better systems one day. Today, the entire experience has been reduced to two white buds in your ears. The space-age system above, based on the color scheme of the decor, looks to be from around 1970 or '71.
Jazz bagpipes. I first came across the jazz bagpipes in the 1970s, when I bought Sonny Stitt's Deuces Wild, introducing Robin Kenyatta and featuring Rufus Harley, king of the jazz bagpipes. Personally, I'm not big on the instrument in a jazz setting or otherwise. The drone is a bit grating. If they're your bag, Pete Neighbour sent along this clip on Harley.
From Mike Morganelli's FB page. A page from the New York Village Voice, 33 years ago, including Mike's Jazz Forum ad. A shame there were so few jazz greats playing in the city.
What the heck. Here's Annie Ross on TV's Playboy's Penthouse in 1959 singing Twisted—words she wrote to a solo by tenor saxophonist Wardell Gray. She's accompanied by Count Basie, Freddie Green (g), Ed Jones (b) and Sonny Payne (d)...
Oddball album cover of the week.
This one is high up on the creepy scale. Songs should include You Make Me Feel Even Younger, It Will Happen in Monterey (When I'm 18), You're Getting a Pet Rabbit for Me and You Bought a New Kind of Baseball Glove for Me. Thanks to Steve Taylor.
from JazzWax http://ift.tt/2BaJe8x
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