JAZZ: A BRIEF HISTORY

RECENTLY, ONE OF MY SONS ASKED THE OTHER, "HAVE YOU EVER REALLY LISTENED TO THELONIOUS MONK?" 

A "Two Fathoms" Clemens Reader

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, My Weekly Reader proudly presents a man who needs no introduction. America's very own first and greatest Literary King, the Pope of incandescent comedy, the Friar of acerbic wit, the Bishop of social commentary, the Rabbi to those who presume to write for those who pretend to read, the George Washington of American literature, the estimable Samuel "Two Fathoms" Clemens himself, Mark Twain! Let's read him, people! Mark Twain! Let's read him again, people, Mark Twain!

Mark Twain (1835-1910)

The Swingle Swingers dance and sing a Piazzolla Tango

No instruments were used in the performance of this music. 

All sounds were produced by the human voice.

FRANK SINATRA LIVES!

Whatever else he may have been in myth or reality, Frank Sinatra was a momentous figure in the music of the last century. He reinvented the whole manner of singing popular songs, investing it with passion and rhythm, undercutting the tough guy diction with the tenderness of his phrasing and timbre, and infused it all with sex, grace and more than a hint of danger. That’s why he was first, last and always, "The Voice."

Alvin Ailey Dance Theater

Our nation is not known for celebrating cultural and artistic or political and social achievements. A notable exception is The Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of which was recently awarded posthumously to the legendary choreographer, Alvin Ailey. 

The First Great Novel and 74 more

“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. Without books, the development of civilization would have been impossible. They are engines of change (as the poet said), windows on the world and lighthouses erected in the sea of time. They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind. Books are humanity in print.” – Barbara Tuchman

i thank You God for this most amazing e.e.cummings

Edwards Estlin (e.e.) Cummings (1894-1962) wrote 2,900 poems in his lifetime.

To the Book of Faces I Return

50 Great Song Lyrics; First Line Division

From "Row, Row, Row your boat" to Notorious B.I.G.'s "You're nobody until somebody kills you" every hit song needs a melody and a lyric that grabs you by the ear within seconds and won't let go - that stay with you for the rest of the day, that delivers plenty of "plop, plop, fizz, fizz." 
Then there are the great songs that quicken the mind and pulse; that linger as long as there is memory. These are songs that remind us that no matter the time or place, somewhere, another's heart understood your own. When the music is wedded to a great lyric, the understanding is apparent within the very first words. 

The First Line Champs

The Rumble in the Jungle

FORTY YEARS AGO, ON OCTOBER 30, 1974, THE GREATEST ATHLETE MANY OF US  HAVE EVER SEEN,USING HIS FISTS, WITS AND COURAGE, BEAT GEORGE FOREMAN, THE MOST FEARSOME HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF HIS TIME IN THE RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE,  

HERE IS HOW HE DID IT, 

Farewell to Mayor Pothole

Tom Menino was the obscure President of the Boston "nobody cares" city council in November, 1993

Song of Autumn by Charles Baudelaire

Autumn Song, by Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) from the poet's "The Flowers of Evil". 

An "If" in Verse and Song for Boys and Girls

An If for boys and girls

The critics have spoken. Fantasia is ...

The critics have spoken and the results are in.  Fantasia is …

Van dancin' 'neath the cover of October skies

Of all the popular performers of our age, (that leaves you out, Vivaldi), none have been able to evoke the timeless pulse and feel of the seasons as well as Van Morrison, who, throughout his career, has composed a myriad of tone poems to the leaves, fields and meadows that ripple and flow under the dingle dangle of the dappled and starry skies. 
And who better to present a cascading cavalcade of these performances than yours truly, who has been proselytizing on behalf of this guy for nearly (well, I ain't saying for how long other than that we were all a whole lot older then) and who likely has more versions of this, perhaps his greatest tune, than Van's mama do.
If it is true, as the poet, Eliot wrote, "there is only the unattended moment, the moment in and out of time ...lost in a shaft of sunlight, the wild thyme unseen ... the winter lightning ...the waterfall, ... (and) music heard so deeply that it is not heard at all", then Van Morrison has seen and felt and heard and remembered and reminded us of many of those unattended moments - to which we gratefully say, "Turn up your radio and let me hear the song .... TURN IT UP!"

Moondance Number 10. In this, the final installment of the Moondance cavalcade, we find our hero in August, 2014, a week shy of his 69th birthday, returning to perform at his own Orangefield High School in Belfast, proving that even for a life long Irish Rover, you can always go home again.

We now end where we end. 10/30/14

All performance clips are below the break. (Rotten apples department. The video clips can only be viewed through Flash player, which is not available on Apple or Android devices).

Beckett Bon Mots

Samuel Beckett (1906-1989)

"I was not made for the great light that devours, a dim lamp was all I had been given, and patience without end, to shine it on the empty shadows."

May Your Strength Give Us Strength

"May your strength give us strength,

May your faith give us faith,

May your hope give us hope,

May your love give us love". 

Do you remember dancing in September?

Earth, Wind and Fire were smooth, stylish, warm and celebratory plus they had a real cool name and the great Philip (where is he now?) Bailey. What's not to like?

Four Warm and Wise Words

"Of the wonderful things that you get out of life there are four and that may not be many but nobody needs any more ." 

Jon Hendricks

Summertime Farewell

Jim Hall and Pat Metheny, two brilliant jazz guitarists, duet on George and Ira Gershwin's Summertime.

It was sweet Caroline, but it's all over now.

Now that the hullabaloo and celebratory cheers for the 2013 WORLD CHAMPION BOSTON RED SOX have faded with the fall and we are entering the death throes of a lost season, it's time to prepare for the future. That includes the departure of the familiar (A fond farewell, Jon Lester), the overly familiar (you too, Steven Drew), welcoming new favorites (can we all say Cespedes?) and, in one long delayed instance, deleting certain sounds that have long since overstayed their welcome. 

Gun Wars: Why the Right to Bear Arms Trumps a Child’s Right to Life, Liberty and Happiness.

Gun Wars. Why the Right to Bear Arms Trumps a Child's Right to Life, Liberty and Happiness.

The Seven Ages of Man

The Seven Ages of Man

Jacques soliloquy from As You Like It

Act II, sc. VII

All the world's a stage,

Charlie Haden: A Ballad for the Fallen

Famed jazz bassist Charlie Haden (August 6, 1937-July 11 2014) has passed away. 

We are lucky to have had Lou Gehrig then - and Peter Frates now.

Seventy five years ago today, July 4, 1939, the great Lou Gehrig, stricken at age 36 with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis,  (ALS) delivered his famed, "I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth" speech at Yankee Stadium before more than 60,000 fans and a nationwide radio audience. 

19 Feet to Stardom

For those who have not seen the Academy Award winning documentary, 20 Feet From Stardom, the story of a few of the great background singers who contributed to many of the most popular recordings of our time, hopefully this will encourage you to do so. For those who have seen the film, here is some further research intended to move these wonderfully talented women just a bit closer to the recognition they all so richly deserve. 

William Blake; A divine child

“In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.” - William Blake

     

The real reason Eric Cantor paid the price

Before his march to become "King of the Jews and You Too" was so unceremoniously interrupted, soon to be former Congressman and House majority leader, Eric Cantor (R-Va), had a website encouraging readers to post public comments.*  I accepted this gracious invitation, fully expecting that, in the land of the dissident and the free, my comment would be posted.

The magical moments of The Lovin' Spoonful

The Lovin' Spoonful were just a wee bit to the dinky-dorky side of the divide to ever be considered truly groovy and were never the most exciting or innovative band to come down the pike, but for a few moments in the 1960's they helped us believe in magic. 

Anne Frank's indefatigable spirit

Anne Frank June 12, 1929 - March (?) 1945. 

On her thirteenth birthday, June 12, 1942 Anne Frank’s father gave her a blank diary. She began writing in it immediately while in hiding with her family from the Nazis.  Her writings chronicle her life and those of her family, their hopes, dreams and yearnings, written largely in the form of letters to imaginary friends.  The last entry is August 1, 1944 when she was barely 15.  The following day, she was arrested and transported to a concentration camp where she died in March, 1945. She remains perhaps the most famous of the millions of holocaust victims, not merely because her diaries were found (they were later returned to her father, a camp survivor), and published in 1947, but because of the grace with which she wrote, her indomitable spirit and indefatigable belief in the basic good within us all.

  What follows is a selection from Anne Frank’s 

Diary of a Young Girl.

When I Rode the Western Plains

From the Doctor's first slap on the ass, most of us learn from the School of Hard Knocks. 
A chosen few are born on the Street of Dreams. 
Some dive onto the Bourbon Street beat while others linger on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. 
Me? Well shucks. Guess'n I l'arned what I know'ed out on the prairies, up in the mountains and down in the gullies of mah television screen whare ah l'arned it all from these hombres who show'd this tenderfoot the ropes, when I rode the Western Plains. 

No cage ever chained the song in Maya Angelou's heart

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." - Maya Angelou 

April 4, 1928 - May 28, 2014

The Box

The Box

I loved life when I died.  

And all my breathless hopes and dreams

were hammered inside a wooden box

so neat and prim,

holding what was life within.

HL 5/7/14

Addendum in response to inquiries and speculation: This ditty is  intended in fond contemplation of those who have gone before and is in no way autobiographical. In fact, I am enjoying this mortal coil so much that I ain't never leaving! 

Growing Up with Bruce Springsteen

Has it really been more than 40 years since Bruce Springsteen began spewing a slew of ramalama ding-dong lyrics hitched to a big beat like some showoff talent run amok? 

Why did Mitt run from Romneycare?

For those who do not live in Massachusetts and are still trembling at the presupposed apocalyptic, futuristic nightmare of universal health care coverage, known variously as Obamacare or, in this Commonwealth, "Romneycare", calm down.

"There are no strangers here; only friends we haven't yet met." - W. B. Yeats

"There are no strangers here; only friends we haven't yet met." - W. B. Yeats

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was far more than just another cranky Irish egghead. He was, and remains, a literary giant of the first order, awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in literature and his poetry has endured for a century and more. As such, he is worthy of a lingering look back. Without further ado, a selection of the wit and wisdom of W.B.Yeats.

Screen Test!

Presenting a Cavalcade of Star Wars, featuring Garbo, Marilyn, Audrey, Marlon, Judy, Audrey, Vivien, Elvis, and dozens more of your Hollywood faves screen testing for seats on the StarBound Express! Who did Fortune's Wheel smile upon? Who rode a different vehicle on the Road to the Stars? Scroll down the page to find out and, not coincidentally, watch a parade of wonderfully talented performances in the process.

All the Dead I could ever handle, Man.

I respect the Grateful Dead's commitment, integrity and longevity. I do. I really do. 

John Coltrane's A Love Supreme

50 years ago, on December 9, 1964, John Coltrane recorded his masterwork, A Love Supreme. 

Money Doesn't Swear, It Croons

The Selling of Rock and Roll starring Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones (for Rice Krispies!), Cream, The Who, Aretha, Ray, The Airplane, Lou Reed, The Sex Pistols and Bruce on Baseball.

What counter-culture revolution were you sold?

The Beat Goes On; The British Invasion Continued

Following the advent of The Beatles to the pop music throne, there came a lengthy succession of Brit bands whose talents and influence ranged from the enduring and sublime to the lame and silly. All of them helped insure that the beat would go on. Here's the lineup.

It was 50 Years Ago Today Some Bad Little Kids Came Our Way

Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls; The Beatles!

(Thank you, Uncle Eddie.)

Update: Uncle Eddie's peeps pulled the vids thereby attempting to deprive we boys and girls of our mop top fun. Undeterred, we turn to the self-proclaimed Fifth Beatle, Murray the K, who has no apparent impulse to reach out from the great beyond to lessen his own crucial role in the creation of a rock legend. 

Waist Deep In the Big Muddy with Pete Seeger

We were neck deep in the Big Muddy 

And the big fool said to push on.

The Beatles Are Coming! The Beatles Are Coming!

I have nothing clever or illuminating to say about The Beatles that hasn't been said before. For those who were around at the time, it was something magical that had never happened before and has never happened since. For those who came after; The Beatles changed the world. It's that simple.

These performance clips are from 1963 and predate the 1964 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

A Gift Of Robert Frost

The first time I knew there was something called poetry that was created by people known as poets, was January 20, 1961.

Pete Seeger surrounds hate and forces it to surrender

Pete Seeger (1917-2014)

Turn! Turn! Turn!

Cecile McLoren Salvant awaits her Grammy

Cecile McLoren Salvant's first album, The Making of a Woman Child was nominated for an Emmy in the Jazz Vocal Performance category. The twenty-three year old singer didn't win, (losing out to the smoother stylings of Gregory Porter) but we're taking bets that her day will come. 
Introducing Woman Child 

Passings Duly Noted: The Tale of The Bronze Buckaroo, A Man of Many Colors

When Duke Ellington asked the smooth baritone, Herb Jeffries, to record "Flamino" for this short film, the singer had never before heard the song. Nonetheless, he sang what would become his signature song in just one take. With an otherworldly lyric that presaged later misterioso ballads such as "Nature Boy", the sensuous ballet interlude and The Ellington Orchestra providing a majestic cushion, this three minutes of elegant artistry provided Jeffries with the crown to his legacy. 

Honoring Paul Robeson

“As an artist, I come to sing, but as a citizen, I will always speak for peace, and no one can silence me in this.” – Paul Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976).

In the days following the honoring of Dr. King and leading to the celebration of Black History month, amid the ceaseless, deafening, mindless, twitter chatter, the chest pounding, bragging and braying of the Trumpet as well as so many presumed celebrities of all colors and persuasions, is our time not better spent honoring and emulating earlier giants who walked among us with pride, grace, maturity and style?

The Godfather and the Queen of Soul pleasing each other

Aretha Franklin and James Brown please each other - 1987

Please, Please Please