I'm deeply touched by all of your fabulous emails offering congratulations on my upcoming book—Why Jazz Happened (University of California Press). I'm also grateful for all of your generous pre-orders at Amazon. Thank you so much! There also were many emails praising the cover, so I figured I'd fill you in on the details:
The cover's designer is Lia Tjandr at the University of California Press, and the photo of Dizzy Gillespie is, of course, by Herb Snitzer. A big thanks to Herb and Lia. More to follow on the book, which will be published this December.
Gil Evans. WKCR-FM in New York will mark the 100th birthday of arranger-composer Gil Evans with an 18-hour tribute broadcast on Sunday. Recordings and on-air recollections will begin at 1 a.m. on Sunday and air through 7 p.m. You can tune into the station on your computer from anywhere in the world by going here.
More Abbott & Costello. This is one of my favorite routines from the Abbott & Costello Show, which aired in the early 1950s...
Bob Mintzer. Jazz video maven Bret Primack on saxophonist Bob Mintzer...
Oddball album cover of the week. King Fleming was a Muzak-y pianist who worked out of Chicago but never attracted much interest on the part of record companies. And when he finally did get his vinyl shot, the art director at Argo did his or her best to help him out—by using a photo of what appears to be a factory at night in the rain. I suppose the point of the cover was to attract despondent record buyers looking for albums that would encourage them to hurl themselves off a balcony.
Misty Night? Looks more like Night Train Murder ;))
And your book looks classy. Hope it'll find a lot of readers.
Posted by: JiffyBagBro1981 | May 12, 2012 at 02:04 PM
Thanks for the heads up on the Gil Evans broadcast, Marc. KCR is one of the gems of the internet (and local radio) and this particular broadcast had slipped by me.
Looking forward to the book, and I'm actually going to get it in a reg'lar bookstore, and not the Strand. Ain't that devotion?
Posted by: Rab Hines | May 13, 2012 at 10:43 AM
Nice to find the legendary Bob Mintzer mentioned here. I especially recommend listening to his outstanding HOMAGE TO COUNT BASIE.
Posted by: Joseph Broz | May 13, 2012 at 11:35 AM
A fave A&C routine of mine (among several)
"Alexander 2222!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCLTeaH0YPY
Posted by: John Cooper | May 14, 2012 at 01:51 PM
King Fleming made two more albums for Argo - they have been made available on CD in Japan.
Personally I love the cover of 'Misty Night' although it is remniscent of the Buddy Morrow 'Night Train' set on mercury too ! To me here in the UK, it signifies
'big-city USA'....
King Fleming also produced the excellent singer Lorez Alexandria, including her early hit 'Baltimore Oriole'. King Fleming - yes, another almost-forgotten musician - but his sides are worth hunting down on e-bay and similar listings. AACM stalwart Malachi Favors played bass for him on one album too.
Posted by: Steve Barrow | May 16, 2012 at 12:49 PM