JazzWax

Sari Schorr: Back to L.A.

In May of 2020, I interviewed Sari Schorr, a powerful blues-rock singer-songwriter (go here). The pandemic and lockdown had just set in and every musician and singer I knew worried if they'd ever perform or record again let alone survive Covid-19. Sari's meaty touring schedule in Europe was scrapped and there didn't seem to be an end in sight. She courageously made a music video in a virtually empty New York, started a weekly Facebook videocast to communicate and keep her global fans close, and got busy writing songs. We stayed in touch and a friendship bloomed.

Before the pandemic, Sari co-wrote a song called Back to L.A. that appeared on her album Never Say Never. In 2019, she made a video that she decided to shelve when the pandemic arrived until times became a little brighter and when yearning to be back in Los Angeles made more sense.

Let Sari pick up the story:

In 2019, my husband and I rented an old RV to embark on a road trip through the South with our crazy pit bulls. The sense of freedom I felt on the road reconnected me with "Back to L.A.," a song about longing to return to a life l left behind but not having the courage to take the first step. Sitting at the RV's kitchen table, I decided to take action on the overwhelming need I felt to create a visual portrayal of the song.

By the time Covid hit, I had finished the first cut of the video, and my label had planned on releasing it. I requested that the video be held back and all promotion canceled until a point in time that felt more optimistic.

A few weeks ago, I felt that time was approaching. I re-edited the video to portray a greater sense of loss and isolation living through such challenging times. I was really surprised how re-imagining my song for the video, with the backdrop of the pandemic, amplified the message of my lyrics and made them more poignant.

To say we’ve been living through challenging times sounds like a cliché and an understatement. I miss my old life. I’m desperate to get back out on tour to do what I love most. As always, the hardest first step begins with the courage to move forward.

Here's Sari in her new video for Back to L.A. ...

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Sari's Never Say Never album here.

Jazz From Sixty-One at the Monroe

On Thursday, September 15, 1960, at 10:00 p.m. in New York, CBS aired Jazz From Sixty-One on national TV. The half-hour show was broadcast from the network's Studio 61, housed at the Monroe Theatre at 1456 First Avenue, at East 76th Street. The Monroe was one of the largest theaters built on Manhattan’s Upper East Side by an indie theater operator in the early 1920s. First opened in January 1926, CBS took it over for its Studio 61 in 1951, renovated the interior space for a sound stage, and began broadcasting live TV from there in 1952. [Photo above of CBS producer Robert Herridge]

Back then, as the at-home demand for television rapidly caught on, CBS had no time or the real estate to build a sprawling Hollywood-like studio lot. Instead, the network purchased or leased theaters all over the city as needed, revamping each one for television and immediately launched operations for programmming. The Monroe theater was later demolished and a modern daycare center stands in its place. For more on how CBS expanded its studio empire in a race against time, check out a fascinating free online reference, The History of CBS New York Television Studios: 1937-1965, by Bobby Ellerbee here.

In 1960, Jazz From Sixty-One was produced by Robert Herridge and directed by Karl Genus. The consultant was Nat Hentoff, who is seen in the show nodding to the music with a pipe in his mouth and his wife next to him. The show was part of The Robert Herridge Theater, a series of jazz and drama broadcasts.

The musicians featured that night were tenor saxophonist Ben Webster, with pianist Hank Jones, bassist George Duvivier and drummer Jo Jones; the Ahmad Jamal Trio, with pianist Ahmad Jamal, bassist Israel Crosby and drummer Vernel Fournier. Also included are trumpeter Buck Clayton and trombonist Vic Dickenson. [Photo above courtesy of the Ben Webster Foundation]

To read my 2015 Wall Street Journal essay on Robert Herridge, go here. To read my 2013 essay on Ahmad Jamal, go here.

Here's the complete Jazz From Sixty-One...

Margareta Bengtson and Nils Lindberg

Back in November, I posted about the Real Group, a hugely popular a cappella vocal ensemble from Sweden. Well, the other day, I stumbled across a 2008 album by the group's former soprano, Margareta Bengtson. The album is As We Are (Prophone) led by Swedish pianist and arranger Nils Lindberg. Several years ago, I interviewed Nils here. Margareta is an astonishing singer with tremendous tone and power.

Recorded in Sweden, As We Are features Bengtson backed by a terrific band: Nils Lindberg (arranger, composer, conductor), Jan Allan (tp), Hans Akesson and Hakan Brostrom (as), Anders Paulsson (s, ts), Joakim Milder (ts), Alberto Pinton (bs), Nils Lindberg (p), Jan Adefelt (b) and Bengt Stark (d).

The album's tracks include Remember, B.B. Blues, As You Are (which Nils wrote with bassist Red Mitchell), Springtime (a saxophone instrumental), I Remember Karelia, Santa Barbara, Skylark, Tingsmarschen (a folk song), Tomorrow, Dry Martini, Blues for Bill (an instrumental), Shall I Compare Thee and Epilogue (an instrumental).

So if you're a jazz singer shopping for songs off the beaten path, a number of these should be considered. 

Bengtson grew up in a family of musicians in Tyresö Municipality, south of Stockholm. As a child, she sang and played piano, later taking up the harp, which became her main instrument while studying at Stockholm's Royal College of Music. She joined the Real Group in 1984, and in 1997 she was awarded first prize as best female soloist by the Choral A Cappella Society of America.

At the end of 2006, Bengtson left the Real Group to become a solo performer and recording artist. She released a critically acclaimed jazz CD, I'm Old Fashioned. She also began appearing as a guest on other artists' CDs. For several years, she worked closely with the great Nils Lindberg. In 2008, Nils recorded with Bengtson on As We Are, a CD of songs he wrote or co-wrote. More CDs by Bengtson followed.

Today, I hear that Bengtson is still performing on harp and singing. 

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Nils Lindberg and Margareta Bengtson's As We Are (Prophone) here.

JazzWax clips: Here's As You Are, with Nils on piano in 2008...

The song also was recorded in Färingsö, Sweden, in August 2014, with Nils on piano, Olle Lindberg, his son, on bass, and Agnes Lindberg, Olle's wife, on the vocal. Here's As You Are...

How great an arranger is Nils? Dig his Springtime and incredible reed writing...

To view an hour-long concert of Bengtson singing and playing the harp in a jazz concert in 2020, go here. A special thanks to Peter Levin and Guy Jones in Sweden.