Sitting in a booth across from guitarist Emily Remler in the early 1980s, I made eye contact with her. We were at the West End Bar, a jazz watering hole two blocks from Columbia University's main gate where Beat Generation literary greats spent hours gabbing and nursing beers and whiskeys in the late 1950s. Emily was performing that week at the West End, and jazz radio host Phil Schapp, who was presenting a jazz series there, brought her over.
Eye-locked for five seconds or so, she struck me as a bird that didn't remain on a branch for long. In those fleeting moments, I felt as if I had looked into a window and seen something terribly sad. And Emily knew it, quickly drawing the shade by looking off to her right as she talked.
Emily struck me as being uncomfortably self-conscious for a performer and didn't seem to like the idea of herself. What I mean by that is she felt trapped inside of a stranger. As jazz journalist Bill Milkowski writes in his liner notes to the newly released Emily Remler: Cookin' at the Queens, Live in Las Vegas 1984 & 1988 (Resonance):
"In a 1982 issue of People magazine, guitarist Emily Remler famously said, "I may look like a nice Jewish girl from New Jersey, but inside I'm a 50-year-old heavyset black man with a big thumb, like Wes Montgomery."
Discovered by producer Zev Feldman, the tapes of previously unreleased material on the new three-LP and two-CD album was recorded at The Four Queens Club in Vegas. For 14 years, starting in March 1982, the club's "Monday Night Jazz" hosted by Alan Grant featured top talent whose sets were recorded and rebroadcast worldwide on National Public Radio under the title "Jazz Night From Las Vegas." The club ended its run in September 1996, after the hotel and casino filed for bankruptcy and before the Riviera took over the property that October.
Some of this material has been featured on YouTube, uploaded by those who taped the original broadcast. But according to Zev, an extra hour of material that has never before been issued is included in the new release.
We're fortunate to have Emily's sets at the Four Queens from May 1984 and September 1988. In 1984, her band featured Emily on guitar, Choho Arbe on piano, Carson Smith on bass and Tom Montgomery on drums. The personnel on her 1988 club return included Emily on guitar, Carson Smith on bass and John Pisci on drums.
Emily's playing here is extraordinary. Her swing and improvisation sail along with an airy groove and delicate intensity. Her chords are meaty and soulful. And she's never dull or plodding. West Coast bassist Smith, who lived in Vegas at the time, was a great get. Smith played with Gerry Mulligan (1952–53), Chet Baker (1953–55), Russ Freeman (1955–56), and Chico Hamilton (1955–57). He also recorded with Clifford Brown (1954) and Dick Twardzik (1954), and toured with Stan Kenton (1959) and Charlie Barnett (1960).
The 1980s were murder on upcoming jazz musicians, especially women. Interest in the music had been declining after 10 years of electric experimentation. Headliners had no trouble finding work in the U.S. and abroad, but artists like Emily were cast adrift, left to wonder whether they were really any good and why they weren't filling rooms, getting album deals or winning Grammys.
Do yourself a favor and listen to Emily. She was an extraordinary guitarist who never received the credit she deserved while she was alive and hasn't been given her due since her passing—until now. This new set is the first official live recording of Emily in her discography, so hats off to Zev, George Klabin at Resonance, co-producer Bill Milkowski and everyone else who was instrumental in bringing her music to market.
Addicted to pain killers and heroin, Emily died in 1990 of heart failure while on tour in Sydney, Australia, a country where she hoped to relocate. She was 32.
JazzWax tracks: The three-LP package of Emily Remler: Cookin' at the Queens, Live in Las Vegas 1984 & 1988 (Resonance) will be available only on November 29, Record Store Day. You can locate and contact your local record store by going here.
The CD, digital download and streaming formats will be available on December 6.
JazzWax clips:Here's a mini-documentary on the album and on Emily...
Here's Emily playing Wes Montgomery's D Natural Blues from the new album...
And here's Emily performing at the Richmond Hotel in Adelaide, Australia, on the night of May 3, 1990 (2 hours and 19 minutes). It would be her final concert. She died the next day after traveling to Sydney. Watching this will give you a fine sense of how special she was. It also will make you cry...
In The Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed Emmy-winning actress Carrie Preston for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). If you were a fan of The Good Wife and The Good Fight, she played Elsbeth Tascioni, an unassuming Columbo-like defense attorney. If Columbo with Peter Falk escapes you, her character is sort of confused and unassuming, and constantly misjudged for her simple way of looking at things. And yet, with that personality, she won cases. [Photo above of Carrie Preston, courtesy of CBS]
On Season 2 of her drama-comedy spinoff, Elsbeth (CBS), she's still the same character only now she helps the NYPD solve crimes. In addition to being a fine actress, the writing on the show is top notch. In the U.S., check your local listings. Or watch it for free here.
Also in the WSJ this week, I wrote about a new double album featuring Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's performance at New York's Fillmore East in September 1969, just weeks after Woodstock. A fascinating recording of the previously unreleased concert, 10 months before the band imploded due to runaway egos, sudden wealth and bad chemistry. Go here.
Here's the album's high point, Neil Young's Down By the River...
Then Quincy Jones died and I delivered an Appreciation of Q the next day in the Arts in Review section. A busy week. [Photo above of Quincy Jones courtesy of Ebay] Go here.
Larry Pluth sent along this gem of Q conducting Soul Bossa Nova on Late Night With David Letterman in 2002. I can spot Jerry Dodgion and Phil Woods in the reed section and Clark Terry in his signature white cap on flugelhorn and scat. Bill Kirchner added a few more: Frank Wess in the reed section; trombonist Benny Powell (wearing a cap) and Douglas Purviance on bass trombone on the right end of section; and lead trumpt Bob Millikan. And Claiborne Ray notes that the drummer is Grady Tate and that Bill Easley is in the reed section. Go here...
What I'm Watching Now
My favorite streaming TV series, ranked...
Babylon Berlin
My Brilliant Friend
Killing Eve
The Crown
The Americans
Band of Brothers
Landman
Feud: Bette and Joan
Downton Abbey
The Blacklist
Goliath
The Gentlemen
Turn: Washington's Spies
Unbelievable
Justified
Voiceless (Bella da morire (2020/MHz)
Just viewed and highly recommended...
The Diplomat.Keri Russell (The Americans) is back in Season 2 of the series that showcases the drama, strategic moves and politesse of being the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It starts slow but the drama picks up and you get in the groove fast enough.
The Blacklist (2013-2023)—I'm up to Season 6 out of 10 and still hooked on this spy-thriller series. James Spader is fantastic as the man who knows where the bad guys are and, in action-packed scenes, does away with them with an FBI task force. Lots of other subplots going on throughout. An attention-holder. (Netflix)
Watched in advance and recommended, plus start dates...
Landman S1 (Nov. 17/Paramount+)
Interior Chinatown S1 (Nov. 19/Hulu)
A Man on the Inside S1 (Nov. 21/Netflix)
No Good Deed S1 (Dec. 12/Netflix)
American Primeval S1 (Jan. 9/Netflix)
Worth watching...
TV series
TheAffair—(2014-2019/Hulu)
Alaska Daily—(2022/Prime)
The Americans—(2013-2018)/Prime)
Anatomy of a Scandal—(2022/Netflix)
Apples Never Fall—2024/Peacock)
Babylon Berlin (2017-2024/MHz via Prime Video)
Band of Brothers—(2001/Netflix)
The Bay (2019-current/BritBox)
The Blacklist (2013-2023/Netflix)
Belgravia—(2020/Prime Video)
Blue Lights—(2023/BritBox)
Bosch—(2014-2021/Prime)
Bosch: Legacy—(2022-current/Prime)
The Crown—(2016-2023/Netflix)
Cherif—(2013-2019/Prime)
Dark Winds—(2022/AMC)
The Diplomat—(2023/Netflix)
Downton Abbey—(2020-2015/Prime)
Emily in Paris—(2020-present/Netflix)
Feud (S1): Bette and Joan—(2017/Hulu)
Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans—(2024/FX, with streaming on Hulu)
Fisk—(2021/Netflix)
The Gentlemen—(2024/Netflix)
Godless—(2017/Netflix)
Goliath—(2016-2021/Prime)
The Gilded Age—(current/Max)
High Water—(2022/Netflix)
Homeland—(2011-2020/Showtime)
Jane Eyre—(2006/Britbox)
Justified—(2010-2015/Hulu)
Killing Eve—(2018-2022/Netflix)
Life & Beth—(Seasons 1& 2, 2022-present/Hulu)
Lincoln Lawyer—(2022-present/Netflix)
Loudermilk—(2017-2020/Netflix)
MI-5, the Series—(2002-2011/BritBox)
Monsieur Spade—(2024/AMC)
Murdaugh Murders: The Movie, Parts 1 and 2—(2023/Lifetime)
My Brilliant Friend—(2018-current)
1923—(2022-present/Paramount+)
1883—(2021-2022/Prime)
Outlander—(2014-present/Netflix)
Pieces of Her—(2022/Netflix)
Poldark—(2015-2019/Prime)
Reacher—(2016-present/Netflix)
Ripley—(2024/Netflix)
Scott & Bailey (2011-2016/Prime)
Turn: Washington's Spies—(2014-2017/Prime)
Unbelievable—(2019/Netflix)
Under the Banner of Heave—(2022/Hulu)
Veronica Mars—(2004 to 2019/Hulu)
Voiceless (Bella da morire—(2020/MHz)
The Watcher—(2022/Netflix)
The Way Home—(2023-current/Peacock)
Who Is Erin Carter—(2023/Netflix)
The Woman in the Wall—(2024/Showtime)
The Veil—(2024/Hulu-FX)
Wilder—(2017-current)
WPC 56—(2013-2015/Britbox)
Yellowstone—(2018-present/Paramount Network)
Films
The Accountant—(2016/Hulu)
American Gangster—(2007/Max)
Armageddon Time—(2022/Prime)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs—(2018/Netflix)
The Ballad of Lefty Brown—(2017/Netflix)
Blackout (2022/Netflix)
TheBricklayer—(2024/Netflix)
The Commuter (2018/Netflix)
The Dig—(2021/Netflix)
Eiffel—(2021/Prime)
Enola Holmes 1 and 2—(2022/Netflix)
The Equalizer 1, 2 and 3—(2014-2024/Prime)
The Great Lillian Hall—(2024/Max)
Fury—(2014/Netflix)
God's Country—(2022/Hulu
Guy Ritchie's The Covenant—(2023/Prime)
I Used to Be Funny (2023/Netflix)
Jack Reacher (the movie)—(2012/Paramount+)
Kill Chain—(2019/Max)
Knight and Day—(2010/Roku)
Last Night in Soho—(2021/Prime)
Last Seen Alive—(2020/Netflix)
The Little Things—(2021/Netflix)
Lonely Planet—(2024)/Netflix)
Man on Fire—(2004/Max)
Manchester by the Sea—(2016/Prime Video)
MI-5—(2015/Max)
The Mule—(2018/Netflix)
The Night Agent—(2023/Netflix)
Nobody—(2021/Prime)
Nobody Wants This—(2024/Netflix)
Ordinary Angels—(2024)
Purple Hearts—(2022/Netflix)
The Queen's Gambit—(2020/Netflix)
Queenpins—(2021/Pluto TV)
Reptile—(2023/Netflix)
Ruthless—(2023/Hulu)
The Secret: Dare to Dream—(2020/Netflix)
Self Reliance—(2023/Hulu)
Seraphim Falls—(2006/Netflix)
Some Girl(s)—(2013/Amazon Prime)
Somewhere in Queens—(2022/Hulu)
The Spy—(2019/Netflix)
Spy(ies)—(2009/Prime)
The Stranger—(2022/Netflix)
Toscana—(2022/Netflix)
The Two Popes—(2019/Netflix)
Up in the Air—(2009/Max)
Wonder Wheel—(2017/Prime)
Documentaries
Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake—(2022/Netflix)
The Beach Boys—(2024/Disney)
Carole King: Live in Central Park—(2023/PBS)
The Comeback—(2005 and 2014/Max)
Cunk on Earth—(2022/Netflix)
Cyndi Lauper: Let the Canary Sing—(2023/Paramount+)
Facing Nolan—(2022/Netflix)
Five Came Back—(2017/Netflix)
Jane Fonda in Five Acts—(2024/Max)
Kate Hepburn: Call Me Kate—(2023/Netflix)
Suzi Q: Suzi Quatro—(2019/Prime)
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari—(2022/Netflix)
'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris—(2007/go here
Here's Chet Baker playing Arborway in Japan in 1987...
Perry Como Show. Here's Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd...
Rita Payés. Last week, Carl Woideck sent along a lovely clip of Rita Payés, whom I last posted about in 2023. Go here...
Don Fagerquist. When I mentioned in my Friday Background post that Don Fagerquist was my favorite West Coast trumpeter, readers wrote in asking for samples. Here ya go, and love that tip-toe style [photo above of Don Fagerquist]...
Here's Heinie Beau & His Hollywood All-Stars featuring Fagerquist on You're Looking at Me. Los Angeles still feels like this when you're driving around toward sundown. Makes you feel like a rumpled Hollywood gumshoe looking for a couple of mugs who played rough with a friend...
Here's Fagerquist on Henry Mancini's Chime Time from Mr. Lucky...
Here's Fagerquist with the Les Brown All-Stars on Love Is Just Around the Corner...
And here's Fagerquist with Russ Garcia on The Boy Next Door...
Multitracking. Last week, following my post on Zoot Sims Plays 4 Altos, I posted on why Sidney Bechet's 1941 recordings aren't examples of multitracking. Lorenz Rychner wrote in with a few suggested technical tweaks. Here are my remarks below updated; they've also been added to last week's post:
While Bechet did indeed make two sides of a 78 playing clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, piano, bass, and drums, this wasn't multitracking, which began in 1955 and by definition requires a tape recorder. But it was certainly “overdubbing”—adding a performance to previously recorded performances.
About multitracking: A track is a magnetized strip that runs the length of a piece of tape. Early three-track machines (in the 1950s) could record three such strips, side-by-side, on one tape. For example: Track #1 might have a combination of bass and drums, track #2 might have a combination of guitar and piano, and the vocals might go onto track #3.
Or, if needed, tracks 1 and 2 could be combined on the still empty track 3, freeing up tracks 1 and 2 for more recorded material. These tracks did not have to be recorded at the same time. For example, the vocalist could come into the studio, put on headphones and sing along to the instrumental tracks, recording his or her vocal on the last empty track. Then the three tracks would be combined or “mixed down” onto a final mono track on a separate tape for the vinyl release (or broadcast tape).
In the 1960s, stereo (two tracks, left and right) succeeded mono, and advances in technology allowed for many more tracks. The recorder pictured above recorded 16 tracks on a 1-inch tape. That hugely increased the possibilities for separate performances and overdubs.
Bechet, with the help of some adventurous RCA engineers, recorded each instrument on a separate lacquer disc. Then all of those recordings were played at once and their sounds combined on a master disc. That the engineers managed to keep the playback of the discs in sync is a technical marvel.
Here's Bechet playing multiple instruments on the overdubs for The Sheik of Araby in 1941...
And finally,here's Adam West on TV's Hollywood Palace as Batman singing Orange Colored Sky at the height of Batmanmania in 1966...
In 1954, when Decca began to issue 12-inch pop LPs, it suddenly had a vast pipeline to fill with new releases. To load up the schedule of LPs, Decca producers on the East and West coasts turned to jazz studio players to crank out recordings. Not only could these musicians compose and arrange songs fast, they were crack sight readers who could get the job done fast in the studio with few re-takes, if any.
In Hollywood in 1954, Decca producer Tom Mack captured an astonishing group assembled by French hornist and session arranger John Graas. Recorded in June 1954, Jazz Studio 2 From Hollywood featured Don Fagerquist (tp), Milt Bernhart (tb), John Graas (fhr), Herb Geller (as), Jimmy Giuffre (cl,ts,bar), Marty Paich (p), Howard Roberts (g), Curtis Counce (b) and Larry Bunker (d).
Those familiar with West Coast jazz know what an incredible group this is. Don Fagerquist is easily my favorite West Coast trumpeter, with a gorgeous improvisational style that became the model for the Hollywood sound. Milt Bernhart was a first-call trombonist and played on many of Frank Sinatra's Capitol recordings. John Graas was a superb jazz French hornist and a solid arranger and studio musician. Herb Geller was a beautiful alto saxophonist with a yearning sound and at his best here, joined by the smooth reeds of Jimmy Giuffre. Marty Paich was a terrific pianist and a superb arranger. And Howard Roberts, Curtis Counce and Larry Bunker were the cream of the studio time-keepers out West then.
Together, they created a gorgeous, relaxed jazz album influenced by the warm Los Angeles weather, endless highways, the expanse of the Pacific Ocean, the glamour of the movie industry and promise of unfolding suburbs. This is West Coast jazz at its best.
Here'sJazz Studio 2, From Hollywood without ad interruptions...
Marc Myers writes regularly for The Wall Street Journal and is author of "Anatomy of 55 More Songs," "Anatomy of a Song," "Rock Concert: An Oral History" and "Why Jazz Happened." Founded in 2007, JazzWax has won three Jazz Journalists Association awards.