JazzWax

Jane, Peter and Jim

In The Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed Jane Birkin for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). The the 1960s, Jane was an icon, the face of Swinging London as a model, stage and film actress, and romantic partner of Serge Gainsbourg. We talked about her childhood, her love for her parents, the pain of boarding school and the trip to Italy she took with her father, where her life changed. [Photo of Jane Birkin in the 1960s courtesy of Jane Birkin]

Here's Jane in Blow-Up in 1966...

Here's Jane with Serge Gainsbourgh singing Je t'ame in 1969. Their albums together are intense, sexy and move in slow motion. Worth exploring are Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg (1969) and Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971)...

And here's the story behind the Hermès Birkin bag, which was named for her...

Joy Marshall. Last week, following my posts on singer Joy Marshall (here and here), I received the following from Roger Cotterrell in London:

Hello Marc, what a fascinating post! Joy Marshall is almost forgotten here as a singer, but the legend of her personal life lives on in memoirs. Probably you know Peter King’s autobiography "Flying High: A Jazz Life and Beyond" (Northway, 2011). If so, you know that it tells the story of Peter’s stormy, doomed marriage to Joy in full, rather harrowing detail. Her relationship with Tubby Hayes set up a situation between the two saxophonists, which was hard since King played regularly in Tubby’s big band. That situation rippled around the jazz scene here.

You are right to say that Peter was "nearly emotionally destroyed" by his marriage to Joy. One problem is that at the time, he was as personally fragile as she was. My wife and I knew him well in the last years of his life. You are certainly right about her musical talent, and it is good that you have drawn attention to it.

Whenever she gets mentioned now, usually only in passing in histories of modern jazz in Britain, she's often cited as a negative influence because of her self-destructive personality. Thanks for seeing a more positive side of the picture. It is certainly welcome. Best wishes, and thanks as ever for your always interesting blog.


Jim Hall's wife, Jane, wrote me last week after I posted my interview with Bill Evans, the dancer, on his performances with the Bil Evans Trio:

Marc, speaking of sitting on piano benches, many many years ago, Duke Ellington’s band was playing for dancers at New York's Rainbow Room. Jim and I went, along with Mort and Judy Lindsay. It was my birthday. I was young and fearless then and possibly tipsy when I sat down next to Duke as he was playing. He was great, smiled and we chatted a bit about Ben Webster and Cottontail. Ben was living in Sweden or Denmark then and he was a friend of ours.

Anyway, your recent interview about Bill and the dancer Bill who sat next to him briefly before dancing reminded me of that time. I blush thinking about it now. Years later we met at the White House and he remembered. I was astounded. A great man!

PS: Regarding your Wayne Shorter post, I thought you'd enjoy this trio performance at Montreux in 1987 featuring Jim, Wayne and Michel Petrucciani...

Bobby Shew. Danilo Morandi in Switzerland sent along a link to a clip of the superb trumpeter recently playing Clifford Brown's Joy Spring via Zoom with the Western Illinois Jazz Studio Orchestra [photo of Bobby Shew courtesy of Summit Records]...

FM Radio Archive will keep you busy for days. It features live recordings taken from the radio. Last week, I heard from Kim Paris at the archive:

Marc, thanks for mentioning FM Radio Archive a few weeks ago. I wanted you to let you know that Raoul van Hall has been kind enough to share some of his Jazz From the Left broadcasts with me on Northern California Public Media. You'll find them here.

Hot Lips Page radio. On Sunday (May 9), from 2 to 7 p.m. (ET), Sid Gribetz will present a five-hour radio special celebrating the career of trumpeter and vocalist Hot Lips Page on “Jazz Profiles” on WKCR-FM in New York. Listen from anywhere in the world by going here.

New York foodies. Ever wonder the lengths to which some New Yorkers will go to find, eat and share the best food in the city? Last week I stumbled across just such a food fanatic's daily blog. On Instagram, go to @feedingolivia. Fizzy content and pro-level photos so sumptuous you'll be trying to order from places she raves about. For example, here's how she describes the dish above: "Go to @wuswontonking for their duck buns and wonton noodle soup, but don’t miss their Dungeness crab, battered and deep-fried to a golden crisp and adorned with salty garlic bits."

For daily posts, just click her image in the circle. The slide show begins. If you want to stop on a page, click on the page or, on your phone, hold the page with your thumb. Want to go back? Tap the left side of the photo. Avoid reading if you haven't eaten yet. More photos? Here ya go...

Cacio e pepe at the Leopard. The most perfect meal tonight at @theleopardnyc. Thank you @jordanfrosolone for spoiling us and making tonight so memorable!

I will think about tonight’s lemon meringue from @nycprimerib for a very long time. [Photos above courtesy of feedingolivia]

Wayne Shorter: Timeless Sound

Wayne Shorter remains one of America's most fascinating living jazz legends. His sound on the tenor saxophone in the 1960s and '70s was muscular, hypnotic and so evocative of the era. His original compositions remain relevant, with their yearning, political undertow and modal scales. [Photo above of Wayne Shorter by Francis Wolf (c)Mosaic Images]

So it's puzzling that there are so few YouTube clips of him live in the 1960s leading his own groups and playing his own music. Part of this is a result of him spending most of his time in the Miles Davis Quintet. He probably didn't tour much for his Blue Note albums such as Juju (1965) and Speak No Evil (1966). [Photo above of Wayne Shorter by Francis Wolf (c)Mosaic Images]

But there's another matter. Unless an artist toured in Europe back then, there's probably very little footage of that artist today. Jazz was rarely captured on camera in the U.S., except it appeared on dopey variety shows or sponsored specials. That's because American television has always been advertiser driven. In Europe, where the governments owned television (and radio) and subsidized programming, jazz was routinely taped for a range of programming. Europe recognized the genius of jazz and documented it. America, sadly, did not. 

Here's what I could find of Shorter in the '60s with the Miles Davis Quintet in concert abroad:

Here's the Miles Davis Quintet—Miles Davis (tp), Wayne Shorter (ts), Herbie Hancock (p), Ron Carter (b) and Tony Williams (d) in Stockholm in 1963 playing Agitation...

Here's the Miles Davis Quintet in Milan in 1964 playing Autumn Leaves...

Here's the Miles Davis Quintet in Sweden in 1967 playing Wayne Shorter's Footprints...

Here's the Miles Davis Quintet on the same date and location playing 'Round Midnight...

And here's the Miles Davis Quintet in Antibes, France, in 1969 playing Milestones, Footprints and 'Round Midnight. This quintet featured Miles Davis (tp), Wayne Shorter (ts,ss), Chick Corea (el-p), Dave Holland (b) and Jack DeJohnette (d)...

Joy Marshall in Holland, 1965

Earlier this week, I posted on jazz-pop vocalist Joy Marshall, who moved to London in 1962, married, divorced and remained there until her untimely death in 1968. David Chilver in London sent along a link to the following clip of Marshall in the Netherlands in 1965 on Dutch television. First we hear Yesterdays, a solo by Rob Madna on piano backed by the Frans de Kok Orchestra. Then Marshall sings It's All Right With Me. She's backed by the orchestra featuring Jerry van Rooyen (tp), Herman Schoonderwalt (as), Rob Madna (p), Ruud Jacobs (b) and Cees See (d).  [Image above from a German trading card]

Here’s Rob Madna and Joy Marshall in 1965...