So sorry for being unable to post my usual Weekend Wax Bits last weekend. I was in Toronto and crushed for time. Let me make it up to you with an action-packed roundup this week...
My Barnes & Noble talk was a blast. Around 50 friends (old and new) came to hear me and Rob Hyman talk about the book and Cyndi Lauper. I was so touched by the outpouring of love and support. A special thanks to Rob for generously coming up from Philadelphia to join me. He's a great guy.
My Toronto event two days later was over the moon. I put together an extensive playlist to illustrate the evolution of songs I referenced during my talk, and the audience of 60 at the studios of JAZZ.FM91 loved it. While standing, I had my laptop on a glass table about belt-high, which allowed me to perform as speaker and DJ. The Q&A after my hour-long presentation lasted an hour prior to book signing. A terrific evening and a wonderful audience. [Photo above by John Rowlands]
Surprise! In the Toronto audience was John Rowlands, the famed rock photographer. After the talk, John was at the end of the book-signing line, so when he reached me, we were able to sit and chat. After I signed his and Jo-Ann DaPonte's book, Jo-Ann took a photo of me holding one of John's iconic images of David Bowie as John held his signed book aloft...
Listen while you read. I wrote Anatomy of a Song with hopes you'd listen to the songs while reading. If you wish, dig all 45 songs for free at my Spotify jukebox (go here).
Media roundup. Anatomy of a Song remains a strong seller in the U.S., Canada and Europe. In addition to doing about 20 radio and print interviews over the past two weeks, here are a few TV and radio clips:
WSJ Cafe—I was on the WSJ's Lunch Break Cafe with Tanya Rivero (go here)...
Hoda Kotb—co-host of the Today show, invited me on her fabulous Sirius XM radio show to talk about Anatomy of a Song (go here). The show was remixed to bring my voice up.
Bill Goldstein recommended Anatomy of a Song on his closely followed weekly "Bill's Books" segment on Today in New York (if you wish, move the time bar to 2:40) (go here).
Please support JazzWax and buy Anatomy of a Song. To purchase for yourself or as a holiday gift, go here in the U.S., here in the U.K. or here in Canada. Thanks for your kindness!
So flattered. Around the world, readers are sending me selfies taken while holding up their copy of Anatomy of a Song. Here's a handful (keep 'em coming!)...
Sydney Finkelstein of Dartmouth's Tuck Business School and author of the terrific Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent.
Guy Jones, the general manager of Fog Arts Records in Stockholm.
Mattias Nilsson, Swedish jazz pianist (go here) in Malmö, Sweden.
In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed Paula Abdul on growing up with a range of physical limitations, including collapsed lungs and a broken windpipe at birth and hips that turned inward (go here). She overcame them all, but years of injuries along with car and plane crashes left Paula on pain meds. Finally, she was finally able to overcome the pain and the meds thanks to hard work and a team of doctors. Now she's preparing for a dance tour in 2017.
Also in the WSJ, I interviewed Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Sharon Olds on why she danced to Aretha Franklin's Respect before leaving for the hospital to give birth in 1969 (go here). Her new book, Odes, was recently published.
Alan Warner sent along the following note: "Here's my dog-eared but precious copy of a Capitol catalog put out by EMI in England just after the label purchased Capitol and switched from UK Decca."
Two Oscars. John Rowlands and Jo-Ann DaPonte sent along this clip of pianists Oscar Peterson and Oliver Jones in 2004...
In New York this week. On Thursday, Dec. 1, catch jazz pianist Leslie Pintchik and her trio at Jazz at Kitano (at the Kitano Hotel, 66 Park Avenue at 38th St.). Leslie will be joined by bassist Scott Hardy and drummer Michael Sarin. Reservations are strongly recommended. Sets start at 8 and 10 p.m. ($17 cover, $20 minimum). I have a full afternoon of book radio interviews that day, but I'm going to be there for the 8 p.m. set. I wouldn't miss it and neither should you. For information and reservations: (212) 885-7119.
YouTube Cocktail! Carl Woideck sent along black-and-white footage of the Capitol Records Tower in 1956 when it opened. Let me fix you a YouTube Cocktail...
Watch this (with the sound muted)...
While listening to this...
What the heck. Here's James Moody's original Workshop in 1948...
And here's Eddie Jefferson's vocalese rendition of Workshop set to Moody's solo in 1954...
Oddball album cover of the week.
Here's another one of those "little women" album covers, this one in the pop-rock era, circa late 1960s. They are so lightweight that their steps leave the keys unmoved. Here's a tart taste of Waxman's sound...
