In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed Jane Goodall for my "House Call" column (go here). Jane, of course, is the primatologist who pioneered the study of chimpanzees by living among them in Tanzania in 1960. When Jane was little, she developed a passion for Africa by reading adventure books. Back then, she felt Tarzan had married the wrong Jane. Be sure to catch the new documentary about her life featuring newly found footage from National Geographic. Here's an older National Geographic documentary trailer...
And here's Jane on 60 Minutes...
Also in the WSJ this week, I interviewed novelist Nelson DeMille on Procol Harum's A White Shade of Pale and how the song got him through the Tet Offensive in Vietnam in 1968 and back home to the States (go here). Nelson's new book is The Cuban Affair (go here).
Twitter milestone. Last week, the JazzWax Twitter account—Marc Myers @ JazzWax—passed the 10,000-followers mark. Fun to finally earn the 10K. Come follow me and catch my Tweets throughout the day, including links to WSJ posts as they go up online.
Wardell Gray radio. "Symphony Sid" Gribetz, my favorite DJ, will present a five-hour radio retrospective on the career of saxophonist Wardell Gray on Sunday, October 8, from 2 to 7 p.m. (EDT) on WKCR-FM in New York. You can access teh show from anywhere in the world on your computer or phone by going here.
Thelonious Monk radio. WKCR will feature its annual "Thelonious Monk Birthday Broadcast" on Tuesday October 10, playing Monk's music for 24 hours around the clock. Again, you can access from anywhere in the world on your computer or phone by going here. [Photo of Thelonious Monk above by Herb Snitzer]
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Here's the list of this year's nominees: Bon Jovi, Kate Bush, the Cars, Depeche Mode, Dire Straits, Eurythmics, J. Geils Band, Judas Priest, LL Cool J, MC5, the Meters, Moody Blues, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Nina Simone, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Link Wray and the The Zombies.
A few notes: Link Wray isn't already in the Rock Hall? What a surprising omission. Also stunning for the same reason is that R&B tenor saxophonist Big Jay McNeely, who had everything to do with the birth of rock 'n' roll in 1949 and who remains active today, still isn't on the list of inductees. That's just cruel and dumb. It's hard to understand the politics in the nominating process. Or maybe it's easy to understand. Good to see Sister Rosetta Tharpe there, though the odds of her induction have been called "slim."
What the heck. I'm not big on videos of kids playing jazz, rock or the blues, but this one I had to share with you. While doing research on Blue Yodel #6, I came across this video from three years ago. I had no idea who EmiSunshine was, but found out here. Catch that one glimmer of modesty at the very end, during the applause...
Oddball album cover of the week.
The basement dance party thing I sort of get. No place else to have fun with your teenage friends. But dancing downstairs to Paul Whiteman? Keep in mind, the "then" part of the cover title refers to the 1920s. Here's a taste...
