Last week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed Laila Ali, daughter of boxer Muhammad Ali, on growing up with "the Greatest" dad (go here). Laila talked about their battles and joys. You'll never believe what she has that reminds her of him. Laila has a new cookbook out, Food for Life (St. Martin's).
Also in the WSJ, I interviewed John Bargh, psychology professor at Yale University, on the magic of hearing Led Zeppelin's Heartbreaker for the first time in 1969 while growing up in Champaign, Ill. (go here). At 14, he was a beta tester at the University of Illinois for the early personal-computer technology being developed there. Zep's Heartbreaker, like those desktops, were about the world of tomorrow and the power of doing things differently. His latest book is Before You Know It: The Unconscious Reasons We Do What We Do (Touchstone)
Spotted in London. Singer Georgia Mancio snapped this image "at a prominent place at Foyles bookshop in Southbank, London." Thanks, Georgia!
Two hit men. A photo from Todd Barkan's Facebook page: Jackie Robinson and Nat King Cole at Wrigley Field in Chicago in 1954.
L.A. Jazz. I just finished reading Peter Vacher's Swingin' on Central Avenue: African-American Jazz in Los Angeles (Rowman & Littlefield). A wonderful collection of oral histories by Peter who interviewed 16 musicians who performed in the city's African-American neighborhood. Go here.
Marlene VerPlanck. Following my post on Marlene's passing last Sunday, I received the following from reader Tony Middleton, a former jazz record shop salesperson in London and a discographer...
"Hello Marc, very sad news regarding Marlene VerPlanck. She and Billy VerPlanck would always visit our shop during their visits to England. We had many nice lunches nearby in Soho. Looking through the CDs she recorded, I noticed one had a brief note from Billy May.
"You may find the above photo interesting. On my initial trip to Los Angeles in 1981, the first person I visited was Billy May. We had been corresponding for a number of years, as I used to send him model railroad publications.
"Typical of his sharp wit and general humor, he arrived to meet me in the same car featured on the rear cover of his Billy May Today (Capitol) album. He even had a copy of the album with him. The photo was taken in Sherman Oaks, Calif., in February 1981."
Pinky Winters. Following my post last week on Pinky Winters, I received a lovely note from the great singer herself:
"Dear Marc, what a lovely piece you wrote about me. I was blown away! I have received so many notes from your readers. I appreciate this so much. Maybe we’ll meet some day so I can thank you in person!"
Lenny Breau. Last week, following my post on guitarist Lenny Beau, I received the following note from Tony Mottola, son of famed guitarist Tony Mottola Sr. (pictured above)...
"Thanks for posting about Lenny Breau, a really underappreciated guitarist. As for Ron Halldorson's comment "all the big-name jazz guitar players knew and adored him," you can count my father in that group. Many years ago, he handed me one of Lenny's CDs as I was leaving his house after a Sunday visit. He said, 'You gotta listen to this guy. You won't believe it.' Dad really admired him. Lenny is prominently featured in Lorenzo DeStefano's 1981 documentary Talmadge Farlow, which has some wonderful duets by Lenny and Tal Farlow at Tal's home in Sea Girt, N.J., and at a club on the Jersey shore. Lenny's sweet and beautiful nature really comes through in those scenes. (A DVD was released in 2006.)
"By the way, the opening number on that CBC TV show you featured sounds like a three-guitar version of my father's arrangement of The Song Is You from his first Command Records album in 1959 (Mr.Big, which had five guitars, counting Bucky Pizzarelli on a 6-string Gibson bass). The complete list of guitarists were: Tony Mottola, Al Caiola, Al Cassamenti, Don Arnone and Bucky Pizzarelli.
"My father had died by the time I discovered that CBC performance on YouTube. Too bad. He really would have been tickled by it." [Photo above from the Mr. Big recording session courtesy of Tony Mottola Jr.; from left, drummer Terry Snyder, guitarists Tony Mottola, Al Caiola, Al Cassamenti and Bucky Pizzarelli.
Here's the song on Tony Mottola's Mr. Big: Guitar...Mottola in '59...
And here's the CBC show...
Ron replies. After I shared Tony Mottola's email with Ron, he sent along this reply...
"Hi Marc, I can't say for certain whether or not our version was inspired by the Tony Mottola record, but I would think it was. I've actually never heard this recording before. [Guitarist] Jim Pirie was the one who brought this tune into the mix. We worked it out with him by ear. There was no written chart, and we were only three players doing five-part harmony. Two of us were playing double stops because there was no multi-track overdubbing on this gig.
"How I wish the audio on our version was as good as the Tony Mottola recording! It's too bad that nobody is doing that jazz-guitar ensemble stuff anymore. I always loved that sound. Regarding the video you posted, I haven't seen the Days of Wine and Roses and Billies Bounce segments for years. That was a treat. There was some other neat stuff we worked up for this show. I remember a three-part version of Merle Travis's Cannonball Rag that was pretty interesting. We all were picking like Travis—but in three-part harmony.
"Please tell Tony Jr. that his Dad was very much admired by all of us. All the players on that recording are familiar names to me, and I remember hearing them all on various recordings. All super players who contributed so much during their great careers."
MPS remastered! MPS, the German label, recently remastered and reissued three of its albums on CD—In Tune: The Oscar Peterson Trio and the Singers Unlimited (1971), Monty Alexander: Here Comes the Sun (1971) and Mark Murphy: Midnight Mood (1968). You'll find them at Amazon here, here and here.
RIP Rick Hall, Parts 1 and 2. Last week I told you about Part 1 of Chris Cowles's "Greasy Tracks" radio tribute to late producer and Fame studio owner Rick Hall, who died recently. Last week he recorded Part 2. So, go here for Part1 and go here for Part 2. A terrific show with interviews and a ton of music. High-five Chris.
Paul Anka v. David Lee Roth. Director Raymond de Felitta posted on two versions of Jump—Van Halen's original and Paul Anka's cover. To be completely honest, I rather like Anka's version more. You be the judge. To read Raymond's post at his blog Movies Til Dawn, go here.
What the heck. Here are the Marvelettes singing Don't Mess With Bill...
Oddball album cover of the week.
I'm not sure what's stranger: the grandparents joining the teens' dance party or that the teens seem to find them exciting to watch.
