In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actress-singer Jenifer Lewis for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Jenifer talked about growing up poor in Kinloch, Missouri, which at the time was one of the oldest all-black, self-governing municipalities in the country, dating back to 1890. Her childhood story was harrowing but how she broke through and triumphed is amazing. [Photo above of Jenifer Lewis at home in Sherman Oaks, Calif., by Shayan Asgharnia for The Wall Street Journal]
Here's Jenifer on The Daily Show last November...
SiriusXM. If you missed me on SiriusXM's Feedback last week, Nik Carter, Jim Sherer and I talked about the Doobie Brothers' What a Fool Believes (1978) and how Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins teamed up to write it. Here's a Soundcloud of the show...
More Alice Darr. Following my posts on Alice Darr here and here, Bruno Vasil uncovered the name of the restaurateur to whom Darr was engaged or wound up marrying:
"Good evening Marc. I put your your latest info into the search bar at Ancestry.com. I’ve been on Ancestry for more than 10 years and have discovered nearly 1,300 family members, most far afield from the core family. I didn't find much on Darr. However, I did find an old newspaper article that mentioned the gentleman she was to marry—George Klabanos."
If you know who Klabanos was in the New York club and restaurant scene in the early 1960s, shoot me an email. The mystery continues!
Jane Hall. Following my post last week on Jane Hall's album, With a Song in My Heart, and my conversation with her about her long and loving marriage to guitarist Jim Hall, Brett Gold sent the following [photo above of Jim Hall and Bill Evans]:
"Dear Marc, thank you for bringing to my attention Jane Hall's wonderful album. I was first made aware of her when I bought Jim Hall's album LP Commitment in the late '70's, in which she sang When I Fall in Love. I remember being taken aback then by the heartfelt sincerity of her singing. It was obvious that she was not a trained vocalist, but something about it (maybe the obvious loving relationship between the two being reflected in the music and performances) haunted me for years. I had never heard any more of her singing (that's more than 40 years of just knowing her work from just that one song) until your feature today. Thanks, as usual, for your work.
Here's Jane singing When I Fall in Love on Jim's album Commitment in 1976...
Eric Dolphy. Last week, Matt LeGoulx sent along the following video of Eric Dolphy in Stockholm in 1961 with trupeter Idrees Sulieman, pianist Rune Owferman, bassist Jimmy Woode and drummer Sture Kallin...
Don Shirley. Anthony Weller sent along a note last week: "The Los Angeles Times ran my op-ed Sunday about the late, great pianist Don Shirley, who's portrayed (somewhat) in the current movie Green Book. I knew him pretty well (go here).
Anthony Newley. Fresh Sound's Jordi Pujol shared a favorite version of Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, as sung by Anthony Newley in 1971. Newley wrote the film's music and Leslie Bricusse wrote the words...
Howard McGhee radio. This Sunday, February 10, radio rajah Sid Gribetz will feature five hours of trumpeter Howard McGhee on his "Jazz Profiles" special from 2 to 7 p.m. (EST) on WKCR-FM in New York. You can listen from anywhere in the world on your phone or computer by going here. These in-depth shows by Sid are a wonderful education if you're unfamiliar with an artist or you just want to listen to what else that artist recorded. Jazz radio, the way it used to be. [Photo above of Miles Davis at the piano admiring Howard McGhee, by William P. Gottlieb]
What the heck. Here are the Beatles lip-syncing Ticket to Ride in a video in 1965. The intimacy and innocence of the the Fab Four, before facial-hair and feuds robbed them of their charm and youth. Pure joy...
TV tip. I don't have much time to watch TV, but when I do, I try to escape from Law & Order episodes as often as I can. Most of the time I'm successful. Recently I raved about My Brilliant Friend (HBO) and Eight Days That Changed Rome (Smithsonian). Last week I caught Broad City on Comedy Central. Really funny. I know I'm late to the party. The sitcom is in its final fifth season. You also can watch past episodes online here.
Oddball album cover of the week.
The Al Sack Concert Orchestra? Sounds like Joe Bazooka's String Quartet. And based on our model's expression, the album could have been re-titled Music for Throwing Yourself Off a Bridge.
