In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed Susan Mailer, daughter of novelist of Norman Mailer, for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Susan talked about her mother moving her down to Mexico City when she was still a baby after she divorced Norman. Susan also talked about her years spent with her father in New York and Connecticut. [Photo above of Susan Mailer in her Manhattan home, on a desk that belonged to her father, Norman Mailer, by Matt Furman for The Wall Street Journal]
Over the holidays, my column interviews were with actor Masi Oka (go here), Booker T of the MGs (go here) and Arlo Guthrie (go here) on his father, Woody Guthrie. [Photo of musician Arlo Guthrie at the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, Mass., by Jason Grow for The Wall Street Journal]
SiriusXM. If you missed my December appearance on SiriusXM to talk about my "Anatomy of a Song" column for the WSJ on Steve Miller's Fly Like an Eagle, you can listen for free here...
Maxine Sullivan. After my post on singer Maxine Sullivan, I received the following from photographer and author Hank O'Neal...
Hi Marc. Nice to see such good words and clips about Max. I met her in 1965 at the Manassas Jazz Festival where she was possibly the classiest person there. She was married to Cliff Jackson at the time and
Cliff was playing regularly at Blues Alley in Washington, D.C. I visited Max and Cliff at their home on Ritter Place in the Bronx in 1986. The street is now called Maxine Sullivan Way. I recorded Cliff at Sherman Fairchild's within the year, his last solo record, I think, and then did an album of Max with Earl Hines in 1970. I hadn't thought about Max and Cliff in some while. Glad you made me remember. [Photo above of Maxine Sullivan in 1986 by Hank O'Neal]
I also heard from Danilo Morandi in Italy...
I really enjoyed your clips on Maxine Sullivan, a beloved figure in Europe at the beginning of the 1980s, where she made five delightful records with the Swedish All Stars on Kenneth Records. Here is a great version of Fine and Dandy led by alto saxophonist Göran Eriksson, who also solos.
La Notte. Over the holidays, during my "JazzWax Film Festival," I received the following from Ettore Ulivelli in Italy on my post about the film, La Notte [Photo above of Jeanne Moreau]...
Dear Marc, there are two mistakes in your post on La Notte: While much of the film was indeed shot in Milan, the jazz performance scenes and party scenes were shot at a villa in Barlassina, about 25 miles from Milan. It was a sprawling villa that was more like a country club with a pool and golf course.
As for the musicians, let me correct the information you provided: the tenor sax player was Eraldo Volonte, the pianist was Giorigio Gaslini, the bassist was Alceo Guatelli. I should know, since I was the drummer! By 1959, Gaslini was considered one of the top European players. [Photo above, on the set of La Notte, from left, Alceo Guatelli, Eraldo Volontè, Giorgio Gaslini, Jeanne Moreau, Ettore Ulivelli and Marcello Mastroianni]
As for the film at large, director Michelangelo Antonioni was famous for using 5,000 meters of film and then cutting it down to 3,000. Unfortunately, I have no particular recollection of the two leading actresses except their ravishing beauty.
I was the only amateur musician in the group. I continued drumming for three or four years after the film but soon quit to pursue a career in marketing. As a last remark: all in all, the film was a terrible bore, believe me. I have a VHS of La Notte that I've repeatedly watched and have never changed my opinion.
Thanks for your efforts. Keep it up, man!
My post has been updated.
Movies Til Dawn. Director Raymond De Felitta's podcast interview with director John Sayles (Lone Star, Matewan, Eight Men Out, Honeydripper, Go for Sisters) is up at Raymond's site here (click on the "episodes" tab for Sayles and other directors). [Photo above of John Sayles]
Lorez Alexandria radio. Sid Gribetz will present the singer Lorez Alexandria on Sunday (January 12), from 2 to 5 p.m. on “Jazz Profiles” on WKCR-FM in New York. You can listen on your phone, iPad or computer from anywhere in the world by going here.
What the heck. Here's Gene Pitney singing Town Without Pity...
Oddball album cover of the week.
Two monogrammed towels and a woman in a pink dish who looks like a bar of soap.
