Last week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed actor Shea Whigham for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Shea was in Boardwalk Empire, Modern Love, Homecoming with Julia Roberts and now Perry Mason. Shea talked about the childhood accident that broke his leg and isolated him for a stretch, making him more sensitive and empathetic. [Photo above of Shea Whigham as Peter Strickland in HBO's Perry Mason series by Merrick Morton, courtesy of HBO]
Here's Shea as enforcer Elias "Eli" Thompson and Steve Buscemi as brother, boss and bootlegger Enoch "Nucky" Thompson in HBO's Boardwalk Empire...
Halt autoplaying. Some JazzWax readers wrote me last week that when they open JazzWax, the embedded videos start playing automatically. They wanted to know why and how to stop it. That problem exists on your browser, on your end. I don't control when clips start. To resolve by changing the switches on your browser's preferences, go here.
Roger Kellaway. Last week, following my post on Stan Getz's movie and TV music, I heard from piano great Roger Kellaway (above, courtesy of Roger Kellaway):
Hi Marc, I played with Stan Getz on the soundtrack of Mickey One (1966). Clark Terry was supposed to be one of the trumpeters in the studio orchestra for all four recording sessions. When he arrived for the first and realized that Stan Getz was on the gig, he canceled the remaining three. I never knew why. I never wanted to ask him. Clark was such a beautiful human being.
The Mickey One session featured four days of large-orchestra sessions with maybe 60 pieces. Of course, Eddie Sauter was on the podium conducting his score. The whole experience was very exhilarating and quite energized. Eddie had a beautiful musical imagination.
I did at one point, on a break, find myself listening back to the music in the studio. Suddenly, the director, Arthur Penn asked me a question about the music. I didn’t answer him but excused myself. I didn’t think the director needed to be asking me any creative questions.
All in all it was a fabulous experience. Many of the great New York players: Al Block, Jimmy Buffington, Eddie Bert, Barry Galbraith, Mel Lewis and so many others.
Rob Pronk. Following my post last week on Dutch pianist and trumpeter Rob Pronk, I received the following from Justin Freed:
Marc, thank you. You are indispensable.
I never thought that I would get to hear Rob’s trumpet and piano playing from those days. He wintered in Sarasota/Long Boat Key, Fla., and we became friends. I also met his sister Babes. There was a piano bar on the Key where he would play hip tunes, like Little Willie Leaps. He liked to sing, but the owner discouraged that, unfairly.
Rob talked about his career at my jazz appreciation class on Long Boat Key. We played cuts from his many Metropole Orchestra albums, and he talked about his fascinating career. There was a photo of Marlene Dietrich on the wall and, yes, he had worked with her, too. A favorite track is It Never Entered My Mind from Saxophone Dreams with Lee Konitz. In it, Rob said, he used the harp motif from the Adagietto from Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. It’s gorgeous.
Medical issues bedeviled Rob in the last years of his life, but he came through a major crisis. He returned for his final winter. The story he told about cheating death still inspires me at 84.
More on Rob Pronk from Roberta Arnold, who manages baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber...
Hi Marc. Thank you for writing and mentioning Rob Pronk. Ronnie loved him. We have so many lovely memories working with the Metropole and Rob in particular. Ronnie loved playing his arrangements on his first and second invitational with the Metropole. Rob was a very special talent and person. Take care and keep on doing great work!
Bill Evans.Once again, pianist Dave Thompson has found another wonderful Bill Evans clip. This time, a rehearsal tape that went up at SoundCloud....
More on Bill Evans from Todd Barkan, manager of Keystone Korner Baltimore and former manager of the legendary Keystone Korner San Francisco:
Dear Marc, as you undoubtedly know, I produced the last live recordings by Bill Evans, at Keystone Korner San Francisco in August and Sept 1980. They were box sets originally issued on Fantasy/Milestone Records in two 8-CD sets known as Consecration and The Last Waltz.
Much love from Keystone Korner Baltimore, which re-opened weeks ago with Sean Jones, Warren Wolf, Jeff Reed and Eric Kennedy. Here's a link to a ABC's Nightline news segment from June 14 that features Sean Jones and Keystone Korner Baltimore and the healing power of the music we love.
And here's a link from our very first streamed concert from Keystone Korner Baltimore, with Warren Wolf and Joe Locke, performed on June 12.
For more information, go here.
Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival. Global jazz fans, you're in luck! Itta Johnson of the Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival (July 30-August 2) informs me that all concerts held at the Ystads Teater and Ystad Saltsjöbad will be streamed online at the festival site here and here. For more information and tickets, go here.
What the heck. Here's Frank Sinatra singing Gone With the Wind. To skip over Sinatra's cigarette fetish, more the bar to 0:23..
