In The Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed Jason Butler Harner for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). The Harner family moved from Elmira, N.Y., to Alexandria, Va., in 1975 when Jason's mother was named United Way's first female VP. Then his parents divorced, with his mother remarried. As with many actors, theater in high school gave Jason a refuge and purpose, allowing him to step into a different character each time he appeared on stage. Jason now stars in a gripping new Fox suspense series, neXt. I've seen the first five episodes. I can't wait for the next five. [Image above of Jason Butler Harner in neXt from YouTube]
Here's the neXt trailer...
Here's Jason in the Ozark series on Amazon Prime...
NPR. On Friday, I was on KCUR-FM 89.3, the NPR station in Kansas City, to chat music with Up to Date host Steve Kraske (above), a long-time correspondent and columnist for the Kansas City Star and one of the great on-air jazz fans and voices. We talked about four different songs I've covered in my "Anatomy of a Song" columns for the WSJ. Listen here...
Goldbelly music. Yesterday, I clicked on a video at YouTube and waited as an ad for Goldbelly, the food delivery service, unfolded. Something sounded familiar. As a red velvet cake was featured, the background music was Bill Evans and Jim Hall playing My Funny Valentine from Undercurrent (1962). Suddenly I wanted the cake. Here's the song...
JazzWax cinema. This weekend, Odds Against Tomorrow (1959). Directed by Robert Wise. The film stars Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Ed Begley, Shelley Winters and Gloria Graham. The score was written by jazz pianist and composer-arranger John Lewis. Ahead of its time in terms of Belafonte's lead role, the heist film includes Ryan's chilling portrayal of a racist. Here's the film...
