This week at WSJ.com, I interviewed Katie Ledecky, who at 23 is perhaps the most powerful and fastest female Olympic swimmer in the world (go here). Katie took to the pool as a child, just as her mother did before her. As for goals, Katie focuses on beating world records, many of which she has already topped in earlier races. Now she's hoping to compete at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in July. And yes, she gave me a bunch of great swimming pointers that I included in a box. [Photo above of Katie Ledecky courtesy of NBC]
Here's Katie in action during the 2019 FINA Swimming World Championships in the 800-meter freestyle race, running neck and neck with Italy's Simona Quadarella...
Mom. As readers know, I tend to steer clear of personal stuff. But when Craig, who writes the U.K.'s Fishink blog, asked me to interview my mom for a post, I couldn't say no. Mom is 95 and a celebrated children's book author and illustrator who helped pioneer the modernist style in the 1950s and early 60s. She just published Dog Meets Dog, (Holiday House), most likely her last book as a writer-illustrator. For my interview with Mom featuring Craig's questions and Mom's artwork, go here. [Photo above of Bernice Myers with Marc Myers in 1957, courtesy of Bernice Myers].
Mike Stoller, of Leiber & Stoller fame, the songwriting duo who set the pace for rock 'n roll in the early and mid-1950s with Hound Dog, Kansas City, Jailhouse Rock and many other hits, was at 92Y in 2013 for an 80th birthday celebration concert. Now 92Y, the New York cultural institution, is featuring the concert online for free on New Year's Eve at 7 p.m. (EST). Performances by Karen Akers, Brenda Braxton, Dee Dee Bridgewater, the Coasters, Mary Bridget Davies, Corky Hale, Maria Elena Infantino, Chuck Jackson, Sally Kellerman, Ben E. King, Bettye LaVette, Melissa Manchester, Ryan Shaw, Billy Stritch, Tommy Tune, Steve Tyrell, and more. [Photo still above of Mike Stoller at the piano and Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock]
To register to watch the concert for free, go here.
Greetings from Parma, Italy. Following my film post last week on Girl With a Suitcase, I received the following from Corrado Barbieri in Parma, Italy [photo above of Claudia Cardinale]:
Dear Marc, I was pleased to see your coverage of La Ragazza con la Valigia (Girl With a Suitcase). The night of the film's premiere in 1966 at the Teatro Regio here in Parma, I was there, at age 14. After the screening, we went to another historical building facing the theatre—the Casino di Lettura (once owned by Maria Luigia, Napoleon’s wife, at the beginning of the 18th century), where there was a dancing party. I remember it very well, as I danced near Claudia, which was quite an event for a teenager. The evening also was special because the music was New Orleans jazz provided by the Roman New Orleans Jazz Band, the first Italian classic-jazz ensemble that had played with Louis Armstrong. I wanted to share with you my joy that night and to thank you for reminding me of that evening. Many compliments for your blog. A wonderful idea on your part to cover the cinema. Happy New Year!
"Breakfast Dance." In a post last weekend, I wondered aloud what a "breakfast dance" might be. I heard from Claiborne Ray:
Marc, the most famous breakfast dance was the one Count Basie performed live from a DJ convention at which the first of several late sets actually started at 2 a.m. It was a sort of an after, after-hours jam session and dance. There's also an Ellington piece by that name. According to bassist Milt Hinton in an interview with Billy Taylor, it was an unsanctioned early-morning jam session at which black and white musicians could play together at a time when they couldn’t do so officially and onstage:
Billy Taylor: You just mentioned something in passing, two things: the first was the places where you could hear music. From what you were saying, music was everywhere.
Milt Hinton: It was.
Taylor: Name some of the places. You played nightclubs, you'd hear it in the theaters, where else could you hear it?
Hinton: Well the breakfast dances, the breakfast dances were a big thing. It went from late Saturday night until noon on Sunday. These were clubs on the South Side of Chicago, black clubs where black people went. The Sunset was a club where black people could go, even though it was owned by Joe Glaser's mother.
Taylor: A breakfast dance was held after they played all night?
Hinton: They already played all night.
Taylor: Already played all night so you'd hang out.
Hinton: All the musicians and all the entertainers from all the other clubs came over to play and hang out, and these went on until noon on Sunday.
For more info, go here.
Revolving door. Here's Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts in a bit from a short called The Soilers (1932)...
Montreal big-band jazz. Last week, I received the following Stan Kenton tribute from Ted Piekarz in Montreal. Recorded in November, faculty at the University of Montreal were socially distanced...
Hammond B-3 tribute. Chris Cowles, host of Greasy Tracks at WRTC-FM in Hartford, Ct., devoted a recent two-hour Saturday show to the organ, including interviews with organists Brian Auger, Zoot Money and Matt Zeiner. For the best fidelity, Chris suggests using the Chrome browser. You can listen for free here.
JazzWax Film Festival. For the weekend, here's Dead of Night (1945), a rare favorite that used to give me chills as a kid. The gentle and charming British horror film featured a series of individual tales directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. Look for actor Michael Redgrave as the unstable ventriloquist in The Ventriloquist's Dummy. Here's Dead of Night...
