In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed Bebel Gilberto for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Bebel talked about her father (João Gilberto), their relationship, her mother (singer Miúcha), and why Bebel spent so many years of her childhood missing them terribly. Her mother died in 2018 and her father died in 2019. Bebel has a new album out—Agora. [Photo above of Bebel Gilberto courtesy of Bebel Gilberto]
Here's Bebel at 14 in 1980 with her father in Rio de Janeiro, when he returned to Brazil. It was the first time they sang together publicly. Nervous, Bebel told me, she flirted with an actor in the audience to steady herself while her father sang. Watch for it...
Here's Bebel's mom, Miúcha, with Antonio Carlos Jobim in 1977 (full album)...
And here's the title track from Bebel's new album...
SiriusXM. This coming Wednesday, March 24, at 9 a.m. (ET), I'll be on Feedback with Nik and Lori to talk about John Fogerty's Bad Moon Rising. Tune in as I break down the 1969 song's inspirations and why one of the lyric lines has long been misinterpreted.
Freddie Redd. After posting on pianist Freddie Redd last week, I received the following from Mark Rabin:
Hi, Marc. I was saddened to hear of Freddie Redd's passing. I recorded two of Freddie's appearances on the Bay Area's jazz station, KJAZ, when he returned to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1990. That June, Freddie visited KJAZ for their "Piano Players" program. He played three original songs in the studio and chatted with DJ Stan Dunn for about 20 minutes. We had the rare opportunity to hear Freddie talk about his world travels and outlook on life. That recording is available on the FM Radio Archive here.
Several months later, I had the good fortune to see him live at Lascaux restaurant in San Francisco. The restaurant was below street level and built-out to resemble the Lascaux Cave in France. Freddie played beautifully and was happy to chat between sets. Around the same time, KJAZ did a live broadcast of Freddie from Lascaux. That recording includes extended performances of several original songs and another conversation with Freddie. It is also available on the FM Radio Archive here.
Bill Evans. Days after my post on the Bill Evans Trio's 1980 performance in Molde, Norway, Doug Paterson sent along the following:
Hi Marc. I attended a jazz piano concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on August 27, 1980. The Bill Evans Trio was part of the show. Also Dave Brubeck and George Shearing. I thought bassist Brian Torff, who was with Shearing, stole the show. I still have the program (go here).
Irish Women in Harmony. Last week, I came across this lovely video of female Irish singers getting together on Zoom to perform the Cranberries' Dreams. They were raising money for Safe Ireland, a group that works to protect women and children dealing with domestic abuse and coercive control issues. Artists include Imelda May, Allie Sherlock, Caroline Corr, Eve Belle, Faye O’Rourke, Moya Brennan, Loah, Lucia McPartlin, Saint Sister, Sibéal, Erica Cody, Soulé, Stephanie Rainey, Wyvern Lingo, Tolü Makay, Pillow Queens and Una Healy. Go here...
It's spring! More harmony, this time from four guys in different parts of the world last May who really know their Four Freshmen here...
Hardest bop. In 1986, Jackie McLean (as) and Woody Shaw (tp) (above) performed Cool Struttin', with Cedar Walton (p), Buster Williams (b) and Billy Higgins (d), at the Blue Note Mt.Fuji Jazz Festival in Japan. Go here...
Bobby Porcelli. Last week, arranger-trumpeter Marty Sheller (photo above by Marc Myers) sent along the following monster track based on the chord changes to Cherokee from Bobby Porcelli's Rising (1989), a rare Italian album...
Patti Drew was the first to record Neil Sedaka's Workin' on a Groovy Thing in 1968. It only reached #62 on the Billboard pop chart. The following year, the Fifth Dimension covered the song and it went to #20. For my money, Patti Drew's original here was the better version...
Here's the Fifth Dimension's sunshine pop version...
And here's Mongo Santamaria's cover arranged by Marty Sheller!. Bernard Purdie on drums, Rodgers Grant on piano, and Joe Farrell and Sonny Fortune on saxes, among others...
Swamp rock radio. Recently Chris Cowles hosted a swamp rock special on his weekly Greasy Tracks radio show on WRTC-FM in Hartford, Conn. To listen for free from anywhere in the world in the archive, go here.
Harry Warren radio. On Sunday, March 21, from 2 to 7 p.m. (ET), Sid Gribetz will host a five-hour radio show celebrating the career of composer Harry Warren on WKCR-FM in New York. To listen from anywhere in the world, go here.
RIP Jimmie Morales, a Puerto Rican salsa percussionist whose unique palm-style spank on the heads of his signature purple-sparkle congas earned him the name Mr. Slap, died March 16. He was 63. For more on Morales, read Bobby Sanabria's obituary at WBGO here. [Photo above of Jimmie Morales courtesy of Toca Percussion]
Here's Jimmie Morales in 2009...
Here's Morales on conga in the early 1970s with singer Gilberto Santa Rosa...
