In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actor Corey Stoll for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Corey is on the Showtime series Billions and plays the young Corrado "Junior" Soprano Jr. in the upcoming The Many Saints of Newark, the crime-drama film and prequel to HBO's The Sopranos series. [Photo above of Corey Stoll by Mark Seliger, courtesy of Showtime]
Here's Corey as Hemingway in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris...
And here's a clip with Corey in Billions as financier Michael Prince...
SirusXM. Last week, I was on SiriusXM's Feedback with hosts Nik and Lori to talk about Jimmy Webb and his song, Up, Up and Away. Here's the show...
Jimmy Webb e-concert. If you love Jimmy Webb's many great songs (Wichita Lineman, By the Time I Get to Phoenix and MacArthur Park , to name a few), he will be live-streaming a concert on September 17, where he'll play piano, sing and tell stories. E-tickets are $20. Go to JimmyWebb.com and click on the ad.
Meredith d'Ambrosio, a favorite vocalist at JazzWax, was in conversation recently via Zoom with Cathy Segal-Garcia, host of Noontime Hang. Meredith's latest album is Sometime Ago (Sunnyside). Here's the interview...
Cuban bass. Last week I heard from Alan Lewine, bassist and founder of Owlsong Productions, who shared a video of one of his favorite bassists, Gaston Joya (above):
Dear Marc, Gaston celebrates the music of his hometown, Guanabacoa, not far outside Havana on Cuba’s north coast. Some nice vocals in this clip, too, and a range of styles. Sent to me by my Cuban bass brother, Alfredo Averhoff, who appears at about 26:00 in a bass trio playing La Comparsa. Alfredo was Gaston’s bass professor at the conservatory in Havana. He and the other bassist in the trio are both members of the Cuban National Symphony bass section. Gaston is a sweetheart. Here's the video...
Creed Taylor. Mark Cathcart continues to amaze at his Creed Taylor (above) tribute site. To view and explore CTProduced, go here.
More radio jingles. My post last week on how radio jingles are made pulled at readers' heartstrings. Like me, many harbor a secret passion for their local radio station's promos.
Here's what Colin Cheltenham in England sent along:
Hi Marc. PAMS started it all, and collectors believe theirs were the best and have not been equaled. I'm sure you're aware that jingle collecting is a worldwide hobby. I have a few hundred, but some people have thousands, some purchasing them rather than just downloading at sites that offer them for free. You'll find jingle packages here and here.
This from Fred Augerman:
Hi Marc. Here are jingles being made for the BBC...
And this from Kim Paris of the FM Radio Archive:
Marc, I thoroughly enjoyed your article about how radio jingles are made. I'm constantly amazed how deeply many jingles are burned into my memory. So many breakfast cereals, soft drink and beer commercials, and many of the products are no longer available (like Kellogg's Puffa-Puffa Rice). I put my own spin on the concept with my latest post on "FM Radio Archive: Rock Stars Sell Out - Broadcast Ads of the '60s-'90s." Five of the 18 broadcast commercials came from my collection. The rest are from YouTube. Included are jingles by the Rolling Stones and Jefferson Airplane. Go here.
Nelson Riddle at 100. Jeffrey Sultanof has posted a solid, lengthy essay on Nelson Riddle. Go here and here.
CDs you should know about:
Dominique Cravic—Paris Cinema (Sunnyside). Don't feel like spending big to visit Paris right now? Concerned about out-of-control plane passengers and les variants du covid? This album is a much more affordable way to immerse yourself in the charming music of old Paris. Guitarist Dominique Cravic and his group pay tribute to French film and film music from the 1930s to the 1970s. Featured are accordionist Daniel Colin and vocalist Claire Elzière. A beautiful, gentle album that will have you strolling the Champs-Élysées in your imagination. A great baguette will have to wait. Go here.
Champian Fulton—Live From Lockdown. The ever effervescent pianist-vocalist Champian Fulton has released a new album with her dad, flugelhornist and trumpeter Stephen Fulton. Most of the dozen tracks are songbook standards that she performed online last year to avoid going mad during the Great Pandemic of 2020. Heartfelt playing and singing, and gratifying to hear that someone still loves their father enough to create music with him. Tender, touching and tantalizing. Go here.
Chris Standring—Wonderful World (Ultimate Vibe). The famed jazz guitarist covers a dozen standards with a patient, intimate style backed by the lush strings of a symphony orchestra. Music that lights a fire and lets you think. Go here.
Paul Edis—The Still Point of the Turning World (Ultimate Vibe). Perfect for autumn, this album by pianist Paul Edis is relaxed and grows on you as his keyboard tones metaphorically turn color while improvising. Lovely playing on each and every track. Go here.
Nina Simone—Little Girl Blue (BMG). Nina Simone's first album, in 1959 on Bethlehem, accomplished two things. First, she became known as a superb jazz vocalist, part of the next generation of soul-jazz singers. Second, it established her as a superb jazz pianist. A joy from start to finish, reissued by BMG on CD and vinyl. Go here.
Junior Cook radio. This Sunday (September 12), Sid Gribetz will spend five hours profiling tenor saxophonist Junior Cook with biographical information and lots of records. His profile will run from 2 to 7 p.m. on WKCR-FM in New York. Tune in—or listen from anywhere in the world online by going here. [Photo above of Junior Cook by Francis Wolf (c)Mosaic Images]
Why not. Let's go back to a time when female vocalists seeking fame had to sing their way to the top with style and power, and leave everything on the table during a performance. Here's Eydie Gorme...
The same goes for Cuban balladeer Olga Guillot, the queen of bolero, in 1965...
And finally, all of the themes used on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, a kid TV sitcom that ran from 1959 to 1963, featuring the music of Lionel Newman and what must be an all-star group of Hollywood jazz musicians swinging away in the studio...
