In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed Kristin Davis for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Kristin currently is co-starring in TV's And Just Like That..., the 10-part HBO series sequel to Sex and the City. I do a lot of celebrity interviewing and Kristin was a lot of fun—a flame thrower of joy, energy and enthusiasm. [Photo above of Kristin Davis courtesy of YouTube]
Here's the trailer...
David Bowie. On Friday, I was with Nik and Jeff Slate on SiriusXM's Feedback (Ch. 106) to talk about my WSJ essay on David Bowie's 1971 album Hunky Dory and why it's still important. Here's the hour-long show...
Last minute gift? Back in September, I posted on the no-vibration Spinbase amp by Andover Audio with built-in speakers that a turntable is supposed to sit on. Now, Andover Audio has a dream turntable made in Germany called the Spindeck Max. The turntable can play 33 1/3 albums or 45s and 12-inch singles at the flip of a switch. Best of all, you can put the album on, hit a button, close the acrylic top and the tone arm will automatically swing over and land gently on the vinyl and return to the base at the end of the record. You just have to turn off the unit, at your leisure.
In other words, if you fall asleep while listening, forgot you have an album on or can't get to the turntable the moment the last song finishes, you no longer have to worry about the tonearm impatiently idling at the end of the vinyl. And the Spindeck Max can sit proudly atop the Spinbase. I just bought the two together in white for a family member. Shipping was free (returns are free as well) and the two boxes arrived in New York the next day. I'm told if you order by December 22, it will reach your intended party no later than the 24th. Orders in the U.S. only at this time. For more information or to call or email them, go here.
The Phil Schaap archive was down for a period of days but now is back up and operational. The archive is home to dozens of in-depth jazz radio shows on WKCR-FM in New York hosted by Phil—from Birthday Broadcasts of significant artists to his esteemed Bird Flight, which focused just on Charlie Parker (above). Phil's shows are like sitting in on a Harvard jazz course. The platform and education is invaluable. A special thanks to those who are hosting the archive now after Phil's passing. To access the archive, go here and scroll down.
Frances Madden. Here's Australia's irrepressible and ever-charming Frances Madden playing and singing White Christmas...
Helen Merrill. Last week, following my post on the JazzWax Vintage Holiday Album Hall of Fame and the induction of Helen Merril's Christmas Song Book, I heard from pianist Roger Kellaway...
Hey Marc, Happy Holidays to you and, thanks for picking Helen Merrill. I did a one-month tour of Japan with her in 1986 and her "Clear Out of This World" album. I’ve been a fan of her singing ever since her album with Gil Evans, "Dream of You." Back then, I didn’t actually know "Helen Merrill," the album she did with Clifford Brown, but I got to know the recording in Japan. You could hear it being played in any venue that we were nearing from 100 yards away!
Holiday Fare...
Georgia Mancio. Here's singer Georgia Mancio with pianist Alan Broadbent singing That Time of Year—words by Georgia and music by Alan...
Mary Stallings. Here's Mary Stallings with the Emmet Cohen Trio earlier this month...
Esther Bennett. Here's more holiday music, this one from the late composer and saxophonist Duncan Lamont, as sung by Esther Bennett...
Diana Panton. Here's one of my seasonal faves—Diana Panton singing Don Thompson's Christmas Kiss, with Don on piano, Reg Schwager on guitar and Neil Swainson on bass...
Bill Kirchner. Here's Noël from Noël, a 1981 album by the USAF Airmen of Note, with an arrangement by Mike Crotty and solos by Vaughn Nark (flgh) and Pete BarenBregge (ts)...
Summer of Love. Following my post on Swinging London, Carl Woideck sent along the cover and a spread from the 2017 The Summer of Love Experience: Art, Fashion, and Rock & Roll exhibit at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. And here's a virtual tour...
Rock Concert radio. Last weekend, I was interviewed by WRTC-FM's Chris Cowles for his long-running, three-hour Greasy Tracks show on the rock concert. You can listen to the show for free here.
Pogo. Photographer Durell Godfrey sent along a link to Walt Kelly's Songs of the Pogo, a mischievously playful 1956 album with ticklish wordplay. You can see who is singing on each track by checking the YouTube page. Pogo was a daily comic strip created by Walt Kelly that appeared in newspapers from 1948 to 1975. Notable is the music's arranger and conductor—Jimmy Carroll. If the name sounds familiar, he was the arranger and conductor on the first Bird With Strings sessions years earlier, including Just Friends and April in Paris. Here's the Pogo album...
Lorez Alexandria radio. On Sunday, Sid Gribetz on WKCR-FM in New York will host a three-hour Jazz Profiles tribute to singer Lorez Alexandria, from 2 to 5 p.m. (ET). Listen from anywhere in the world by going here.
And finally, here's Tammi Terrell singing James Brown and Bobby Byrd's I Cried in 1963...
