In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed supermodel, actress and Making the Cut co-host Heidi Klum for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). She talked about growing up in Germany, her parents' influence and how she wound up entering a modeling contest and beating out 24,999 other contestants. Heidi was an upbeat blast to interview, like a shaken-up, uncorked bottle of champagne. A ton of fun. [Above, Heidi Klum and daughter Leni on the cover of German Vogue in 2021]
Here's hilarious Heidi back in 2009 on a CBS TV show they should bring back—I Get That a Lot...
And here's Heidi on Ellen...
Bill Evans and Gary Burton. On July 6, 1973, the Bill Evans Trio, featuring Evans, bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell with vibraphonist Gary Burton performed at Radio City Music Hall. The concert was broadcast on Voice of America and captured on tape. Here's the gig...
Gilles D'Elia, my photographer friend in Paris, has been busy with his camera. I last posted about Gilles here. As you can see above, Gilles is an extraordinary artist with an exceptional eye. If you love the image above as much as I do, you can visit Gilles's site, where he keeps a daily photo journal here.
Johnny Hodges. Here's Johnny Hodges soloing in concert with Duke Ellington in the early 1960s on All of Me...
David Allyn. After my post last weekend on David Allyn performing in New York in 1992, I heard from saxophonist and clarinetist Frank Griffith in the U.K.:
Marc, thanks so much for sharing the David Allyn 1992 clip, and Paul Cammarata, of course for providing it. The saxes in the clip are, from left, Loren Schoenberg, Jon Gordon, Jerry Dodgion, me and Mark Lopeman. David was 73 then and still in good form. I did three arrangements for the band: "These Foolish Things," "Up the Lazy River" and "Memphis In June." Keep up the good work!
Sonny and Bud. Here's take No. 2 of Fine and Dandy featuring tenor saxophonist Sonny Stitt and pianist Bud Powell, with Curly Russell on bass and Max Roach on drums in Januray 1950 [photo above of Sonny Stitt courtesy of Henri Selmer/Paris]
And here's All God's Chillun' Got Rhythm in December 1949...
Your old LPs. Not a week goes by without readers asking me what they can do to sell vinyl collections. Sometimes these emails are from people like me who are de-cluttering their spaces. Or they are executors of estates tasked with cleaning out a house. Or they are simply people trying to raise some cash.
Here's the answer. Reach out to Jim Eigo. Jim runs Original Vinyl Records in Warwick, N.Y. He's constantly in the market for vinyl albums in VG and better condition. He's looking for baby-boomer rock, punk, garage and small indie as well as reggae, blues and jazz.
To reach Jim, email him at [email protected]. Or call him at (917) 755-8960. You may need to provide a list of what you're selling or a list of titles and conditions.
Waltel Branco. Following my Backgrounder post on arranger and guitarist Waltel Branco and his Henry Mancini tribute album, I heard from Carl Woideck:
Marc, until recently, I primarily associated Waltel Branco with an album that you know: "Mancini Tambiém é Samba." I realized that he was both a guitarist and an arranger, but I wasn’t aware of his work for TV. Check out this compilation, "Tema De Abertura" here (scroll down). The whole album is also on YouTube here...
Henry Mancini wrote some really great music for some really great films. But he also wrote music for some lousy films. One of the latter variety rarely comes up in conversation about Mancini because the movie is so awful: Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962),. Not so the main theme. Here it is...
Joe Alterman, the superb soul-jazz pianist and a favorite of JazzWax readers, and Stephanie Friedman are engaged. Joe popped the question on August 7 in Georgia (above). From all of us at JazzWax, congratulations! Unfamiliar with the chemistry between these two? Here ya go...
And finally, dig bassist Harvie S and pianist Kenny Barron at the Wilton Public Library in Wilton, Ct., on January 4, 2012. A special thanks to Nick Carter for videotaping here...
Like what you hear? Harvie and Kenny recorded two duo CDs together—Now Was the Time here and Witchcraft here, both on Savant.