In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actress Martha Plimpton for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Martha now co-stars in Sprung, an Amazon Freevee comedy series about inmates released early from prison but have no clue what's going on in society, including the pandemic. Martha plays a mother of one of the inmates. Martha, of course, has been in a long list of films and TV series, including The Goonies, Parenthood, The Good Wife and, most recently, the riveting Mass. Martha first came to the attention of TV viewers when she appeared in a Calvin Klein jeans ad in 1983, a followup to the Brooke Shields ads. [Photo above of Martha Plimpton at home in her London townhouse by Silvana Trevale for The Wall Street Journal]
Here's the Calvin Klein ad...
And here's Martha in Mass...
Twyla Tharp. If you're in New York in October, don't miss the productions of two of choreographer Twyla Tharp's most iconic works—In the Upper Room, set to the music of Philip Glass, and Nine Sinatra Songs, which features the recordings of Frank Sinatra. Both are stunning works.
If you're an American songbook fan, as sung by Ol' Blue Eyes, you're in for a rare treat. The songs are Softly as I Leave You, Strangers in the Night, One for My Baby (and One More For the Road), My Way, Somethin’ Stupid, All the Way, Forget Domani, That’s Life and My Way. Nine Sinatra Songs was first performed in Vancouver, Canada, in 1982 and, most recently, in St. Louis in 2019.
The productions will be staged at the New York City Center, at 131 W 55th St (between Sixth and Seventh Avenues). Tickets go on sale September 9 to members and on September 13 to the general public. For more information and tickets, go here.
To read my WSJ "House Call" with Twyla, go here.
Here's Mikhail Baryshnikov with the American Ballet Theatre in 1984 performing Twyla's choreography for One More for the Road...
Whether or not you can make the performances, watch this. In addition to being the most important crossover-ballet choreographer of the modern era, Twyla is remarkable, marvelous, experimental by nature and she remains splendidly tireless...
One more? Here's Twyla's 2000 interview with Charlie Rose. Listen carefully to how Twyla delivers her words. They emerge in rhythmic patters, as if dancing....
Rock on Film: Movies That Rocked the Big Screen (Running Press), by Fred Goodman. First and foremost, Fred's book is fun. Part coffee-table flip-though, part serious read, Rock on Film is a smart tunneling beneath the surface of films we once thought of as just celluloid celebrations of music. In fact, all have compelling backstories of their own. Rock 'n' roll films have several general categories—period pieces that captured rock's energy at a specific moment in time, dolled up glamorizations geared to capture the imaginations of the nostalgic set, and and noirish documentaries that zoom in on the music's drama, excess and expressiveness. Fred's book cuts through all of that and looks at the major films objectively, as art, without the hype or salivation. He casts a critical eye on the genre and gives important films gravitas with a breezy narrative that leaves you scrambling for streaming platforms to give the films he covers a fresh watch. Go here.
Naked City. Last week, following my post on Somewhere in the Night, Joel Lewis sent along this exquisite 1962 episode of the early TV cop series, Hold for Gloria Christmas, whose actors included Burgess Meredith (above), Herschel Bernardi, Alan Alda and a rare appearance by Sanford Meisner, who would go on to become one of the country's premier acting instructors. Here's the episode...
Louis Stewart. Oliver Dowling in Dublin last week reminded me that August 20th marked the sixth year of Irish jazz guitarist Louis Stewart's passing. In addition to being a beautiful cat and superb jazz musician, Louis was a JazzWax reader and fan. In tribute, let's give a listen to Louis playing Darn That Dream, with Ron Mathewson on bass and Ronnie Scott announcing...
Henry "Pucho" Brown. After my posts here and here on boogaloo and salsa last week, Jim Eigo of Jazz Promo Services sent along a poster of a gig he promoted at Iridium in 2010 (above) as well as a link to the full 1966 album by Pucho & the Latin Soul Brothers called Touch!. Go here...
More great Mancini for bad films. Last week, after my clip of Henry Mancini's wonderful theme for the awful film Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, West Coast arranger Roy Phillippe sent along another great Mancini song for a lousy flick. Here's Mancini's theme for Bachelor in Paradise, a 1961 film starring Bob Hope and Lana Turner in 1961. Mancini's theme was nominated for an Oscar and sung at the award ceremony by Ann-Margret. Here's the theme...
Tammy Burdett, who's out with a terrific new album, Fancy Free (Fresh Sound), sent along a few photos. The top one above was taken near Seattle in 1995, the middle one with a singer named Brina in 1986 and the bottom one with Howlett “Smitty” Smith, a blind jazz pianist, at Bob Burns Restaurant in Santa Monica in the early 1970s.
Bob Newhart. Last week, director Raymond De Felitta posted on Bob Newhart here. He included Bob's hilarious phone routine on baseball. To read my WSJ "House Call" with Bob, go here. To listen to the baseball clip, go here...
Johnny Dankworth radio. Recently, saxophonist, clarinetist and composer-arranger Frank Griffith, who hosts a jazz radio show in the U.K., sent along his broadcast on British saxophonist Johnny Dankworth (above). Frank's weekly, one-hour show is called "The Jazz Cavern" and airs here on Thursdays at 9p.m. U.K. time and repeats on Sunday at 6 p.m. (that would be 4 p.m. ET on Thursdays and 1 p.m. ET on Sundays).
Frank is an American who moved to the U.K. in 1996 and currently is based in Liverpool. To reach Frank for more information about his radio show, email him here: [email protected]
Here's Frank's Johnny Dankworth show...
Arthur Schwartz radio. On Sunday's WKCR-FM's “Jazz Profiles,” host Sid Gribetz will explore American songbook composer Arthur Schwartz. The show will feature plenty of recordings of Schwartz's songs and airs from 2 to 7 p.m. (ET). Listen from anywhere in the world by going here.
Mel Torme radio. In 2008, Les Block and David Cummings paid tribute to vocalist Mel Torme by hosting a radio tribute, featuring interviews with artists who knew him. You can view and listen to the broadcast by going here.
And finally, the Happenings' See You in September, a massive hit in August 1966 that reached No. 3 on Billboard's pop chart. The Happenings sounded like a cross between the Beach Boys and the Four Seasons, thanks to producer Bob Crewe. Go here...
And yes, there was an Italian version, Aria de Settembre. Go here...
As a footnote, the song clearly was an inspiration for Bob Crewe and Denny Randell's Swearin' to God, a smash hit for Frankie Valli in 1975. Go here...
