This week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed English comedian-actor Diane Morgan (go here). Diane is best know for portraying Philomena Cunk on Netflix's Cunk on Earth, in which she plays a comedic, ill-informed truth-seeker who interviews stuffy British experts in search of answers to questions that baffle her about the history of civilization. She also plays the character with a working-class Bolton accent. The show is drop-dead hilarious. As you can imagine, interviewing Diane over Zoom was very funny. [Photo above of Diane Morgan as Philomena Cunk, courtesy of the BBC]
Rather than try to put into words how ingenious she is on Cunk on Earth, here's a taste...
And here she is on Shakespeare...
Bill Crow. Following my four-part interview with legendary bassist Bill Crow last week, Geri Reichgut, who was close friends with the late pianist Marty Napoleon, sent along the image above—Marty on left, Bill on the right—with the note below:
Hi Marc, I really enjoyed reading your interview with Bill Crow, it’s been the highlight of my week! Bill is definitely a one-of-a-kind human being, as was so evident in your interview. It’s been most enlightening to read about his beginnings and gigs. As for the photo of Marty and Bill, I'll tell you how it came to be. When I learned Marty’s family in 2010 had moved him to a Glen Cove, N.Y., assisted-living facility, I immediately went over and introduced myself. I had been a fan of Marty’s for 25 years and was thrilled he was now living just five minutes from me.
I really hustled to get gigs for Marty, his trio choices were Bill Crow and drummer Ray Mosca. I convinced the Mayor of Glen Cove to hire musicians for what I called “The Gold Coast Jazz Festival.” We had some big names come to play for the three-day festival, which included Ed Polcer, Warren Vache, Bria Skonberg, Daryl Sherman and Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. I thought you might enjoy seeing my photo of Marty and Bill just chilling in the air-conditioned makeshift green room waiting to go on stage. It was 2013 and one of the hottest Julys on record.
Thanks again for your blog posts and books. Hopefully, one of these days, after all these years of corresponding, I may actually meet you and have you autograph your books.
Gene DiNovi. Following my recent post on pianist Gene DiNovi, Andy Scott sent along the following email:
Hi Marc. Thanks for your nice piece on Gene recently. I'm happy to report that he's coming down to the Rex in Toronto to play with my quartet this Wednesday, March 29th. I've written out a bunch of the music that he was a part of in the 1940s, so it will be really fun for my quartet to play some bebop and some Aaron Sachs, Brew Moore and others. We'll be playing bop with the genuine article! I'll send you a photo after the gig! All the best and thanks for your writing.
More Gene DiNovi news. After my post, Joe Lang sent along an email for Gene's daughter, who put me in touch with her mom. When I asked Gene's wife if Gene still did interviews, she said, "Absolutely." We arranged a time, and I interviewed Gene for an hour via Zoom. Gene looks and sounds great. My interview with Gene (above) will be coming to JazzWax shortly.
Midnight Special. When the indoor, arena rock concert began to take off in the early 1970s following years as a mass, free, outdoor festival gathering, TV was quick to get into the act. Film and TV producer Burt Sugarman launched Midnight Special in 1973, and the broadcast ran 450 episodes until 1981, giving home-bound young viewers a front-row seat to the era's top acts and artists. Now the iconic TV show can be found on YouTube at its own channel here.
Here's Linda Ronstadt performing You're No Good in December 1973, a year before she released the hit song on her album, Heart Like a Wheel....
Bud Powell. On April 3, the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University will host an exclusive screening of rare footage of legendary jazz pianist Bud Powell. The Francis Paudras Collection features over 20 hours of recently digitized film, including interviews, home movies, and live performances. You can watch a curated selection from the collection, followed by a panel discussion featuring Vincent Pelote, Dr. Naomi Extra and Earl John Powell, Jr. The event will run from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Dana Room at the John Cotton Dana Library (185 University Ave, Newark, N.J. 07102) and is open to the public and free of charge. However you must register in advance online here.
Johnny Pacheco radio. The World Music Department at WKCR-FM in New York is presenting a 24-hour special of the great Dominican musician Johnny Pacheco on Saturday. Pacheco was the inventor of the "Pachanga sound," a founder of Fania Records and he laid the groundwork for salsa music in the early 1970s. To listen from anywhere in the world, go here.
Here's Pacheco in the 1960s...
And here's Pacheco with Pete Rodriguez in 1970...
Sarah Vaughan radio. WKCR-FM in New York will broadcast a 24-hour special radio broadcast on Monday celebrating jazz vocalist Sarah Vaughan (above). To listen from anywhere in the world, go here.
Here's Sassy in 1965 on a local TV variety show singing Moon River. Her album, Sarah Vaughan Sings the Mancini Songbook, had just come out, with arrangements by Quincy Jones, who appears to be conducting here...
Here are the Tymes (above) singing So Much in Love, which went to No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart in August 1963...
And here's a cover by the Spidells in 1964...
