Last week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed actor Anthony Carrigan for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Anthony stars as NoHo Hank, a Chechen mobster, in the HBO series Barry. We talked about his condition—alopecia areata—which attacks hair follicles and afflicted him from an early age. In childhood, the alopecia gave his parents anxiety and terrified him. That is, until he discovered the stage in school, where costumes, wigs and makeup allowed him to appear normal. A touching story of bullying, art and determination. [Photo above of Anthony Carrigan in Barry by Isabella Vosmikova/HBO]
Here's Anthony in Barry...
Why Jazz Happened, my 2016 book on the eight factors that caused jazz to change over the years, will be an audio book narrated by the great Peter Lerman. It will be available in about a month. I'll keep you posted.
Roger Kellaway. If you're in New York next week, pianist Roger Kellaway (above) will be appearing live at Mezzrow on May 3 and 4 with bassist Jay Leonhart, drummer Dennis Mackrel and, special guest, guitarist Roni Ben-Hur. Sets are at 7:30 and 9 p.m. (doors open at 7). The club is at 163 W 10th Street. For more information and reservations, go here.
Here's Roger with guitarist Jim Hall playing Here Today, Gone Tomorrow in 1964 on A Jazz Portrait of Roger Kellaway, Featuring Jim Hall...
Leon Russell. In 2014, I flew down to Nashville to spend the afternoon with Leon Russell. The interview took place at his home, which from the outside looked as if it had been designed by hobbits. Inside, our conversation took place as we watched TV with the sound off. Leon was in pain at the time and still one of a kind. In addition to being Jerry Lee Lewis's road pianist and Joe Cocker's musical director during his Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour in 1970, Leon had a staggering career as a singer-songwriter, Wrecking Crew keyboardist and, as a leader, shifting effortlessly from pop and rock to soul and country. Most of all, Leon was a naturally gifted pianist.
Here's Leon playing piano and singing A Song for You, one of his best-known compositions and most beautiful ballads. It's part of Signature Songs, a terrific new album of his hits released by BMG...
Sacha Distel. Here's Sacha Distel (above), the French jazz guitarist and entertainer, in 1972 with lyricist Vinicius de Moraes (singing), guitarist Toquinho and singer Maria Creuza performing The Girl from Ipanema on French TV...
Horace Silver. Here's Nutville by the Horace Silver Quintet, with Bill Hardman (tp), Bennie Maupin (tenor saxophone), Horace Silver (p), John Williams (b) and Billy Cobham (d) in 1968 on Denmark TV...
More Horace Silver. Here's Metamorphosis from Silver's The Stylings of Silver (1957), with Horace Silver (p), Art Farmer (tp), Hank Mobley (ts), Teddy Kotick (b) and Louis Hayes (d)...
Two terrific books. Recently, I was able to squeeze two terrific new books into my reading schedule that will definitely be of interest to you:
Music for Prime Time: A History of American Television Themes and Scoring—by Jon Burlingame (Oxford University). This 467-page book covers the story behind virtually every American TV show's theme, and it's loaded with songwriter interviews and research conducted over the past 35 years. For example, I had no idea that Sid Ramin's Patty Duke Show theme music was adapted by Ramin for his Music to Watch Girls Go By for Diet Pepsi's TV ads in 1966. Or that Warren Barker was called in to do the music for Bewitched on the basis of an album he had recorded using exotic instruments. Hence the xylophone for Elizabeth Montgomery's nose-wrinkle. Witchcraft was going to be the show's theme until the suits did the math and realized it was cheaper to write a new theme song than pay royalties on the standard. Why no vocal? That also had to do with money. This book is loaded. You look up favorite shows in the index and you're rewarded with theme details regarding the song's mishaps, evolution and surprising strategic decisions. Jon's last book The Music of James Bond, is a must-own if you love the big brass, soaring strings and on-edge vocals of 007 themes. Go here.
Funkiest Man Alive: Rufus Thomas and Memphis Soul—by Matthew Ruddick (University of Mississippi). When it came to Stax Records, few were as flamboyant or as funky as Rufus Thomas, the father of Carla Thomas (Gee Whiz, 1960). Rufus started out in vaudeville in the 1930s when he was still a teen and became the first father to land in Billboard's Top 10 with a debut single after his daughter first appeared there. His hits included Walking the Dog (1963), Do the Funky Chicken (1969) and The Push and Pull (1970). Matthew's book gets behind the hamming and flamboyance of Rufus Thomas and presents the artist, his roots and how he became one of the most fascinating and funky Southern soul artists of the 1960s and '70s. Go here.
Here's Rufus Thomas at Wattstax in 1973...
And finally, here's the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio playing Grant Green's Ain't It Funky...
