Last week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed comedian-actor Ana Gasteyer for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). The Saturday Night Live alum stars in the NBC sitcom American Auto, which follows the employees of Detroit-based Payne Motors and its the struggles after a new CEO who knows little about cars is hired from the pharmaceutical industry. Ana, of course, is the oblivious CEO. [Photo above of Ana Gasteyer, courtesy of Ana Gasteyer]
Here's a look-see...
And here's Ana on Craig Ferguson in 2011. Note how fast their repartee is...
Bill Le Sage. Following my post on Bill Le Sage last week, I heard from British composer-arranger and pianist John Cameron (above):
Hi Marc. Lovely to read that Bill Le Sage’s live Directions in Jazz recordings have been re-issued. I have fond memories of Bill. He Ron Ross, Art Ellefson, Spike Heatley and Tony Carr were the house band at the Take One in London where I made my debut as a solo cabaret artist in 1965. I loved his cello quartet writing. Bill was absolutely inspirational to me as a writer and arranger, and in fact worked on a whole load of projects with me once I hit my straps as an arranger and then movie composer. In fact, he took over conducting of BBCs "Once More With Felix" for me when I was struck down by a car in Munich. Bizarre memories of handing over scores for the show while being wheeled off the plane and carted off to hospital! And such a lovely guy. Fond memories.
And from Michael Rose in the U.K....
Hello Marc. The new RnB Records release features Bill Le Sage's broadcasts. Sadly, the commercial recordings have never been reissued in any form. The group made two albums for Philips: "Directions in Jazz" (1964) and "Road to Ellingtonia" (1965). The pity is that both were only released in mono, although it is likely that the original masters were stereo. This was at a time when record companies (certainly in the U.K.) were issuing albums in double inventory, i.e. mono and stereo. If an album was considered to be less than commercial, no stereo version was issued.
This happened with Bill Russo's second London Jazz Orchestra album "Stonehenge." The first side, Richard Peaslee's "Stonehenge" suite was later reissued on Gunther Schulller's GM label in stereo. But with the exception of a mono rip of the original album on the now-defunct Britjazz blog, side 2 has never again seen the light of day in any form. The same fate originally befell Neil Ardley's first New Jazz Orchestra album (on British Decca) "Western Reunion", but this was later reissued, again in stereo, by Mike Dutton's Vocalion label and demonstrated how superior a great stereo recording is against a pretty dull mono issue.
Stan Tracey's "Under Milk Wood Suite" was also issued only in mono, but on that occasion, there was a clamor for a stereo release and EMI finally bowed to public demand and issued a stereo version. It's now considered a classic and has been reissued many times, most recently by Stan's son Clark on his ReSteamed label (also in a vinyl version). [Editor's note: see my post here]
As for the Le Sage albums, it's unlikely that Universal, which owns the masters, would consider them worth reissuing in any form (even to stream), so it looks like they have been consigned to the dusty vaults of history. That's a sad fate for albums that should be considered classics of a time when British jazz could hold its head up high for its creativity and individuality.
Rock Hall '88. In 1988, after the inductions of the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Drifters, Bob Dylan and the Supremes, many of the artists came together on stage along with those who inducted them and other music stars for a performance. Noticeably absent from the Beatles was Paul McCartney (and John Lennon, of course, who was killed in 1980). [Photo above of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Nathalie Wright]
McCartney released the following statement at the time to explain his decision to pass:
After 20 years, the Beatles still have some business differences which I had hoped would have been settled by now. Unfortunately, they haven't been, so I would feel like a complete hypocrite waving and smiling with them at a fake reunion.
Here's the performance (note the interesting competitive chemistry between Mick Jagger and Bruce Springsteen...
Steely Dan heads up. If you're a Steely Dan fan and unaware of what's going on, Geffen/UMe has begun releasing remasters of the band's nine albums on ABC and MCA, between 1972 and 2003. The remastering is being done by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman from the original analog tapes. In November, Can't Buy a Thrill was issued. Released on May 26 was Steely Dan's second album, Countdown to Ecstasy. Keep an eye out for the rest of the catalog.
The LPs are being issued on 180-gram black vinyl at 33 1/3 rpm. Additionally, the album has just been released as a limited-edition premium 45 rpm version on Ultra High-Quality Vinyl (UHQR) from Analogue Productions, the audiophile in-house reissue label of Acoustic Sounds. Analogue Productions is also releasing this series of titles on Super Audio CD (SACD).
Some of you may be scratching your heads. For years, a rumor circulated that all of the Steely Dan master reels were destroyed in the 2008 Universal warehouse fire. This rumor was codified when the New York Times Sunday Magazine printed a piece in 2019 that included a list of artists whose masters were lost. Steely Dan was inaccurately among them. This isn't true.
The original master tapes of Steely Dan’s albums delivered to Universal by the band at the time were secured in the company’s archives and remain there today. The original tapes for Aja and Gaucho, however, were never delivered to the record label and are presumed to no longer exist. Why they weren't delivered and what happened to them is unclear.
Aja will be mastered from an analog, non-EQ’d, tape copy, and Gaucho will be sourced from a 1980 analog tape copy originally EQ’d by Bob Ludwig.
In the liner notes for the 1999 CD reissue of Aja—nearly a decade before the fire—the band asked fans for help locating some of the missing multi-tracks. You can read more about that here.
You'll find the 180-gram Countdown to Ecstasy here.
Ronnie Cuber. Following my post on the roots of swing, bebop and rock 'n' roll, Roberta Arnold, manager of the late Ronnie Cuber, sent along a link to a clip of Ronnie, with the Rein de Graaff Trio, performing Stompin' at the Savoy in Belgium in 2013. [Photo above of Ronnie Cuber]
Here's the clip...
Elizabeth Montgomery of Bewitched fame hosted TV's Hollywood Palace in October 1966, at the height of the sitcom's popularity. Here she is in a dance number... [photo above of Elizabeth Montgomery courtesy of IMdb]...
Mike Melito—To Swing Is the Thing (Cellar Music). Mike Melito is a driving force on the drums and in the classroom as an Eastman School of Music faculty member. Mike has released five albums of his own and appears on more than 25 albums as a sideman. He just released his sixth, and it cooks. He's backed by tenor saxophonist Grant Stewart, trumpeter and flugelhornist Joe Magnarelli, Jeb Patton on piano and Neal Miner on bass. A majority of the tracks are up-tempo hardbop pieces, like Tommy Turrentine's You Said It and Big Red, Johnny Ellis's A Bee Has Two Brains, John Coltrane's Straight Street, Grant's Three for Carson and Miner's Locke Bop. Dig Mike's solo on Three for Carson. Says it all. Go here.
Here's Straight Street...
West Coast in Amsterdam (Netherlands Jazz Archief). Amsterdam's Concertgebouw was and is the Netherlands' premiere concert space. Between 1958 and 1960, West Coast jazz stars appeared on stage to thrilled audiences. In this three CD set, Stan Kenton played there in April 1956; Bud Shank and Bob Cooper played in March 1958, followed by June Christy on the same bill; Shelly Manne and His Men were there in February 1960 and the Jimmy Giuffre 3 with Jim Hall appeared in May 1959 and in February 1960. The album is interesting since it features the West Coast jazz movement in its last years. The Beach Boys would emerge in 1962 along with a vast West Coast pop rock movement that would send many of the jazz musicians into TV work in Hollywood. The album doesn't ship outside of Europe. Go here.
Here's Stan Kenton playing Bill Holman's arrangement of Polka Dots and Moonbeams, with Carl Fontana on trombone...
Here's Shelly Manne & His Men playing Straight No Chaser...
And here's June Christy singing I'll Take Romance...
Lorraine Desmarais Jazz Trio—Street Beat Suite (Analekta). This superb French-Canadian pianist and composer with 10 CDs recorded has been teaching music at the college level since 1985 and was appointed the Order of Canada in 2012. On her new album, she plays an eight-movement work that is a sheer delight. Lorraine plays with elan and confidence, so it's no wonder that fellow Canadian Oscar Peterson was one of her inspirations. Each movement is a different adventure, moving gracefully and with depth, as her hands fly over the keyboard with enormous sensitivity. Lorraine is backed by Alec Walkington on bass and Camil Belisle on drums. Go here.
Here's Le Président Aime Chick...
Also, check out Bleu Silence, another spectacular album by Lorraine recommended by Bill Kirchner. Go here.
Los Van Van is a leading group in Cuba that was founded in 1969 by bassist Juan Formell, who directed the band until his death in 2014. Nelson Diaz, a painter and a dear friend, sent along a link to a terrific album by Los Van Van—Juan Formell y Los Van Van Vol. III, released in Havana in 1974. Here's the album Just let it play...
And finally, here's Archie Bell & the Drells singing I Just Want to Fall in Love, in 1969...
