Last week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed Shaun White for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Shaun is a former Olympic snowboarder who won three gold medals in the halfpipe competition. Growing up, Shaun was fearless when it came to heights and speed, which I think is attributable to his two heart operations as an infant. I'm convinced that during that trauma, he developed a drive to survive and, in childhood, needed to show he could be like everyone else and excel. [Photo above of Shaun White by Andrew Arthur, courtesy of Andrew Arthur]
Here's the trailer to Shaun's current docuseries, The Last Run (Max)...
Also in the WSJ, my essay on Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 50 years after it was first released and its pop-rock impact on listeners and musicians (go here).
Here's Elton John and Cher singing Bennie and the Jets on The Cher Show in 1975...
What to Watch. This week I'm starting a new regular feature called "What to Watch." In advance of my Wall Street Journal conversations with celebrities about their childhood, I watch a lot of movies and TV series each week, either in advance of upcoming interviews or to keep up with artists who interest me most. As with my Backgrounder series, I'll keep a running list each week so you can keep up with what I enjoyed and you might, too:
Past week
Five Came Back (2017)—This documentary miniseries looks at five Hollywood directors who joined the service during World War II to film different aspects of the conflict. None of them came back the same as when they left. (Netflix)
Reptile (2023)—A crime thriller film about a detective who must track down a murderer in Maine. (Netflix)
Fisk (2021)—Hysterical Australian TV series starring Kitty Flanagan, who also created and co-wrote the fast-paced comedy that bears some similarity to The Office and Call My Agent. (Netflix)
Man on Fire (2004)—High-stakes revenge film starring Denzel Washington. (Max)
Nobody (2021)—Family man who returns to his former life after working as an assassin becomes the target of a crime boss. Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) in a superb dramatic role. (Prime)
Eiffel (2021)—A French biodrama on Gustave Eiffel as he builds his Eiffel Tower in Paris and the romance he resumes from years earlier. The tower details are accurate but the romance was fictionalized to spice up the story, a brilliant move. As you'll see, it all works. (Prime)
Past year
Justified (2010-2015)—This seven-season series traces the work of Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant). High-energy drama and top-notch writing. (Hulu)
The Diplomat (2023)—A political thriller series starring Keri Russell, who is worth watching in anything and everything. (Netflix)
The Equalizer 1, 2 and 3 (2014-2018)—Revenge films starring Denzel Washington and directed by Antoine Fuqua. (Prime)
Armageddon Time (2022)—Unusual film about an odd kid and how he makes his way through adolescence. Stars Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway and Banks Repeta. (Prime)
Past favorites
Outlander—TV series that mixes history and time travel. (Netflix)
Poldark—TV series that looks at the post-American Revolution life of a British soldier after he returns home to England after the British lose the war and a continent. (Prime)
Washington's Spies—TV series about those who spied for America during the Revolutionary War. (Prime)
The Americans—Acclaimed series on Soviet spies living in the U.S. as Americans and the lengths to which they go to compromise and turn neighbors and key officials. (Prime)
Enola Holmes 1 and 2—Two drama-comedies that look at the life of Sherlock Holmes's fictional sister. Brilliantly shot. (Netflix)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs—Highly unusual Western that features six vignettes set on the American frontier. Directed by the Coen brothers. (Netflix)
Goliath—Fascinating series about a West Coast attorney who bends the rules. Stars Billy Bob Thornton. (Prime)
Bill Evans. Music that is impossible to ignore as soon as you hear it includes the Bill Evans Trio at the Village Vanguard in 1961, featuring Evans on piano, Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums. Here are 14 tracks:
Burt Young (1940-2023), a trained film and stage actor who played major roles in top-grossing films (Rocky, Chinatown) with a natural realism and always came across as a crew member who had wandered onto the set, died on October 8. He was 83. Director Raymond De Felitta is finishing up a documentary on Young that I've seen several times. It is superb. [Photo still above of Burt Young, right, and Jack Nicholson from Chinatown (1974)]
Here's the trailer...
Gerry Mulligan. Steve Cerra, founder of the blog Jazz Profiles, has just published A Gerry Mulligan Reader: Writings on a Jazz Original. The book artfully brings together a large and varied selection of pieces written about the baritone saxophonist, composer and arranger. Pieces are culled from books, album liner notes and Steve's own posts. Fascinating examinations by writers throughout Mulligan's long and influential career. Go here.
Raymond Chandler. Last week, Raymond De Felitta posted at his blog on a terrific YouTube documentary about crime-fiction writer Raymond Chandler. Go here...
Dave Thompson. Here's Dave in his studio working through an introduction to My Romance...
On tour! Georgia Mancio and Alan Broadbent. This duo recorded two wonderful albums—Songbook and Quiet Is the Star—featuring Georgia on vocals and Alan on piano. What makes these albums extraordinary is that all of the songs were composed by Alan with lyrics by Georgia. It turns out that the pair are astonishing songwriters. For more, go to my earlier posts here and here. [Photo above of Georgia Mancio and Alan Broadbent by Tatiana Gorilovsky]
Now, for the upcoming tour. If you plan on being in England in November, you can catch them live. Reuniting for the first time in person since 2019, they will be joined by long-time collaborators bassist and producer Andrew Cleyndert and drummer Dave Ohm.
In England, they will play the Watermill Jazz Club in Dorking (November 14); the Concorde Club in Southampton (November 15); and The Bear in Luton (November 16). They will wrap up the tour by performing at London's The Pheasantry on the final weekend of the EFG London Jazz Festival (November 17,18 and19).
Ernie Henry radio. This Sunday (October 22), WKCR-FM radio host Sid Gribetz will present a special five-hour show celebrating the career of the alto saxophonist from 2 to 7 p.m. (ET) on the station's Jazz Profiles show. Listen from anywhere in the world by going here.
Acid trip. I've come across many odd YouTube videos over the years, but this one takes the cake. It features Cher, Tina Turner and Kate Smith (yes, that Kate Smith, of God Bless America fame) singing a Beatles medley on The Cher Show in 1975. Go here...
And finally, here's Grant Green playing It Ain't Necessarily So...
