While you were enjoying movies at the JazzWax Film Festival, I was busy with Hollywood interviews. Among the artists I spoke with for my "House Call" in the Mansion section of The Wall Street Journal were David Chase, creator of HBO's The Sopranos, a series that celebrates its 25th anniversary this month, and Alan Ritchson, star of Prime Video's Reacher series. Go here and here. [Photo above of Alan Ritchson by Keri Anderson/Amazon Studios]
In addition, my monthly "Album@50" essay was on Paul McCartney and Wings' Band on the Run, my favorite album by the band and the only one by McCartney that holds together. As I argue in my essay, the Beatles were primarily a singles band, and their albums were largely warehouses for short individual songs not complete concepts. Before you email with objections, Rubber Soul and Revolver weren't conceived as albums, per se. The British and American versions were different.
Sgt. Pepper was their only cohesive long-form work, largely the result of George Martin's involvement. Magical Mystery Tour was an album of leftovers; the White Album was a massive collection of songs composed in India that should have been divided into two carefully constructed albums instead of one; only the second side of Abbey Road comes close to holding together; and Let It Be was a mess for a range of reasons.
Don't take my word for it. George Martin said pretty much the same thing in greater detail when I interviewed him at his estate in England in 2014. The problem after the Beatles' breakup in 1970 is that, individually, they had little experience or interest in turning songs into a complete LP statements. Which was a problem in the new rock album era. After Sgt. Pepper, John resisted George Martin's efforts to create a new cohesive rock-album sound, preferring instead to create individual rock 'n' roll songs. Symphonic rock, he felt, was too posh and contrived. Sadly, he didn't understand what George Martin was suggesting or why it was important for the band moving forward with studio albums rather than touring.
To read my essay, go here.
What I'm watching now. Here's what I streamed last week and really enjoyed (I spare you the junk I had to endure). Past recommendations appear in the list below the new entries for a handy reference:
MI-5, the Series—(2002-2011). This U.K., 10-season series tracks the operations of Britain's homeland security service. Lots of drama and suspense, but a shift from American spy and secret agent films, since we rarely see MI-5 agents armed. Thanks, Bob. (BritBox)
Carole King: Live in Central Park—(2023). This concert film documents King's May 26, 1973 performance in New York's Central Park. The first part showcases King singing alone, accompanying herself on piano. The second part features saxophonist Tom Scott and a band of top-shelf session musicians. (PBS)
Past recommendations...
TV series
- The Affair—(2014-2019/Hulu)
- The Americans—(2013-2018)/Prime)
- Band of Brothers—(2001/Netflix)
- Bosch—(2014-2021/Prime)
- Bosch: Legacy—(2022-current/Prime)
- The Crown—(Netflix)
- Dark Winds—(2022/AMC)
- The Diplomat—(2023/Netflix)
- Downton Abbey—(2020-2015/Prime)
- Fisk—(2021/Netflix)
- Goliath—(2016-2021/Prime)
- The Gilded Age (current/Max)
- Jane Eyre (2006/Britbox)
- Justified—(2010-2015/Hulu)
- Life & Beth—(Season 2, 2024/Hulu)
- Lincoln Lawyer—(2022-present/Netflix)
- 1923—(2022-present/Paramount+)
- 1883—(2021-2022/Prime)
- Outlander—(2014-present/Netflix)
- Pieces of Her—(2022/Netflix)
- Poldark—(2015-2019/Prime)
- Reacher—(2016-present/Netflix)
- Turn: Washington's Spies—(2014-2017/Prime)
- Unbelievable—(2019/Netflix)
- Veronica Mars—(2004 to 2019/Hulu)
- The Woman in the Wall—Due in January (Showtime)
- Yellowstone—(2018-present/Paramount Network)
Films
- The Accountant—(2016/Hulu)
- Armageddon Time—(2022/Prime)
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs—(2018/Netflix)
- The Ballad of Lefty Brown—(2017Netflix)
- Eiffel—(2021/Prime)
- Enola Holmes 1 and 2—(2022/Netflix)
- The Equalizer 1, 2 and 3—(2014-2024/Prime)
- God's Country—(2022/Hulu)
- Guy Ritchie's The Covenant—(2023/Prime)
- Kill Chain—(2019/Max)
- Last Night in Soho—(2021/Prime)
- Last Seen Alive—(2020/Netflix)
- Man on Fire—(2004/Max)
- MI-5—(2015/Max)
- The Mule—(2018/Netflix)
- The Night Agent—(2023/Netflix)
- Nobody—(2021/Prime)
- Ordinary Angels—(2024)
- Purple Hearts—(2022/Netflix)
- The Queen's Gambit—(2020/Netflix)
- Queenpins—(2021/Pluto TV)
- Reptile—(2023/Netflix)
- Somewhere in Queens—(2022/Hulu)
- The Spy—(2019/Netflix)
- Spy(les)—(2009/Prime)
- The Stranger—(2022/Netflix)
- Wonder Wheel—(2017/Prime)
Documentaries
- Aftershock: Everest and the Nepal Earthquake—(2022/Netflix)
- The Comeback—(2005 and 2014/Max)
- Five Came Back—(2017/Netflix)
- The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari—(2022/Netflix)
Thanks, Santa! An Instagram ad for Sea Island Resort in Georgia featured Santa at ease enjoying the property. At one point, St. Nick is reading the WSJ's Mansion section, with my "House Call" column exposed on the back cover. Naughty and nice!
Barbra Streisand. Five years ago, Barbra Streisand did the impossible. She appeared on James Corden's Carpool Karaoke. What you will see in the next 12 minutes is Barbra down to earth and relaxed having fun. Discuss amongst yourselves. Go here...
The Gates. Following my post on The Gates (2008) documentary, I heard from François Zalacain, founder of Sunnyside Records [photo above by Joe Tabacca/Bloomberg News]:
Hi Marc. Thank you again for your eclecticism. You cover a vast cultural landscape. I was very indirectly involved with the The Gates in 2005 when I received a phone call while driving in Spain. It was Jeanne-Claude, the wife of Christo, who was calling to inquire about the synchronization rights of “Fox Musette” by the "Primitifs du Futur.”
I asked Jeanne-Claude about the documentary's budget. She said, "$800,000, and I can offer $4,000 for the synchronization." "Deal," I shouted. I stopped at the next gas station and called Dominic Cravic, the composer of the track, and gave him the good news. “Fox Musette” is played almost in its entirety during the credits sequence at the end of the film.
Bop City. Following my post on The Legend of Bop City, I heard from Robert Garfias:
Hi Marc. Wow what a bunch of memories from that film. Lots of old friends. Bob Krebs appears with his wife, Loretta. We were in high school together and we often played shows together. He was in my band.
Also Kermit Scott appears a few times. We often jammed together there. I was really surprised to see Dickie Lankford. We were buddies. He was one of the great Kansas City tenor players. Really great. I wonder what became of him. Sometimes he and I would take the bus up to Stockton to jam with the many Filipino players who lived up there.
It wasn't about the famous names every night. although they did drop in often. Mostly it was the local guys who played there every night. Lankford and Scott were regulars, as was Pony Poindexter. Vernon Alley was often around. Allen Smith, the trumpet player, I knew him well but I don't think I ever saw him at Bop City in my early years there. He did do a lot of playing in San Francisco. I knew him because we were both in the Harry Partch Gate 5 ensemble playing at Oedipus.
Although it is not mentioned, for years before Bop City there was Jackson’s Nook, a much more intimate and vital hangout. It was at Jackson's Nook that we once had a 2 a.m. jam duo with Joe Albany.
Artie Shaw. In New York this week? Manhattan's Film Forum is screening Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got (1985), the fully restored, high-resolution, Oscar-winning documentary on the bandleader by director Brigitte Berman. You may recall that she also directed Bix: Ain't None of Them Play Like Him Yet (1981), which was featured at JazzWax last year when I interviewed Brigitte on Bix (go here). The Artie Shaw film will run until January 11, so you had better hurry. For more information, ticket purchases and events when Brigitte will be appearing at the theater, go here. [Photo above of Ava Gardner and Artie Shaw]
Ed Beach was one of the finest jazz DJs on New York FM radio. His voice was naturally cool, he had terrific insights and he had wonderful taste in music. Listening to him each evening is how I received my early jazz education in the early 1970s. [Photo above of Ed Beach courtesy of Marc and Evelyne Bernheim/Rapho Guillumette]
Last week, director Raymond De Felitta sent along an email to let me know that episodes of Beach's famed show, Just Jazz, are up at the American Archive of Public Broadcasting in high-quality dubs.
Episodes take 30 seconds to launch after you click play, so stick with it. Remember, there was no Internet back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, so much of what I heard on Ed's shows was new to me as an early teen. After a show, I had a list of what I wanted. Then it was a matter of saving up my lawn-mowing money and heading down to New York's used-record shops.
To listen to Ed Beach's Just Jazz shows, go here.
Bill Evans in Molde, 1980. Over the holidays, I came across this great clip of Bill Evans, bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe LaBarbera in Modle, Norway, in August 1980 playing one of the finest versions of The Days of Wine and Roses a month before Evans's death on September 15 [photo above of Bill Evans courtesy of YouTube]. Go here...
Les McCann. With the passing of pianist Les McCann, Chris Cowles, host of Greasy Tracks at WRTC-FM in Hartford, sent along a link to his four-hour tribute broadcast in 2018. Go here.
Dig ragtime? My brother, Danny, sent along a link to pianist Terry Waldo's podcast, This Is Ragtime. Episodes are loaded with Terry playing a mean piano [photo above of Terry Waldo]. Go here.
Here's the great Terry with the equally fabulous Colin Hancock last year playing Squeeze Me...
Marcus Persiani—The Proper Time. Pianist Marcus Persiani has a good thing going. His hard-bop quintet is solid and his original compositions are in the pocket. The group features Joe Magnarelli on trumpet and flugelhorn, Wayne Escoffrey on tenor and soprano saxophones, Marcus on piano and keyboards, Kenny Davis on bass and Byron Landhan on drums. Marcus is a beautiful player and he even was able to bring tenor saxophonist George Coleman into the session on Forecast Blues. An all-around smart album with taut, soulful playing. You'll find the album here (to buy) and here (to listen).
Here's Forecast Blues...
The Palomar Trio—The Song in Our Soul (Turtle Bay). This album is a throwback to jazz of the 1930s and features Dan Levinson on clarinet and tenor saxophone, Mark Shane on piano and Kevin Dorn on drums. To recreate the sound and punch of a fox-trot band with just three players, the musicians must work hard, and feeling is required. They also have to be super together and flawless. The Palomar Trio covers 11 songs recorded during the Depression and each track is better than the last. Music that will get your feet going. You'll find this album here (to buy) and here (to listen).
Here's In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town...
Max Roach radio. Starting Tuesday, January 9, WKCR-FM in New York will present 30 hours of Max Roach to celebrate the drummer's centennial. The marathon broadcast will begin Tuesday at 6 p.m. (ET) and continue on Wednesday, Roach's birthday, until midnight. To listen from anywhere in the world, go here.
And finally, here are the Orlons seven years ago at a rock 'n' roll revival show performing their 1962 hit Wah-Watusi...
