Joan, Chuck and Don

In The Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed actress Joan Collins for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Joan talked about her early bad-girl image in London films, how she wound up in Hollywood in the early 1950s and her bond with her late sister, novelist Jackie Collins. You also can read my 2014 interview with Joan's sister, Jackie Collins, here. [Publicity still above of Joan Collins in London in the late 1940s]

What I'm watching now. Here's what I streamed last week and enjoyed (I have spared you the junk I had to endure). Past recommendations appear in the list below the new entries, for a handy reference:

Last week...

Life & Beth (S1)—(2022). Comedian-actress Amy Schumer stars in a self-written, produced and directed comedy-drama series. Largely autobiographical, Amy plays Beth (Violet Young plays the young version of Beth) as she navigates life. So funny and poetic. Season 2, which I watched last week, is coming in March and is even better than Season 1. Catch up now. (Hulu).

Feud (S1): Bette and Joan—(2017). Season 1 of the docudrama Feud looks at the rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Stunning acting performances. Season 2, which I watched last week in advance of its January 31 launch, is Truman Capote v. the Swans. A look at how novelist Truman Capote wormed his way into the lives of New York's most elite socialites in the 1970s and wrote cavalierly about their world, only to alienate the very power and friendships he craved and needed. A mind-blowing cast here. Catch up now with Season 1. (Hulu)

Past recommendations...

TV series

• The Affair—(2014-2019/Hulu)
• The Americans—(2013-2018)/Prime)
• Band of Brothers—(2001/Netflix) 
• Belgravia—(2020/Prime Video)
• 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)
• Homeland (2011-2020/Showtime)
• Jane Eyre (2006/Britbox)
• Justified—(2010-2015/Hulu)
• Life & Beth—(Season 2, 2024/Hulu)
• Lincoln Lawyer—(2022-present/Netflix)
• MI-5, the Series—(2002-2011/BritBox)
• 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—(2017/Netflix)
• 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)
• Carole King: Live in Central Park—(2023/PBS)
• The Comeback—(2005 and 2014/Max)
• Five Came Back—(2017/Netflix)
• The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari—(2022/Netflix)

Chuck Israels. If you haven't purchased yet, be sure to grab Chuck Israels's memoir, Bass Notes (Backbeat). Deep chapters and recollections on his time in the Bill Evans Trio after bassist Scott LaFaro's sudden death in 1961, and reflections on his collaborations with Bud Powell, John Coltrane and many others. Go here.

John Carisi. Following my post on John Carisi's The New Jazz Sound Of "Show Boat," Bill Kirchner sent along a note reminding me of Carisi's tracks for Gil Evans's Into the Hot album. Bill also sent links to tracks.

First, a little background: Though Evans's Out of the Cool for Impulse in late 1960 was well-received by critics, he decided to leave the new label when Impulse founder Creed Taylor left to head Verve. In addition, Evans didn't have enough material for a followup, so he turned over his remaining Impulse recording dates to Carisi and Cecil Taylor.

Here are Carisi's three beautiful compositions that he arranged and conducted for the album, which came out under Gil Evans's name anyway in 1962:

Here's Moon Taj...

Here's Angkor Wat...

And here's Barry’s Tune, featuring guitarist Barry Galbraith...

Ed Beach. Some readers wrote to say they had trouble accessing the site featuring archived Just Jazz shows hosted by Ed Beach via the link I provided through the emailed version of my JazzWax post. As a result, I'm giving you a link today to the site's main page. Just type "Ed Beach" into the search engine. Go here. [Photo above of Ed Beach courtesy of Mark Beach]

Jim Altamore—Swingin' After Dark (Splank). On most nights, Jim earns his living singing Frank Sinatra hits at clubs and in concert, often with a full orchestra and Sinatra's arrangements. On his new album Swingin' After Dark, Jim takes a break from Ol' Blue Eyes and delivers a straight ahead vocal album backed by a smartly arranged sextet. Tracks include Another Star, Watch What Happens, It's Alright With Me and Stormy. More on Jim here. You'll find his album here or listen at YouTube, Spotify and other streaming platforms.

Here's Watch What Happens...

Lost Planet Airmen—Back From the Ozone (Last Music Co.). Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen was a roots, country-rock band formed in 1967. The group played lots of 1960s rock festivals. Now, five original members have reunited and they sound great. For me, it's the sound of summertime, and with yet another winter storm bearing down on New York, music that sounds like cut grass and gathered hay is fine by me. You'll find the album here or listen at YouTube, Spotify and other streaming platforms.

Here's Wine Do Your Stuff...

Merle and Marty. When country is in the pocket, it's precious. Here are legends Merle Haggard and Marty Robbins on two video clips [publicity still above of Merle Haggard]:

Here's Today I Started Loving You Again...

And here's Don't Worry...  

FM Radio Archive. Kim Paris of FM Radio Archive sent along a new batch of free, live recordings that aired on FM radio:

Les McCann—performed at the Apollo Theater in New York with Freddie Hubbard in a 1974 concert broadcast on WBGO. Go here.

Ed Beach—is featured in a WRVR broadcast focusing on Billie Holiday's career amd music. The show is believed to be from the mid-1960s. This is one of the earliest broadcast recordings on the FM Radio Archive. Go here.

Max Roach—played with the Charlie Parker All Stars at the 1980 Chicago Blues Festival, in a WBEZ broadcast recording from Mark Rabin's collection. Go here.

Note from Kim: "The FM Radio Archive turned 4 recently. I started this online collection on Jan. 6, 2020. With help from you and your JazzWax readers, there have been 1.63M views since then, and there are currently 981 broadcast recordings available to stream or download for free."

Don Byas radio. On Sunday, Sid Gribetz will host WKCR-FM's Jazz Profiles and present a five-hour radio broadcast featuring tenor saxophonist Don Byas (above). Sid's tribute will run from 2 to 7 p.m. (ET). Listen from anywhere in the world by going here.

And finally, an intimate look at the extraordinary process Elton John and Bernie Taupin used to write songs together. This remarkable partnership would begin with Bernie writing poems in another room. He'd then hand them over to Elton, who would set the poems he liked to music. Here's a video from 1970 that explains how Tiny Dancer was born...

A special thanks to Dan Podkulski, Todd Selbert, Bill Kirchner, Fred Augerman, Carl Woideck, Jeff Helgesen and everyone else who alerts me daily to typos and fixes needed so I can square them away as early as possible. Please remember, JazzWax is a community, not just a blog. If you see something that needs fixing, please email me immediately. Your catches are most appreciated.