Amy, Marti and Emily

In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed stand-up comedian and actress Amy Schumer for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here), Amy stars in Season 2 of Life & Beth (Hulu), a drama-comedy series based on her life. Amy is the series creator, executor producer, star and the lead writer. It's hysterical. Michael Cera plays her husband.[Photo above of Amy Schumer on the set of Life & Beth, courtesy of Hulu]

Here's the trailer...

Book promotion. I'm winding down media promotion for the paperback edition of my book, Anatomy of 55 More Songs, which came out in December. Last week, I was on CBS News in New York and The Weather Channel.

Here's the CBS clip...

Here's The Weather Channel clip...

And on Sunday, I'll be with The Howard Stern Show's Jon Hein on Sirius XM's Howard 101 at 11 a.m. ET.

A special thanks to Ernestine.

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...

Cherif (2013-2019)—Set in Lyon, France, the series features Abdelhafid Metalsi as Captain Kader Cherif, a brilliant, kind and cocky detective who teams with Captain François Bureloup, a jolie-laide, stand-offish partner. It's in French with English subtitles, and the series is highly addictive. (Prime)

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)
• Feud (S1): Bette and Joan—(2017/Hulu)
• Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans—(2024/FX, with streaming on Hulu)
• 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—(Seasons 1& 2, 2022-present/Hulu)
• Lincoln Lawyer—(2022-present/Netflix)
• Loudermilk—(2017-2020/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)
• American Gangster—(2007/Max).
• 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)
• Fury—(2014/Netflix)
• God's Country—(2022/Hulu)
• Guy Ritchie's The Covenant—(2023/Prime)
• Jack Reacher (the movie)—(2012/Paramount+) 
• Kill Chain—(2019/Max)
• Knight and Day—(2010/Roku)
• 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)
• Self Reliance—(2023/Hulu)
• Seraphim Falls—(2006/Netflix)
• Somewhere in Queens—(2022/Hulu)
• The Spy—(2019/Netflix)
• Spy(les)—(2009/Prime)
• The Stranger—(2022/Netflix)
• The Two Popes—(2019/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)

New jazz documentary. Directors Tom Shaker and Norm Grant are providing a free screening of their latest documentary, Do It, Man! The Story of The Celebrity Club, which looks at the treasured jazz club in Providence, R.I. As Tom notes, "The film is about music, history, race, crime and urban renewal, but most of all, it's about the people of Rhode Island and the power of music bringing people together." The club stood in the city's black neighborhood known as Randall Square and was owned by an Paul Filippi. The club is believed to be among the first integrated nightclubs in New England, and it showcased top national jazz and R&B acts as well as local talent throughout the 1950s.

The film can be viewed for free from Thursday, February 22 through Sunday, February 25. 

To watch, go here.

Tammy Burdett. Last week, following my interview with bassist and singer-songwriter Tammy Burdett back in 2022, I heard from Bob Strickland:

Hi Marc. I just finished reading the JazzWax interview you did with Tammy. She sang with my group in Everett, Wash., off and on for seven years. She's a wonderful talent and a welcome addition to any group—a real professional. I enjoyed playing on one of her albums and with her on casuals. She is a wonderful friend. Thank you for including "Soft Shoe." It has one of my best flugelhorn solos. It was good to hear on your site.

Thank you as well for the interview of Frank D'Rone. He was one of my wife's and my best friends. I was a fan of his instantly after seeing him on the daytime "Garry Moore Show." I was 14 at the time, and I thought he was the coolest guy I had ever seen or heard. We finally met in 2000 and kept in touch until he passed away. I was at his last recording sessions, in Washington. I considered him a hybrid of a brother and an uncle. What a guy and what a talent. I wrote a tribute to him that was published in the Chicago Jazz Magazine, entitled "The Other Frank."

Twangy guitars. I love the personalities of electric guitars, especially when the instruments are in the hands of pros.

Here's the Gretsch 612TSP Duo Jet...

Hooked? There are plenty more guitars to hear. Go here.

How much talent did CBS have under contract in 1978? Last week I came across this clip here...

Black Jazz Records: The Complete Singles (Real Gone). The last time I posted on the short-lived Black Jazz label (1969-1975)—founded by Gene Russell in Oakland, Ca.—was in 2019 (here). Now, Real Gone has compiled the 15 singles released by the label on one CD. The label previously had re-issued all 20 albums in the catalog, which had a unique sound designed for black FM radio, which was just emerging during these years. You'll find more information and the new release here.

Here's Gene Russell's Me and Mrs. Jones...

Johannes Faber Quintet (Circle). In 1984, Germany's Circle label released When Sun Lights Up the Future. The album featured the Johannes Faber Quintet, with Johannes (tp,flhrn), George Adams (ts), Joerg Reiter (p), Thomas Stabenow (b) and Billy Cobham (d). The four avant-garde fusion tracks were Come Up With It Or Else, Rhythm Rag, When Sun Lights Up the Future and White Line on a Black Grand. This past week, Frieder Mollat, at the newly revived Circle Records in Germany, reissued the album as the Johannes Faber Quintet and has remastered the album for release on streaming platforms such as Spotify and YouTube. A lot of edge and energy, and Johannes's beautiful horn and Cobham's big drums.

Here's When Sun Lights Up the Future...

Oscar Peterson. Here's Oscar Peterson performing solo on Falling in Love With Love and Old Folks at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1977...

Spring in Sicily! The last time I posted photos by my friend Marti, who lives in central Sicily, was in August 2023 here. Now Marti has sent along images of early spring there. The photo above is of an almond tree blossom. Here are more:

Photo above of almond trees and spinaciola.

Photo above of grape vines.

Photo above of more grape vines.

Photo above of more almonds and spinaciola.

And finally, a photo above of olive trees.

Western swing. I'm a big fan of western swing, which first surfaced in the 1920s and became popular in the 1930s. The mix of swing and country-western was favored largely by white families who migrated from the South and Southwest to California in search of work and were eager for dance music that retained the sounds from back home.

Here's Mike Penny's Western Swing Club playing It's All Your Fault...

Here's Jason Loughlin playing a Western swing guitar solo...

And here's a compilation of Western swing steel guitarists...

And finally, here's Emily Jane Roberts playing guitarist Barry Galbraith's arrangement of I Cover the Waterfront...