This week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed Kyle MacLachlan for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Kyle is in a new futuristic series called Fallout. [Photo above of Kyle MacLachlan in Fallout by JoJo Whilden/Prime Video]
Here's the trailer...
And here he is with James Corden...
A special thanks to WPIX hosts Dan and Hazel and producer Marcia for having me on their morning show live last week to talk about my book, Anatomy of 55 More Songs. Go here...
What I'm watching.
Last week...
Who is Erin Carter? (2003)—British crime thriller about a British-born schoolteacher living in Barcelona, Spain, with her daughter and husband. During an armed robbery at a grocery store, the teacher defends herself and her daughter by neutralizing one of the thieves and reveals her expert fighting skills and raises questions about who she is really. The best part of the film is that, for a change, a woman is kicking everyone's ass. (Netflix)
Here's the trailer...
The Bricklayer (2023)—A typical guy film complete with a CIA agent drawn out of retirement to track down a double agent everyone thought was dead. Nonstop action, car chases and twists that all take place in Greece. (Netflix)
Here's the trailer...
Previously watched and recommended...
TV series
- The Affair—(2014-2019/Hulu)
- Alaska Daily—(2022/Prime)
- The Americans—(2013-2018)/Prime)
- Anatomy of a Scandal—(2022/Netflix)
- Apples Never Fall—2024/Peacock)
- Band of Brothers—(2001/Netflix)
- The Bay (2019-current/BritBox)
- Belgravia—(2020/Prime Video)
- Blue Lights—(2023/BritBox)
- Bosch—(2014-2021/Prime)
- Bosch: Legacy—(2022-current/Prime)
- The Crown—(2016-2023/Netflix)
- Cherif—(2013-2019/Prime)
- 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)
- The Gentlemen—(2024/Netflix)
- Godless—(2017/Netflix)
- Goliath—(2016-2021/Prime)
- The Gilded Age—(current/Max)
- High Water—(2022/Netflix)
- 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)
- Monsieur Spade—(2024/AMC)
- Murdaugh Murders: The Movie, Parts 1 and 2—(2023/Lifetime)
- 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)
- Ripley—(2024/Netflix)
- Scott & Bailey (2011-2016/Prime)
- Turn: Washington's Spies—(2014-2017/Prime)
- Unbelievable—(2019/Netflix)
- Veronica Mars—(2004 to 2019/Hulu)
- The Watcher—(2022/Netflix)
- The Way Home—(2023-current/Peacock)
- The Woman in the Wall—(2024/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)
- The Dig—(2021/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)
- The Little Things—(2021/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)
- The Secret: Dare to Dream—(2020/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)
- Toscana—(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)
- Cunk on Earth—(2022/Netflix)
- Facing Nolan—(2022/Netflix)
- Five Came Back—(2017/Netflix)
- The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari—(2022/Netflix)
- 'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris—(2007/go here)
Shorty Rogers. Sunday, April 14, is Shorty Rogers' centennial. Following my post last week on the trumpeter/flugelhornist, composer, arranger and band leader, I heard from Von Babasin, son of the legendary West Coast bassist Harry Babasin. [Photo above of Shorty Rogers]
Von sent along the following fabulous photos from his collection along with a note:
Photo above, from left, bassist Harry Babasin (unseen), drummer Shelly Manne (unseen), trumpeter Shorty Rogers and pianist Marty Paich at the Trade Winds in Inglewood, Ca., in 1952, courtesy of Von Babasin.
Photo above, from left, Harry Babasin with a cello, Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne and Marty Paich at the Trade Winds in Inglewood, Ca., in 1952, courtesy of Von Babasin.
Photo above, musicians on a break. From left, Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, Barbara Moran, Herm Hines and Harry Babasin at the Trade Winds in 1952, courtesy of Von Babasin.
Photo above, from left, Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne, Barbara Moran, Herm Mines, Harry Babasin and Marty Paich at the Trade Winds in 1952, courtesy of Von Babasin.
Here's Von's note:
Hi Marc. I saw you honored Shorty Rogers, who would become an important part of Nocturne Records, co-founded by my dad, Harry, and Roy Harte in 1954. I thought JazzWax readers would enjoy the photos above of Shorty playing with my father at one of Dad's hosted jam sessions in 1952 at the Trade Winds in Inglewood. The photos were taken on a Monday night, during the "Sessions in Jazz" jams that Herm Hines sponsored. Next to him is his friend Barbara Moran.
Who was Herm Hines? He had a talent-management company called the Clark-Hines Agency: Artist Representatives on Sunset Blvd. Above, an article mentions him. I also sent along a few ads and a post card from the company with the 1952 calendar. I'm almost certain he represented Dad for some time. These jam sessions resulted in Chet Baker's first-ever recording and the famous meeting of Charlie Parker and Chet, which resulted in the album Live at the Trade Winds on Fresh Sound (go here).
David Spinozza. Following my Backgrounder post on Johnny Hodges recently, I heard from the legendary session guitarist David Spinozza, who played on Hodges' 3 Shades of Blue (1970).
Hey Marc. Johnny Hodges' "3 Shades of Blue" has always stuck out in my mind for so several reasons. Back in those days, I was just coming onto the New York recording scene. I was always in love with big band writing and arranging, so I frequently went to the Village Vanguard on Monday nights to hear the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis band. I knew a lot of the cats in that band and played on many R&B recording sessions that included many of the band's musicians.
I didn't do many straight ahead jazz recordings and gigs though. My reputation for being able to sight read and improvise was getting around. I remember worrying about being found out that I wasn't the sight reader they thought I was. I was so young and naive that when I got the call to play on "3 Shades of Blue," I really didn't know who Johnny Hodges was. No kidding!
One of the arrangements by Oliver Nelson called for me to play a fast single note line in unison with the sax section as an intro to one of the songs. When the sax section asked Oliver if we could rehearse it at a much slower tempo, because they were having a hard time reading it, I thought to myself, this is the session when everyone is going to realize I'm not the reader they think I am. I was absolutely mortified! If the best woodwind players in New York can't play it, I'm toast.
Lucky for me, the recording engineer came over the studio speaker and said the tape machine was having a problem and called for a 15-minute break while it was fixed. Well, I saw my opportunity, so I grabbed my chart off the stand and went into the bathroom. There, I threw up from total fear and sat in a stall and sang the part to myself until I had it memorized. When they finally called us back in, I played the part. I felt I had dodged a gigantic bullet.
Now here's the really funny part. I was so proud of myself that on the next few sessions, when I ran into some of the woodwind players that had been on those dates, I would brag about having played with "Jerry Hodges." I still didn't know his correct name. Those woodwind cats made fun of me for years. And deservedly so!
Ahmad Jamal and Yusef Laeef played together in 2012. They were backed by Manolo Badrena (p), Reginald Veal (b) and Herlin Riley (d). Go here...
James Bond Theme was recorded in London by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra at Abbey Road's Studio One in 2022. Go here...
Horace Silver. Bret Primack, also known as the Jazz Video Guy, is planning a documentary on pianist-composer and hard-bop forefather Horace Silver. To fund the project, he has launched a Go Fund Me page. You'll find his post on the Silver project here and the Go Fund Me page here.
You can view his Jimmy Heath documentary, Passing the Torch (2017), here.
Elza Laranjeira, a terrific Brazilian pop singer, recorded just four albums. Here's Sei from her 1962 LP, Ternura...
And finally, here's Cilla Black with Paul McCartney on acoustic guitar running down his song Step Inside Love, in 1967. McCartney's song for Black would be used for her BBC TV show theme in 1968...
Here's Cilla, from February 1968...