Jamie, Bill and René

In The Wall Street Journal this past week, I interviewed actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section (go here). Jamie, who played Meadow Soprano in HBO's The Sopranos, talked about her health struggles during the series' six seasons. She was 16 when cast and was in her early 20s when the series wrapped. Currently, she co-hosts Messy, a podcast, with actress Christina Applegate, about their friendship and multiple sclerosis. [Photo above of Jamie-Lynn Sigler courtesy of Getty Images]

Here's Jamie as Meadow. It's astonishing how brilliantly she played this role over time, from a spoiled teen to questioning adulthood, all with serious health issues...

What I'm watching.

Last week...

The Veil—(2024). I'm still watching Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, The Handmaid's Tale) in this thriller miniseries about a deadly game of truth and lies as two women travel from Istanbul to Paris and London, with one of them possessing a secret that the other needs to expose. (Hulu/FX) [Photo above of Elisabeth Moss in The Veil, courtesy of FX]

Here's the trailer...

The Beach Boys—(Disney+). I rewatched the upcoming documentary on the group that won over America's youth before the Beatles invaded, turned the beach into a teen destination and cast California as the birthplace of fun. Lots of unseen footage, smart historical analysis and a feel for how the group came together, the collective contribution of all the band's members and how the group ran aground competing with the Fab Four and trying to remain relevant. Available for streaming at Disney+ starting May 24.

I also watched three films coming in the next few months: The Instigators, a thriller-comedy film starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck that's due out in August; Mother, Couch, a drama fantasy starring Ewan McGregor, Ellen Burstyn, Lara Flynn Boyle, F. Murray Abraham and Lake Bell, due out in July; and Murder Company, set in World War II, starring William Mosely, Kelsey Grammer and Joe Anderson, coming in July.

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)
• Who Is Erin Carter—(2023/Netflix)
• The Woman in the Wall—(2024/Showtime)
• WPC 56—(2013-2015/Britbox)
• 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 Bricklayer—(2024/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 h

Bill Holman. A big thanks to Matt Schudel of The Washington Post for quoting my JazzWax interview in his Bill Holman obituary. To read Matt's piece, go here. [Photo above of Bill Holman in 2021 by Lorenz Rychner]

And thanks to Clay Risen at The New York Times for including JazzWax as well in his Bill Holman obit (go here).

More Bill Holman clips. From director and jazz pianist Raymond De Felitta, here's an email he sent along with a favorite audio clip:

Hi Marc. When I joined the North Hollywood High School Jazz band in 1981, they were playing a lot of low-grade high school arrangements. A friend of mine and I urged the head of the music program to get the Sammy Nestico book (great charts and not difficult for intermediate players). Around that time I heard Holman’s "Quick Step." I was so gassed by it that I found Holman in the phone book, called him and asked where we could get a chart. He pointed me to some obscure music arrangement publisher who had the whole score and parts.

What a killer tune—a barn burner to open or close competitions with. In spite of its sophistication, it’s so cleverly and cleanly written that its not hard for musicians of our level at the time to play with sufficient practice. We won quite a few competitions, and I always thought a big part of it was "Quick Step’s" groove and sophistication. It’s the kind of chart that makes a mediocre band sound like a budding Buddy Rich or Rob McConnell band at its peak. Just listened to it again; a flood of memories washed over me.

Here's Bill's Quick Step for his album Great Big Band in 1960...

From Todd Selbert, here's Bill's arrangement of I've Got You Under My Skin, from Stan Kenton's Contemporary Concepts in 1955...

From Larry Daniels, here's Bill's arrangement of Shake Down the Stars for David Allyn's album Let's Face The Music And Dance, in 1958...

Charles Mingus. Following my post on the origins of Peggy's Blue Skylight, I heard from famed jazz writer, pianist and arranger Brian Priestly in London:

Hi Marc. I’m an admirer and wish to add a bit of minutiae to your "Peggy’s Blue Skylight" post.

Not only was the Mingus tune recorded for the movie "All Night Long" but a tiny bit is included in the soundtrack. Thanks to your inclusion of the entire movie, you can spotlight its appearance at 56:18, with Mingus and Harry Beckett on screen (briefly!). When it’s reduced to the background, the beginning of an alto solo (Harold McNair) is pretty clearly improvising on "Peggy's Blue Skylight." It’s even in the same key as the other examples that you included.

This was one of the few original discoveries when researching my Mingus book (45 years ago!!), when the late film archivist David Meeker screened the movie for me and it was confirmed by Harry Beckett. Also, Mingus’s theme (still as background) comes at 57:46.

Last week's Backgrounder. My Backgrounder last week mistakenly included a second album claiming to be the Joe Wilder Quartet. It clearly wasn't. Why someone uploaded the wrong album to YouTube is beyond me. Thanks to Bill Kirchner for spotting my error. I've removed it as the bonus in my post.

Judy Garland. Here's How About You With Mickey Rooney in 1941...

Here's the house Garland bought in 1938, the year The Wizard of Oz was released. She was 17. It's now on the market...

Lantower Records has restored three great jazz albums for streaming at Spotify. That means free listening! They are...

John Coltrane Quartet + Stan Getz + Oscar Peterson Live in Dusseldorf ,1960. Go here.

Gerry Mulligan Quartet + Strings 1965. Go here.

Duke Ellington Live at the House of Culture in Helsinki, 1963. Go here.

And finally, here's Sacha Distel (g), René Urtreger (p), Paul Rovère (b) and Jean-Louis Viale (d) playing Blues for Marianne on French TV in 1958 [photo above of René Urtreger] ...