Carrie, Sergio and Margaret

Last week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed Carrie Coon for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). Carrie is one of this country's finest actresses, best known for her role as the social climbing Bertha Russell in HBO's The Gilded Age, whose husband in the series is a railroad robber baron. You also may recall her in The Leftovers and Fargo. She's now in His Three Daughters (Netflix). [Photo above of Carrie Coon, courtesy of Carrie Coon/Instagram]

Here's Carrie talking about The Gilded Age...

And here's the trailer for her new Netflix film His Three Daughters...

Film and TV Recommendations

Top 16 favorite streaming TV series, ranked...

1. Babylon Berlin
2. My Brilliant Friend
3. Killing Eve
4. The Crown
5. The Americans
6. Band of Brothers
7. Landman
8. Feud: Bette and Joan
9. Downton Abbey
10. Goliath
11. The Gentlemen
12. Turn: Washington's Spies
13. Unbelievable
14. Justified
15. The Blacklist
16. Voiceless (Bella da morire (2020/MHz)

Viewing now...

The Blacklist (2013-2023)—I'm still working my way through 10 seasons of his spy-thriller series. James Spader is fantastic as the man who knows where the bad guys are. (Netflix)

Worthy fall series and movies that are coming... Nobody Wants This, Woman of the Hour, Landman and Interior Chinatown.

Previous recommendations...

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)
• Babylon Berlin (2017-2024/MHz via Prime Video)
• Band of Brothers—(2001/Netflix) 
• The Bay (2019-current/BritBox)
• The Blacklist (2013-2023/Netflix)
• 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)
• Emily in Paris—(2020-present/Netflix)
• 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)
• Killing Eve—(2018-2022/Netflix)
• 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)
• My Brilliant Friend—(2018-current)
• 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)
• Under the Banner of Heave—(2022/Hulu)
• Veronica Mars—(2004 to 2019/Hulu)
• Voiceless (Bella da morire—(2020/MHz)
• The Watcher—(2022/Netflix)
• The Way Home—(2023-current/Peacock)
• Who Is Erin Carter—(2023/Netflix)
• The Woman in the Wall—(2024/Showtime)
• The Veil—(2024/Hulu-FX)
• Wilder—(2017-current)
• 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)
• Blackout (2022/Netflix) 
• The Bricklayer—(2024/Netflix)
• The Commuter (2018/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)
• Manchester by the Sea—(2016/Prime Video)
• MI-5—(2015/Max)
• The Mule—(2018/Netflix)
• The Night Agent—(2023/Netflix)
• Nobody—(2021/Prime)
• Nobody Wants This—(2024/Netflix)
• Ordinary Angels—(2024)
• Purple Hearts—(2022/Netflix)
• The Queen's Gambit—(2020/Netflix)
• Queenpins—(2021/Pluto TV)
• Reptile—(2023/Netflix)
• Ruthless—(2023/Hulu)
• 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)
• The Beach Boys—(2024/Disney)
• Carole King: Live in Central Park—(2023/PBS)
• The Comeback—(2005 and 2014/Max)
• Cunk on Earth—(2022/Netflix)
• Cyndi Lauper: Let the Canary Sing—(2023/Paramount+)
• Facing Nolan—(2022/Netflix)
• Five Came Back—(2017/Netflix)
• Jane Fonda in Five Acts—(2024/Max)
• Kate Hepburn: Call Me Kate—(2023/Netflix)
• Suzi Q: Suzi Quatro—(2019/Prime)
• The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari—(2022/Netflix)
• 'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris—(2007/go here

Benny Golson. Following my tributes to the late Benny Golson (here and here) last week, I heard from Bill Kirchner.

Hi Marc. I thought I'd share with you my last correspondence with Benny Golson, in December 2022...

Hello Benny,

Yesterday I happened upon a 2016 interview with actor Michael Constantine (1927-2021) about TV's "Room 222." I think you’ll be interested in it because you’re mentioned—at least in passing, though not by name. (Go here, to 17:14...

At that point, Constantine and the interviewer discuss the show’s musical theme. The interviewer mentions Jerry Goldsmith as composer, but Michael says no. You’ll hear the rest for yourself. If I’m correct, Goldsmith actually did write the theme (in 7/4 time, no less), but you scored a number of the episodes. Let me know if I’m right or wrong.

In any case, I think you’ll find the entire interview interesting and enjoyable. It’s one of Constantine’s last interviews. He seems to have been a sweet man.

From Benny Golson:

You’re absolutely RIGHT!!

Benny

The Mills Brothers. Here they are in 1958 singing Till Then...

Glenn Miller. Remember when America saw eye to eye and tyranny was abhorred by all? Here's a throw-back...

Sergio Pereira—Bossa+. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sergio Pereira took up guitar when he was 8. Growing up in the 1960s and '70s, he listened to bossa nova masters Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Donato and Marcos Valle, among others. In the 1980s, he moved to New York, where he has played with many top American and Brazilian musicians and performed at clubs and festivals. As this album's title indicates, Sergio has taken the bossa nova to a new level and builds on the beat-heavy electronic "nova bossa" movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s. His music here is rooted in the catchy melodies of earlier bossa giants but he also adds several layers of musical texture and smooth, engaging vocals, akin in some respects to those found on Pat Metheney's Letter From Home. A great album for the car on a sunny autumn day. Sergio is backed by guitarist Romero Lubambo, pianists Luis Guerra and Ivan "Melon" Lewis, trumpeter Chipi Chacon, bassists Ivan Ruiz Machado and Ariel Ramirez and drummers Mauricio Zottarelli (co-producer) and Jose San Martin.

To buy, go here. To listen, go to most major streaming platforms.

Here's Desfilando a Vitória from Sergio's Bossa+...

Marcos Valle—Túnel Acústico (Far Out Recordings). Speaking of Marcos, the bossa nova legend's new album is wonderful. As always, the visionary singer-songwriter has composed songs that sizzlle with optimism and catchy melodies, not to mention sophisticated harmony and plenty of complex rhythms and electronica. The album is his strongest release in years and blends club music with his knack for turning the samba into a hypnotic force. And as was the case with his original hit Summer Samba, his vocal is seasoned with female background vocalists. Marcos's band includes Marcos on keyoards and lead vocal, Alex Malheiros on bass and Renato Massa on drums (both of Azymuth) plus percussionist Ian Moreira, guitarist Paulinho Guitarra and trumpeter Jesse Sadoc.

You can buy it here or listen on major streaming platforms.

Here's the full album. Just let it run...

Lee McKinney—Reflections in Two Shades (Summit). Drummer Lee McKinney has a nifty new album out. It features Lee on drums with Greg Abate (one of the most gifted alto and soprano saxophonists recording today), the plush Matt Cooper on piano and Chris Berg on bass. Lee, who is based in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and gigs in Dayton, sounds as if he lives in Brooklyn. He's a terrific polyrythmic player with a tender intensity. He's also a solid composer. Best of all, the album swings.

To buy, go here. To listen, visit any major streaming platform.

Here's A Shade of Jade...

Baseball glove in your closet in need of being re-laced and conditioned? Wow, do I have a place for you. I sent mine in to Better Baseball, a Georgia company that bills itself as America's Baseball Superstore. You go online and pick the color of the leather lace you want and the conditioning you want the glove to undergo. [Photo of Cam Bromm working on my glove]

Then they cover the shipping both ways. My glove was returned in three days. It looks and feels fabulous, and you'd never know it had been re-laced. That's how close the match was in terms of color.

Stores like this still exist! What sets them apart? Passion. When I sent an email to the company thanking them for being so wonderful, Cam Bromm, the company's head glove craftsman, sent an email thanking me for my kind words and then went on to tell me how much he loved doing what he does so well.

And get this: He even sent me a fast-time video of him re-lacing my Rawlings "Reggie Jackson" glove from the 1980s. For more information about the Georgia company, products and services, go here.

And finally, here's Margaret Whiting singing Moonlight in Vermont backed by Gerry Mulligan and an orchestra in 1990...