Anna, Chuck and Gladys

This week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed actress Anna Kendrick for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). Anna stars in and directs one of the year's most interesting and chilling films, Woman of the Hour. Based on a true story, Anna uses a serial-killer thriller to explore the loathsome way in which our culture treated women in the 1970s. TV's The Dating Game was just the tip of the misogynist iceberg. But the film isn't a polemic. It sizzles from start to finish with suspense in Los Angeles of the late 1970s. [Above, Anna Kendrick on the cover of Flare magazine]

Here's the trailer...

What I'm Watching Now

Top 16 favorite streaming TV series, ranked...

Babylon Berlin
My Brilliant Friend
Killing Eve
The Crown
The Americans
Band of Brothers
Landman
Feud: Bette and Joan
Downton Abbey
The Blacklist
Goliath
The Gentlemen
Turn: Washington's Spies
Unbelievable
Justified
Voiceless (Bella da morire (2020/MHz)

Viewing now...

The Blacklist (2013-2023)—Still plowing through 10 seasons of this spy-thriller series. James Spader is fantastic as the man who knows where the bad guys are. (Netflix)

Some Girl(s) (2013)—If you enjoyed Nobody Wants This, with Adam Brody and Kristen Bell (which I just learned will have a Season 2), you'll love Some Girl(s). It also starred Adam and Kristen. Except this time, Adam plays a guy engaged to be married who travels the country visiting his exes to apologize for breaking up with them. Kristen is one of those exes. A fascinating film directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer and written by Neil LaBute that grows more intense as it progresses.

Here's the trailer...

What's coming that's worthy...

Elsbeth S2, Landman S1 and Interior Chinatown S1.

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)
Up in the Air—(2009/Max)
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

Chuck Israels on J.J. Johnson. Following my post on John Fedchock's new album honoring trombonist J.J. Johnson (above), I heard from Chuck Israels, bassist in the second Bill Evans Trio:

Hi Marc. I’m so glad you included "Lovely" from "J.J.'s Broadway," with pianist Hank Jones and Walter Perkins. I'm on half the album's tracks. I remember the session better than most because of the remarkable sound of those five wonderful trombonists. We recorded at Phil Ramone's A&R Studios on 48th St. in New York. The sound was so glorious in the room—overwhelmingly rich, resonant and meticulously in tune. You heard it and felt the force of the air movement. It was glorious.

As good as the recording sounds, it pales in comparison with what I was hearing. Phil Ramone used a plate reverb—some kind of metal plate he hung in the stairwell of the building designed to enrich the recorded sound. But it didn’t. It took what was lusciously warm and thick, removed some of the visceral impact, and made the sound more metallic and slightly harsher. It still sounds good—just not as great as what I heard on the date—a sound I try to remember often.

I recall hearing that processed sound on the playbacks in the studio and was disappointed at the time. But Phil was an acknowledged expert engineer, and no one else seemed disturbed. Maybe nothing could have captured on tape what I was hearing live.

As I recall, everything was done in one or two takes—high-level sight-reading and playing. I could have basked in that sound for much longer. The players were so good, and J.J. was exceptional—as a player and as an arranger. What a gift to have been asked to participate in the music's recording. In an era when it seemed normal to be making fine jazz recordings, this one stood out.

More on J.J. Johnson, from Brett Gold...

Hi Marc. Thanks for highlighting John Fedchock's new album, which I wasn't aware of. As you must know, the cover is a salute to J.J.'s album "Proof Positive," for Impulse, which I bought in 1969 with some of my bar mitzvah money. I had to think long and hard about whether to spend that extra dollar Impulse albums cost at the time. Back then, mono albums were $2.99 and non-Impulse stereo albums were $3.99.

"Minor Blues" from the album was the first J.J. solo I transcribed, although I never was able to play the double-time section, which convinced me that being a professional trombonist was not in my future. That day, I believe I also bought the Debut recording of "Four Trombones," with J.J., Kai Winding, Bennie Green and Willie Dennis, which, to my surprise, was manufactured on translucent blue vinyl. I'll download the Fedchock album today.

Here's Minor Blues...

Diego Rivera—Ofrenda (Posi-Tone). One of the hottest sleeper saxophonists around today is Diego Rivera. On his new album, he plays a bossy tenor and an empathetic soprano. He's backed by trumpeter Terell Stafford, pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Rudy Royston. Born in Ann Arbor, Mich., Diego flavors his jazz compositions with a dash of Latin, and the result is captivating. He is currently Director of Jazz Studies at the Butler School of Music, University of Texas at Austin. His new album is terrific all the way through, and his original compositions have enormous energy and heat—on the uptempo numbers and the ballads. To listen and buy, go here.

Kiki Valera—Vacilón Santiaguero (Circle S). Son cubano is one of the most popular music styles in Cuba. Son is both a genre and a dance that dates back more than 100 years. It's an instrumentally textured style wrapped around short, hypnotic riffs and shout-like vocals. If you want to hear son in its purest form, check out Kiki Valera's new album. It's so floral and woody, with energy and passion. I love this album because it's authentic, precious and uplifting as it churns and churns and churns. To listen and play, go here.

Here's Este Vacilón...

The Joymakers—Down Where the Bluebonnets Grow (Turtle Bay). I love these albums of authentic 1920s music by contemporary groups. One is hard-pressed to imagine musicians today playing this rollicking stuff. Even more mind-blowing is that musicians of this caliber have not only found each other but are able to flawlessly manage the fast tempos and intricate contrapuntal arrangements. But they do and they can. This album smacks of cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, gin joints, flappers and the rest of the culture after World War I and before the Great Depression. One song after the next pulls you back to a time when jazz was a collective enterprise and instruments cried, wailed and taunted—all in the same song. Your legs will be moving back and forth to the music. Listen and buy here.