Gretchen, Bob and Marion

In The Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed actress Gretchen Mol for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). Gretchen is brilliant in the new family drama film, Millers in Marriage. Finally, a grown-up movie for adults—no superheroes, car chases or former Navy SEALs seeking revenge. Just good old dialogue and issues to resolve. [Photo above of Gretchen Mol in Millers in Marriage, courtesy of Republic Pictures]

Here's the Millers in Marriage trailer...

Here's Gretchen in the trailer for The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)...

And here's Gretchen with Dabney Coleman in a scene from Boardwalk Empire (2015)...

Also in the WSJ, my Album@50 column on Bob Dylan's fascinating Blood on the Tracks (go here).

Sinatra Standard Time. Miss me on Chuck Granata's super Sinatra Standard Time radio show last Sunday? Now you can listen for free to the show in its entirety. Chuck was a warm, welcoming host and quite the Frankophile. Go here and click on the "01/26/2025" broadcast. Enjoy!

My favorite streaming series, ranked...

1. Babylon Berlin
2. My Brilliant Friend
3. Killing Eve
4. The Crown
5. The Americans
6. Younger
7. Band of Brothers
8. Landman
9. Friday Night Lights
10. The Old Man
11. Feud: Bette and Joan
12. Downton Abbey
13. The Blacklist
14. Goliath
15. The Gentlemen
16. Turn: Washington's Spies
17. Unbelievable
18. Justified
19. Voiceless (Bella da morire (2020/MHz)
20. Black Doves
21. Web Therapy

Stuff I liked that just started or will soon...

• American Primeval S1 (now/Netflix)
• Back in Action (now/Netflix)
• Zero Day (Feb. 20/Netflix)
• Millers in Marriage (Feb. 21/film)
• Long Bright River (March 13/Peacock)
• Dark Winds S3 (March 9/AMC)

Recommended series, films and documentaries...

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)
• Black Doves (2024/Netflix)
• 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)
• The Dropout (2022/Hulu)
• Elizabeth 1 (2005/Max)
• 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)
• Friday Night Lights (2006-2011/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)
• Lioness—(2023-current/Paramount+)
• 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)
• The Old Man—(2022/Hulu)
• On Call—2025/Amazon Prime)
• Outlander—(2014-present/Netflix)
• The Perfect Couple—(2024/Netflix)
• Poldark—(2015-2019/Prime)
• Reacher—(2016-present/Netflix)
• Ripley—(2024/Netflix)
• Scott & Bailey (2011-2016/Prime)
• The Spy—(2019/Netflix)
• 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)
• Web Therapy—(2011-2015/Fandango)
• Wilder—(2017-current)
• WPC 56—(2013-2015/Britbox)
• Yellowstone—(2018-present/Paramount Network)
• Younger—(2015-2021K/Netflix)

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)
• The Great Lillian Hall—(2024/Max)
• The Family Man—(2000/Netflix)
• Fury—(2014/Netflix)
• God's Country—(2022/Hulu
• Guy Ritchie's The Covenant—(2023/Prime)
• I Used to Be Funny (2023/Netflix)
• Jack Reacher (the movie)—(2012/Paramount+) 
• Just My Luck (2006/Paramount+)
• Kill Chain—(2019/Max)
• Killers of the Flower Moon—(2023 (Apple+)
• La Palma (2024/Netflix)
• Knight and Day—(2010/Roku)
• Last Night in Soho—(2021/Prime)
• Last Seen Alive—(2020/Netflix)
• The Little Things—(2021/Netflix)
• Lonely Planet—(2024)/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/assorted platforms)
• The Pledge—(2011/Peacock)
• Purple Hearts—(2022/Netflix)
• The Queen—(2006/(Paramount+)
• 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)
• Some Girl(s)—(2013/Amazon Prime)
• Somewhere in Queens—(2022/Hulu)
• Spy(ies)—(2009/Prime)
• The Stranger—(2022/Netflix)
• Toscana—(2022/Netflix)
• The Two Popes—(2019/Netflix)
• Up in the Air—(2009/Max)
• Woman in Gold—(2015/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)
• Only Girl in the Orchestra—(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)

Marion Evans ain't dead. My bad. My sincere apologies to Marion and his family. When I posted on his album Ted McNabb & Co., Marion doesn't have a Wiki page, and I stupidly based his demise on false information online. The good news is we're talking about him again and I hope to interview him soon. [Photo above of Marion Evans in 2015 by Jack Firneno (originally published in Allegro)]

Bill Evans. Following my post last week on pianist Bill Evans warming up in Paris in 1979 before a concert, I heard from Bill Evans Trio drummer Joe LaBarbera (above). I hope you had a chance to hear the clip. Twyla Tharp alerted me Friday night that it had been removed. What a drag. Hopefully it will pop up again. When it does, you'll know about it.

Here's Joe shedding light on what exactly went on that afternoon before the concert:

Hi Marc. Bill rarely had an opportunity to warm up before concerts. To be sure, on tour, we had plenty of sound checks, but in most instances these were brief. In the case of this particular concert in Paris in 1979, we needed to provide extended music so the engineer could get audio levels for the radio broadcast. Our performance that evening was going to air live.

Bill fell in love with that piano at L'Espace Pierre Cardin and played longer than necessary during the audio check. Then he played some more after the gig when he returned to the piano with his coat on. What a night. I even got to meet Kenny Clarke after the performance!

And I received this email from François Zalacain, founder of Sunnyside Records:

Hi Marc. I was at that concert, seated just behind Eddie Barclay and his fifth or sixth wife. The audience reaction was extremely positive. It was the first time that the young bassist Marc Johnson appeared in Paris. During the intermission, Marc was the subject of admiration by the usual gang of cognoscenti that attended jazz concerts. That magnificent concert was the last I attended in Paris before moving to New York six weeks later.
Thank for posting this.

More Bill Evans. Following my post. "YouTubers Dig Bill Evans (Guitarists)," I heard from Kent Burnside:

Hi Marc. Another guitarist who recorded a great Bill Evans tribute album is Lorne Lofsky. It's titled "Bill, Please." To listen at YouTube, go here.

Here's Bill Evans's Laurie, composed for Laurie Verchomin...

Stella by Starlight. Last week, Bill Kirchner sent along a terrific clip on how Victor Young's handwritten music for Stella by Starlight wound up on Jonathan Huber's wall (photo above of Victor Young). Go here...

Stan Getz. Here's Stan Getz's early Clef recording of Stella by Starlight, in 1952, with Duke Jordan (p), Jimmy Raney (g), Bill Crow (b) and Frank Isola (d). The great Bill Crow!!! Pure perfection...

Bill Mays on Bud Shank. Following my post last week on Bud Shank's seminal role in surf music, I heard from pianist Bill Mays:

Hi Marc. I appreciate you highlighting the surf side of Bud. I knew him very well, as one who worked a lot and recorded with him on “Heritage,” “Crystal Comments” and “Explorations 1980.” I loved his flute playing, and was disappointed when he put it away to play only alto sax.

Bud hated the clarinet, since he often had to double on it in the recording studios. Here's a funny story from my book, "Stores of the Road":

"Shank was an excellent doubler during his years in the studios. Though his main instrument was the alto sax, Bud would also be called on to double on the baritone sax, flute or clarinet. For whatever reasons, he really hated the clarinet.

"Years after Bud left the studios and moved to Tucson, Ariz., I visited him and saw he had bought a pickup truck. It had a rifle rack behind the seat and there it was. Mounted in the rack like a 12-gauge shotgun was Bud’s Bb clarinet!"

More Bud Shank. Here's Bud with João Donato playing Minha Saudade...

Memories of You. On Chuck Granata's show last week, he played a rare take of Memories of You that was dropped from Songs for Swingin' Lovers (1956). They felt the ballad wasn't in sync with the album's other breezy swingers. Nevertheless, Nelson Riddle's arrangement of Memories of You is sublime, and Sinatra aces the song. It finally surfaced decades later on a Japanese compilation. Here's the 1956 ghost recording of Memories of You...

The only other version that rivals Sinatra's 1956 rendition is by Anita O'Day, in The Gene Krupa Story (1959). Here she is ("not bad, if you like talent")...

Phil Schaap radio. WKCR-FM in New York is celebrating the late Phil Schaap (1951-2021) (above), the station's most famous and knowledgeable on-air host. The tribute to the guy who brought us his daily "Bird Flight" and so much more will air for 24 hours on February 2 (ET) and will feature archival recordings of his classic programs. To listen from anywhere in the world and to understand why Phil remains special, go here.

And finally, here's Supersax in the 1970s playing Just Friends and Salt Peanuts with, from left, saxophonists Jay Migliore, Ray Reed, Med Flory, Lanny Morgan and Jack Nimitz; and Conte Candoli on trumpet, Lou Levy on piano, Monty Budwig on bass and Ralph Penland on drums...