JazzWax

Joe Pass: 'Virtuoso' (1973)

One of the best-selling jazz guitar albums up to 1974 was Joe Pass's Virtuoso. The jet black LP with Pass on the cover in shadow came out ahead of the December holidays and gave Norman Granz's Pablo label massive visibility. It also motivated a generation of young listeners to take up the jazz guitar. Now Craft Recordings has remastered and released the album as a digital download and a 180-gram LP. So gratifying to hear this music again in sterling shape in both formats.

The album features Pass alone, a daunting task for a guitarist, who must be a peerless improviser and swinger, keep flawless rhythm and fill the empty spaces with a range of enticing arpeggios, figures and chords.

Born in 1929 in New Brunswick, N.J., Pass began playing guitar at age 9 following his Italian family's move to Johnstown, Pa. He practiced prodigiously, listened closely to family friends who played guitar and took weekly lessons. He began gigging professionally in Johnstown at 14 and played in several touring big bands, including ones led by Charlie Barnet and Tony Pastor. 

As soon as he was old enough, Pass moved to New York, recorded with Pastor in 1947 and then enlisted in the service in the late 1940s. His rampant drug use began after his discharge and residence in New Orleans, a port city that was a major gateway then for narcotics. Ferociously addicted, Pass served several jail sentences in the 1950s, which is why his discography lacks an entry for the decade and doesn't resume again until 1962.

Early record releases in 1962 were with organist Richard "Groove" Holmes, Johnny Griffin, Les McCann, Gerald Wilson and Bud Shank. He soon became a first-call sideman in Los Angeles and a prolific studio guitarist, recording steadily for World Pacific and Pacific Jazz as a leader. 

His remarkable early leadership albums included For Django (1964), A Sign of the Times (1965) and The Stones Jazz (1966), easily my favorite jazz interpretation of Rolling Stones hits. In 1973, Granz started his Pablo label after success with Clef, Norgran and Verve; uniting the American songbook and jazz with artists such as Charlie Parker and Ella Fitzgerald, and producing hundreds of jazz albums. 

In 1973, Granz signed Pass to Pablo, whose first album for the label  was Duke's Big Four, with Duke Ellington (p), Joe Pass (g), Ray Brown (b) and Louie Bellson (d). Late that year, Pass began recording steadily and exclusively for Pablo.

Virtuoso was Pass's fourth Pablo record and immediately made him a household name in jazz. With the success of the solo model, he would would record an additional five Virtuoso volumes. 

The Virtuoso tracks:

• Night and Day
• Stella by Starlight
• Here's That Rainy Day
• My Old Flame
• How High the Moon
• Cherokee
• Sweet Lorraine
• Have You Met Miss Jones
• 'Round Midnight
• All The Things You Are
• Blues for Alican (Joe Pass)
• The Song Is You

For Craft's new entry in its Original Jazz Classics re-issue series, the label hired Kevin Gray at Coherent Audio to cut the Virtuoso LP lacquers from the original tapes and had the recording pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI. Album jackets reproduce the original artwork and back-cover notes. The music has also been released as hi-res audio for downloading and streaming. 

Joe Pass died in 1994 at age 65.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find Craft Recording's release of Joe Pass's Virtuoso (Pablo) here.

JazzWax clips: Here's The Song Is You (crank it up!)...

And here's Here's That Rainy Day...

Arsenio Rodriguez: Godfather of Salsa

Drummer-percussionist, composer-arranger, educator, bandleader and WBGO FM radio host Bobby Sanabria recently led his multi-Grammy nominated Multiverse Big Band in a performance dedicated to the music of Arsenio Rodriguez. It took place at the new Bronx Music Hall (and recorded for release) where he and his wife, the noted folklorist Elena Martinez, are the artistic directors. Bobby refers to Arsenio as "The Godfather of Salsa." [Photo above of Arsenio Rodriguez]

I've known Bobby for many years. He is a leading authority on the history of Latin music and is tireless in his efforts to preserve and celebrate all its forms.  His latest album is Vox Humana: Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band was recorded live at Dizzy's in New York, resulting in another Grammy nomination in 2024 (go here).

Intrigued by Arsenio, I asked Bobby to share why he is so fundamental to Salsa's sound and to suggest examples of Arsenio's music that influenced Salsa. For those unfamiliar with technical aspects of Salsa or its history, don't get bogged down. Read and absorb the music and the fascinating complications and energetic and romantic qualities. [Photo above of Bobby Sanabria]

Take it away Bobby—and a warm hug for making the time for me and all of my curious, music-loving JazzWax readers:

***

"It's amazing to me that given Arsenio Rodriguez's importance and influence on Salsa, he remains nearly forgotten. Like Louis Armstrong, Arsenio was transformative. A master of the mandolin-sounding Cuban instrument called the tres, he was the first bandleader to make the conga drum a dominant part of Latin music performance.

This innovation cannot be understated. With the conga as a new tonal center of gravity, the bass and bongó could play with more intensity. He put the African-rooted conga drum front-and-center. Prior, it had been relegated only to the rumba, Afro-religious ceremonies and the Cuban carnival parades in Cuba.

In addition Arsenio was first to add the piano (played in his band by Lili Martinez) to the Son—the Cuban folk song tradition that is at the root of Salsa. Before Arsenio, Son had been played only on guitar and tres. The addition of the piano raised the Son's percussive intensity, both rhythmically and harmonically.

Arsenio also developed the multilayered mambo horn concept, utilizing multiple trumpets with written arrangements. In groups prior to Arsenio's, only a lone muted trumpet would be used playing ad libitum. Thus he created the multi-trumpet "conjunto" ensemble.

Taking pride in his Bantú Congo heritage and West Central African ancestry, Arsenio frequently wrote songs with African-rooted themes using Bantú Congo phrases. In my opinion, his greatest creation was the Son montuno, which is the rhythmic foundation of Salsa.

Born of Bantú Congo descent in Matanzas, Cuba, in 1911, Arsenio was raised with the culture's complex music and religious tradition known as Palo. Thanks to his neighbors, he was also exposed to the Yoruba—Nigerian-rooted Santeria religious and drumming traditions as practiced in Cuba.

And he also experienced the secular rumba of the streets, where the Bantú Congo-rooted conga drum meets vocalists and dancers in a celebratory way. Here, the drum intersected with the rhythms of the yambú, guaguancó and rumba colúmbia. It was this experience that shaped his musical ethos as he learned the tradition of the tres—a guitar with three sets of double strings that's the heart of the Son. Arsenio became the tres's greatest virtuoso.

He brought all of these elements together, forming the template for New York's Salsa movement that began in the early 1970s— hardcore Cuban music played with an intense Puerto Rican ("Nuyorican") attitude. For a time, Arsenio made the South Bronx his home. This is a source of pride for me. Arsenio paid homage to the New York borough's music in his composition El Elemento Del Bronx."

Here are 10 of Bobby's favorite and most important songs that Arsenio made famous, illustrating his contribution to Salsa as outlined above, complete with Bobby's notes. Arsenio died in 1970 at age 59:

Here's Tumba y Bongó. This is Arsenio's celebratory ode to the union of the conga drum, which Cubans call the tumba or tumbadora, and the bongó, which Arsenio initiated on the bandstand. Antolín "Papa Kila" Suárez is on the bongó and Félix "Chocolate" Alfonso is on the congas. The legendary Felix Chappotin is on trumpet...

Here's Bruca Manigua (Harsh Swamp). Composed by Arsenio in 1937, it was recorded and first sung by Miguelito Valdés (the first person to record Babulú before Desi Arnaz did) with the Casino De La Playa Orchestra in Cuba. It became a hit and was the beginning of Arsenio’s rise to stardom. It is in a rhythm rarely heard today called Afro-son. With its “lengua bozal” lyrics (Bantú Congolese mixed with Spanish), the song became part of the “Afrocubanismo” movement that started in Cuba in the 1920s, which acknowledged Cuba’s African heritage. It would in turn inspire the Harlem Renaissance in New York. This 1972 version is by the late NEA Jazz Master Ray Barretto, who Arsenio often invited over to his South Bronx apartment for rumbas.

Here's No Quiero (I Don't Want). Arsenio's creation—Son montuno—in its purest form is taken at a medium tempo, is hard driving and in your face. This is a classic Arsenio composition that features another innovation—the use of multiple rhythmic stop-time breaks (cierre’s) to create suspended animation, tension and release. The lyrics are about a person resisting temptation by the devil. Arsenio deftly uses Bantú-based lyrical references, tackling a subject of concern but making you move and groove at the same time. The piece is interpreted by one of Arsenio's greatest admirers—the late pianist and bandleader Larry Harlow, known as "El Judio Maravilloso" or The Jewish Marvel, a tip of the hat to Arsenio's own nickname, El Ciego Maravilloso, or The Blind Marvel. The arrangement is by Marty Sheller and is based on Arsenio's original interpretation but with a unique tres and flute soli interlude written by New Orleans trumpeter Charlie Miller, who actually played the flute part! Junior Gonzalez from Puerto Rico is on vocals.

Here's Anabacoa. This is one of the songs most associated with Arsenio. The irony is he didn’t compose it. Written by Puerto Rican trumpeter Juanchín Ramírez, it's an up-tempo mambo set to a guaguancó dance style. This combination provides a compelling platform for his pianist, the legendary Lili Martínez, the first Salsa pianist, and explodes in full descarga (jam session) mode. Lili was from Santiago, Cuba, the birthplace of the Son, and it was Arsenio's genius as a bandleader to summon him to come to Havana, thus changing music history. Another legend, Miguelito Cuni, is on vocals...

Here's Pa' Huele. Arsenio's influence on New York Latin musicians was ubiquitous. Beside Larry Harlow and Ray Barretto, Eddie Palmieri also became an Arsenio devotée. This track is Eddie's cover of Arsenio's rugged Son montuno, Pa' Huele, with Eddie's older brother, Charlie, joining on organ, with Eddie playing Fender Rhodes electric piano. This is from the 1973 In Concert Live at the University of Puerto Rico double album. Check out Ronnie Cuber's funky soprano sax solo and Cuba's Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros soaring on the trumpet. The arrangement captures how bandleaders of that time featured their sidemen as soloists. The vocal is by the late master Sonero (vocal improvisor in the Son tradition) Ismael "Pat" Quintana, who was Puerto Rican, like Eddie, and grew up with him in the South Bronx.

Here's Hachero Pa' un Palo (An Axeman for the Tree). Arsenio frequently would include hidden meanings in his lyrics inspired by his Bantrú Congo heritage. This composition refers to a tree that refuses to be cut down. What type of wood or magical power does it possess to thwart the axeman? Despite 72 tries, he cannot bring it down. This track is a live version interpreted by the legendary Sonora Ponceña from Puerto Rico. Founded in 1954 by Enrique Lucca, the band was modeled after Arsenio's conjunto. The band is led by his son, pianist Papo Lucca, and here features trumpeter Ricky Zayas. It's taken from a concert in Puerto Rico in 1999 celebrating the band's 45th anniversary. Check out Sonero Wito Colón's deft improvs in the montuno (vamp section). He sets it up for guest vocalist Domingo Quiñiones and El Gran Combo's Charlie Aponte to trade four measures each in the spirit of a vocal jam session. It's 10:25 of virtuosity demonstrating the unique kinship that Puerto Rico has always had with Cuba and its music (click on Watch on YouTube)...

Here's El Elemento Del Bronx (The Bronx Element). In 1952, Arsenio returned to New York and lived for a short time in Spanish Harlem, eventually making the South Bronx his home. On the weekends, he'd have rumbas at his apartment, recreating what he experienced in his native Cuba. He would invite a select group of Puerto Rican drummers he respected, such as Ray Barretto, Little Ray Romero, Tommy Lopez and Manny Oquendo, to participate with Cuban masters such as Julito Collazo, Mongo Santamaria, Virgilio Marti and Mario “Papaito” Muñoz. He expressed his love for the Bronx in this composition with lyrics on the various rhythms that could be heard in his neighborhood—from guaguancó and Son to danzón and more. Miguelito is on vocals with Felix Chappotin on trumpet...

Here's Dile Catalina (Tell Catalina). This is one of Arsenio's classic compositions. Here, Cuban supergroup Irakere, led by pianist Chucho Valdés puts its spin on the song with Jorge Varona on trumpet and Oscar Valdés featured on vocals, with Carlos Emilio Morales on guitar rocking out...

Here's Linda Cubana (Beautiful Cuban Woman). Composed by Cuban pianist Antonio Maria Romeu, the song allows Arsenio to display his virtuosity on the tres....

And finally, here's La Vida es un Sueno (Life Is but a Dream). Although Arsenio was known for his hard-driving Son montunos, guarachas, rumbas and mambos, he was also a composer of great poetic ballads (boleros). It's no wonder that his greatest composition is this one. Its inspiration was a devastating traumatic event that would cost him his sight. At the age of seven, he was kicked in the head by a mule.

Arsenio lost one eye and the other no longer had vision. In 1947, upon the urging of his friend, Cuban vocalist Miguelito Valdés, Arsenio traveled to New York to be examined by the famed Spanish eye surgeon Ramón Castroviejo. It is said that he told Arsenio, “I’m sorry, maestro. It’s a lost cause.” Upon his return to Cuba, Arsenio wrote these words.

“After one experiences 20 disappointments, what does one more matter? After you realize what life is about, you must not cry. You have to realize that everything is a lie, that nothing is true. You have to live for the moment of happiness. You have to enjoy what you can enjoy. Because taking into account everything, life is but a dream and everything leaves.

"Reality is just birth and death. So why fill it with so much anxiety. Everything is nothing more than eternal suffering and a world with unhappiness. You have to realize that everything is a lie and nothing is real.”

This version is notable because it was done by the father of Afro-Cuban jazz, Maestro Mario Bauzá with his own Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra featuring the legendary Graciela Perez on vocals. The elegant arrangement was done by another native Nuyorican of the South Bronx, Ray Santos. I'm on the drums...

Horace Silver: North Sea Jazz Festival, 1994

My apologies. TypePad, the platform on which JazzWax sits, experienced server problems and was down yesterday and this morning, keeping me from posting. Hey, it happens. [Photo above of Horace Silver in a publicity still]

Now that it's back up, I'm serving up an hour of Horace Silver and his band at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 1994, a video that was only recently uploaded to YouTube. Go here...

Amanda, Laura and Gwen

In The Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed actress Amanda Seyfried for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). Amanda is currently in a police drama series, Long Bright River. [Photo above of Amanda Seyfried in Long Bright River by Matt Infante/Peacock]

Here's the trailer...

And here's a terrific clip of Amanda with Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show recently...

What I'm watching...

Enlightened (2011-2013). In this spectacular, multi-season series, Laura Dern plays an anxious, narcissistic and hyper-empathetic woman who lacks a filter or the ability to think through the consequences of her actions. As a result, she says and does whatever she wishes at her corporate job and in her social life, routinely landing her in trouble and back at square one—living at home with her mother, played by Dern's real-life mother, Diane Ladd. How Dern, Ladd and Luke Wilson failed to win an Emmy for this series is beyond me. All three roles were fascinating and difficult to pull off. The scripts by Mike White and the performances are stunning. Despite all of Dern's cringe-y behavior in character, you wind up loving her and wish her luck would change for the better. A must-watch. (Max) 

Here's the trailer...

My favorite streaming series, ranked...

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

Worthwhile future stuff that has started or will start soon...

• Dark Winds S3 (now/AMC)
• Long Bright River (now/Peacock)
• Good American Family (March 19/Hulu)
• Alto Knights (March 21/film)
• The Better Sister (May 22/Prime)

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)
• Il Commissario Manara (Inspector Manara) (2009-2011/MHz)
• 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/Max)
• The Night Agent—(2023-present/Netflix)
• 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)
• The Promised Life—(2018/MHz via Prime Video)
• 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)
• Enrico Piaggio - Un Sogno Italiano (An Italian Dream) (2019/MHz)
• 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).
• Sicario (2015/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)
• The 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)
• Tsunami: Race Against Time—(2024/Hulu)

Rosinha de Valença. Following my post on Rosinha de Valença, I came across a super video of the singer-guitarist. Here's 40 minutes of her performing in front of a live audience on Brazilian television...

Tom Jones and Wilson Pickett teamed up on TV's This Is Tom Jones in October 1969 to sing the Beatles' Hey Jude, the only cover of the song that for me beats the original. Go here..

Gerry and Chet. Looking for something to listen to this weekend? The Complete Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker (1952-1957), studio and live recordings, is up at Spotify, thanks to Argentina's Lantower Records. Roberto and Diego at the label have given the music a cleaner and warmer sound. Go here.

Here's Godchild...

Godchild

Here's Nights at the Turntable...

Nights at The Turntable

Here's Almost Like Being in Love.

Almost Like Being in Love

Johnny's Theme. The theme song we know from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson began as Toot Sweet (1958), a Paul Anka composition recorded as an instrumental by Tutti Camarata. A year later, Anka added lyrics, renamed the song It's Really Love and recorded it for a French film while Annette Funicello recorded it in 1960 for the U.S. market.

When Carson needed a theme after taking over the Tonight Show in 1962, he asked Anka for something. Anka sent him a jazzed-up instrumental demo of It's Really Love. Tenor saxophonist Tommy Newsom (above) arranged the song with a slam-bang swinging feel for the Tonight Show band. When Carson went on the air in 1962, the theme was used right out of the gate.

Here's Toot Sweet by Tutti Camarata...

Here's Paul Anka's single, released in France as Faibles Femmes (It's Really Love) for a French film...

Here's It's Really Love by Annette Funicello...

Here's the Tommy Newsom arrangement played on the first night The Tonight Starring Johnny Carson went on the air, on October 1, 1962...

Here's the theme on one of the last nights the show was broadcast from New York, in 1972...

And here's the opening theme on May 2, 1972, when the show began broadcasting from Studio One at NBC Studios West Coast in Burbank, Ca (The November date in the previous clip is correct; the show returned to New York for two weeks.).... 

Bonus: The Paul Anka version was featured in the French film, Faibles Femmes (Women Are Weak), released in 1959. When you don't have sand, you make beach movies in a Parisian swimming pool. Go here and move the time bar to 36:46... 

Count Basie radio. This Sunday, Sid Gribetz will host Count Basie in the 1950s, a five-hour radio broadcast from 2 to 7 p.m. (ET) on Jazz Profiles on New York's WKCR-FM. Listen from anywhere in the world by going here.

And finally, RIP Gwen McCrae (1943-2025), the queen of early Miami disco. Released in May 1975, her Rockin' Chair was a club hit and came a year after husband George McCrae's bigger hit Rock Your Baby. In 1974 and '75, Miami was ground zero for a new style of dance music with a soul groove and strong beat that would play a big role in launching disco months later. This sound was developed mostly by artists and studio musicians affiliated with Henry Stone's TK Records and was a hit at the city's many gay clubs at the time before going mainstream as disco. Here's Gwen McCrae's Rockin' Chair...

Backgrounder: 'Rosinha de Valença' (1964)

Rosinha de Valença was a Brazilian singer-songwriter and one of her country's finest acoustic guitarists. Born Maria Rosa Canelas in 1941, she learned to play by accompanying music on the radio. 

Translated into English, her professional name means Rosinha from Valença, a city in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The name was given to her by Sérgio Porto, a journalist she met after moving into Rio in 1960 in search of gigs. Porto felt as if she captured her entire city's soul on the guitar and introduced her to several major bossa nova artists, including Baden Powell, Sérgio Mendes, Sylvia Telles and Sivuca. 

In 1964, she accompanied Sergio Mendes and Brasil '65 to the U.S. and recorded two albums with the band. There, she also played with Stan Getz, Sarah Vaughan and Henry Mancini. 

Tragically, her career ended in 1992 after suffering brain damage following a heart attack. She died of respiratory failure in 2004, in her home town, after 12 years in a coma. She was 62.

Here's her first album, the gorgeous Apresentando Rosinha de Valença, (Introducing Rosinha de Valença), released in Brazil in 1964...

 

Here's Roshina performing on guitar with bossa nova singing star Sylvia Telles in Germany in 1966. It would be Telles's last concert...

By 1966, Sylvia Telles had just spent a chunk of the previous year recovering from an auto accident in Brazil. After this appearance in Germany, she flew back to Rio and soon became romantically involved with Horacio de Carvalho, a wealthy newspaper owner. On December 19, 1966, de Carvalho and Telles were driving on a freeway near Rio when Carvalho reportedly fell asleep at the wheel, resulting in a crash that killed both passengers. Telles was 32.

Other ad-free Backgrounders in my series:

• Zoot Sims Plays Bossa Nova, go here.
• Lee Morgan: Lee-Way, go here.
• Bossa Nova for Swinging Lovers, go here.
• Leon Spencer: Louisiana Slim, go here.
• Bossa Nova Modern Quartet: Bossa Nova Jazz Samba, go here.
• Bill Evans & Luiz Eça: Piano Four Hands, go here.
• Ray Brown Trio: Don't Get Sassy, go here.
• Os Tatuis: Os Tatuis, go here.
• Waltel Branco: Mancini Tambem É Samba, go here.
• Jack Wilson Plays Brazilian Mancini, go here.
• Conjunto Copacabana Bossa: Bossa, go here.
• Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Swings Lightly, go here.
• Charles Earland: Charles Earland, go here.
• Kenny Burrell: Crash! w/ Jack McDuff, go here.
• Jack McDuff: The Heatin' System, go here.
• Horace Silver: Horace-Scope, go here.
• Antonio Carlos Jobim: Wave, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Sonny Stitt Plays, go here.
• Sonny Stitt with Bennie Green: My Main Man, go here.
• Johnny Hodges and Earl Hines: Stride Right, go here.
• Lionel Hampton: Bossa Nova Jazz, go here.
• Johnny Hodges & Ben Webster: Cellar Session, go here.
• Bill Evans: Solo Sessions Vol. 1, go here.
• Frank Wess: Trombones & Flute, go here.
• Presenting the Buddy DeFranco & Tommy Gumina Quartet, go here.
• Ernest Ranglin: Wranglin', go here.
• Dave Pell Octet: Plays Rodgers & Hart, go here.
• Milt Buckner: Block Chords Parade, go here.
• Roberto Menescal: A Nova Bossa, go here.
• Count Basie: Have a Nice Day, go here.
• Freddie Green: Mr. Rhythm, go here.
• Leny Andrade: Leny Andrade, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Ele é Johnny Alf, go here.
• Dodo Marmarosa: Dodo's Back, go here.
• Freddie Redd: The Music From the Connection, go here.
• Nicola Stilo & Toninho Horta: Duets, go here.
• Urbie Green: Persuasive Trombone, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Something Else, go here.
• Wayne Shorter: JuJu, go here.
• Hampton Hawes: All Night Session!, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Plays Richard Rodgers, go here.
• Chet Baker: Pretty/Groovy, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: The Sensual Sound of Sonny Stitt, go here.
• Gil Mellé: New Faces, New Sounds, go here.
• Herbie Mann and Charlie Rouse: Just Wailin', go here.
• Bobby Hackett: Memorable & Mellow, go here.
• Tina Brooks: Back to the Tracks, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plays for Bird, go here.
• Red Garland: A Garland of Red, go here.
• Grant Green: Gooden's Corner, go here.
• Eumir Deodato Plays Marcos Valle, go here.
• Horace Parlan; Movin' & Groovin', go here.
• Russ Garcia: Four Horns and a Lush Life, go here.
• Vic Lewis: Plays Bossa Nova at Home and Away, go here.
• Buddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds, go here.
• Dizzy Gillespie: Gillespiana, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Communication, go here.
• Nelson Riddle: Changing Colors, go here.
• Elmo Hope: Complete Trios, 1953-1966, go here.
• Buddy Collette: Man of Many Parts, go here.
• The Herbie Mann-Sam Most Quintet, go here.
• Shorty Rogers: Cool and Crazy, go here.
• The Return of Art Pepper, go here.
• Benny Golson and the Philadelphians, go here.
• Moacir Santos: Coisas, go here.
• Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis: Lock, the Fox, go here.
• Tony Bennett: The Movie Song Album, go here.
• Thad Jones/Mel Lewis: Consummation, go here.
• James Moody: Return From Overbrook, go here.
• Barry Galbraith: Guitar and the Wind, go here.
• Count Basie: With Quincy Jones and Neal Hefti, go here.
• Johnny Richards: Walk Softly, Run Wild!, go here.
• Dave Pike: Bossa Nova Carnival, go here.
• Clare Fischer: Só Danço Samba, go here.
• Reggie Johnson: First Edition, go here.
• John Graas: French Horn Jazz, go here.
• Eddie Lockjaw Davis & Johnny Griffin: Tough Tenor Favorites, go here.
• Bill Perkins: Bossa Nova With Strings Attached, go here.
• Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, go here.
• Pepper Adams Quintet, go here.
• Sonny Rollins Plus 4, go here.
• Coleman Hawkins: Desafinado, go here.
• Sammy Davis Jr. Sings and Laurindo Almeida Plays, go here.
• Paul Quinichette: Moods, go here.
• Jimmy Forrest: Forrest Fire!, go here.
• Brazilian Jazz Quartet: Coffee and Jazz, go here.
• Art Blakey!!! Jazz Messengers!!!, go here.
• Sidney Bechet/Martial Solal, go here.
• John Carisi: The New Jazz Sound Of "Show Boat," go here.
• The Marty Paich Quartet, Featuring Art Pepper, go here.
• João Gilberto, 1998, go here.
• Bobby Timmons: Soul Time, go here.
• Gerry Mulligan: Jeru, go here.
• Ray Bryant: Alone With the Blues, go here.
• Leon Spencer Jr.: Bad Walking Woman, go here.
• Jimmy McGriff: Step 1, go here.
• Johnny "Hammond" Smith: Breakout, go here.
• Oliver Nelson: Taking Care of Business, go here.
• Quincy Jones: Americans in Paris, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Tune-Up!, go here.
• Herbie Mann: Yardbird Suite, go here.
• Quincy Jones: Twilight Time, go here.
• Lou Levy Quartet: Jazz in Four Colors, go here.
• Johnny Alf: Rapaz de Bem, go here.
• Hank Mobley: Poppin', go here.
• Barney Kessel: Kessel's Kit, go here.
• Larry Young: Into Somethin', go here.
• Henry Mancini: The Jazz Sound From Peter Gunn, go here.
• Sonny Stitt: Night Crawler, go here.
• Maynard Ferguson: Around the Horn, go here.
• Frank Rosolino: Franky Speaking!, go here.
• Ben Webster: King of the Tenors, go here.
• Kenny Dorham: Una Mas, go here.
• Gigi Gryce: Nica's Tempo, go here.
• Charlie Parker With Strings: The Master Takes, go here.
• The Great Jazz Piano of Phineas Newborn Jr., go here.
• The Complete Chet Baker Sings, go here.
• Shorty Rogers Courts the Count, go here.
• Miles Ahead: Miles Davis +19, go here.
• Kenny Burrell, Jazzmen - Detroit, go here.
• Bill Watrous, In Love Again, go here.
• Gene Ammons, Boss Tenor, go here.
• Roy Eldridge: The Strolling Mr. Eldridge, go here.
• Clifford Brown and Max Roach with Sonny Rollins, go here.
• Fats Navarro: Nostalgia, go here.
• Hank Mobley: Hank Mobley Quintet, go here.
• Sandy Mosse: Relaxin' With..., go here.
• Maynard Ferguson: A Message From Newport, go here.
• Jimmy Raney: Two Jims and Zoot, go here.
• Zoot Sims Plays 4 Altos, go here.
• Jimmy Forrest: Out of the Forrest, go here.
• Jazz Studio 2, From Hollywood, go here.
• Billy Taylor: My Fair Lady Loves Jazz, go here.
• Hank Mobley: Soul Station, go here.
• Sylvia Telles, Lúcio Alves and Roberto Menescal: Bossa Session, go here.
• Horace Silver: The Horace Silver Trio, go here.
• Walter Davis: Davis Cup, go here.
• Wynton Kelly: Kelly at Midnite, go here.
• Jack Sheldon: Jack's Groove, go here.
• Herbie Nichols: Complete Masters, go here.
• Hank Mobley: Hank Mobley Quartet, go here.
• Mundell Lowe: Satan in High Heels, go here.
• Hal McKursick and Art Farmer: Quintet Sessions, go here.
• Os Poligonais: Os Poligonais, go here.
• Buddy Fite: Tasty, go here.
• Al Sears: Swing's the Thing, go here.
• A.K. Salim, Savoy recordings, go here.

Perfection: David Allyn - 'Love Is a Serious Thing' ('62)

Frank Sinatra had a soft spot for singer David Allyn. But his affection and assistance with Las Vegas gigs weren’t based on pity. David had suffered psychologically during his service in World War II and went to prison for eight years on drug charges after his attempts to self-medicate led to addiction. Sinatra admired Allyn because he was a superb emotional jazz balladeer who also could swing. But they shared more.

Both singers had major professional turning points at virtually the same time—in early 1940—when Sinatra joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and David joined Jack Teagarden and His Orchestra. They were more companions and brothers in heart than rivals.

To illustrate:

Here's David Allyn in January 1941, singing It All Comes Back to Me Now...

Here's Sinatra in January 1941 with Tommy Dorsey singing I Tried...

In 1962, Allyn was still striving to become a mainstream pop singer after five years of recording a few excellent albums for small labels. Actor Tony Curtis loved his voice and bankrolled an LP for Everest—This Is My Lucky Day, arranged by Bob Florence. One of the tracks, Love Is a Serious Thing, perfectly illustrates David's gorgeous sense of swing. To read my two-part interview with David, go here. David died in 2012 at age 93.

Here's David Allyn singing his own composition (words and music) Love Is a Serious Thing. I so love this track...

Other Perfection tracks in this ongoing series...

• Paul Desmond and Jim Hall: Any Other Time, go here.
• John Coltrane: You Say You Care, go here.
• Quincy Jones: Funk Junction, go here.
• Art Farmer's Work of Art, go here.
• Miles Davis: A Gal in Calico, go here.
• Gene Krupa: Mulligan Stew, go here.
• Dave Brubeck: The Duke, go here.
• Horace Silver: The Back Beat, go here.
• Horace Parlan: Up & Down, go here.
• Dexter Gordon: Society Red, go here.
• Barney Kessel: You Go to My Head, go here.
• Count Basie: Corner Pocket, go here.
• Herbie Mann: Manteca, go here.
• Donald Byrd: Bronze Dance, go here.
• George Shearing: I'll Be Around, go here.
• Ammons & Stitt: You Talk That Talk, go here.
• Count Basie: Blues in My Heart, go here.
• Moonlight in Vermont, go here.
• Johnny Griffin / Matthew Gee, Here, go here.
• Jimmy Smith / Stanely Turrentine: When I'I Grow Too Old to Dream, go here.
• Chet Baker: Estate, go here.
• Jazz Studio 1: Tenderly, go here.
• Herb Pomeroy: Down Home Outing, go here.
• Frank Sinatra: There's a Small Hotel, go here.
• Bill Harris Herd: Blackstrap, go here.
• Gerry Mulligan: Westwood Walk, go here.
• Red Garland and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis: We'll Be Together Again, go here.
• Bill Evans: Reflections in D, go here.
• Ted McNabb & Co.: Mountain Greenery, go here.
• Maynard Ferguson: Fox Hunt, go here.
• Serge Chaloff & the Herdsmen: The Most!, go here.
• Maynard Ferguson: Starfire, go here.
• Urbie Green, Please, go here.
• Machito, Conversation, go here.

John Von Ohlen: 'The Baron' (1973)

The Fender Rhodes electric piano was most popular with jazz and soul musicians and groups from 1970 to 1978, when affordable synthesizers began to replace the warm, dreamy-sounding instrument. For me, the greatest concentration of top-notch Rhodes albums arrived between 1971 and 1973. As you might imagine, I'm a bit of a Rhodes nut and have a fairly large collection.

No other instrument says the 1970s like this singular keyboard. Just hearing its ringing notes triggers thoughts of patchouli oil, English Leather after shave, Herbal Essence shampoo, bell-bottom jeans, ripped denim jackets, aviator glasses, long sideburns, unisex hair salons, Mateus Rose, Yago sangria and muscle cars. One day soon, I'll post on my 10 or 20 favorite Fender Rhodes albums.

For now, let's focus on drummer John Von Ohlen's The Baron. Bill Kirchner reminded me of the LP recently following my post on Steve Allee's new big band ablum. Recorded for Stan Kenton's Creative World label in January 1973, The Baron featured Claude Sifferlen (Fender Rhodes), Steve Allee (keyboard bass, piano, organ), John "The Baron" Von Ohlen (drums) and Mary Ann Moss (vocals).

Thanks to gifted arranging by Steve, the album sounds as if there are many more musicians on board than the four listed. And it's among the most intelligent Rhodes LP recorded. For one, the musicianship is extraordinary. Claude Sifferlen was classically trained and jazz entertained. Steve Allee remains an extraordinary arranger and multi-instrumentalist. John Von Ohlen was a forceful, confident drummer who played with Woody Herman in the late 1960s, Stan Kenton in the early 1970s and had a sterling career as a leader, including with the Blue Wisp Big Band. Very little is known about Mary Ann Moss.

What all of these players and DeCamp have in common is they hailed from Indianapolis. At the city's clubs, they were exposed to both touring legends and home-grown giants such as the Montgomery brothers. What's also fascinating about The Baron is the eclectic choice of material. All of the tracks are sophisticated and as pretty as can be.

The tracks:

• Tergiversation (The Whistle Tune) (Gene Perla)
• Vonetta (Wayne Shorter)
• It Only Happens Everytime (Thad Jones)
• Bessie's Blues (John Coltrane)
• Pee Wee (Tillman Williams)
• (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman (Carole King, Gerry Goffin and Jerry Wexler)
• Eleanor Rigby (John Lennon and Paul McCartney)
• Runaway Heart (Gary McFarland)
• Candy Man (Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse)
• Why Did I Choose You (Herbert Martin, Michael Leonard
• Pinnochio (Wayne Shorter)

An exceptional group that had chemistry and playing prowess, allowing them to turn any song into an irresistible listen. A shout-out to Steve Allee, who is now a JazzWax reader.

JazzWax tracks: A rarity, you'll find John Von Ohlen's The Baron only on LP at Discogs.com or here to listen to the tracks.

JazzWax clips: It Only Happens Everytime...

It Only Happens Everytime

Here's Runaway Heart...

Runaway Heart

And here's Pinocchio...

Pinochio

Bonus: Here are a bunch of tracks featuring John Von Ohlen. Take a look in the YouTube notes for John's discography...

And here's John playing drums with Stan Kenton's band in 1972 in London...

Oscar Moore: 'Enchanting Guitar, 1945-'65'

One of the finest and most rewarding box sets to cross my desk this year is The Enchanting Guitar of Oscar Moore: The 1945-1965 Years. Released by Fresh Sound, this three-CD set with a terrific liner-notes booklet by Jordi Pujol is both captivating and illuminating.

Best known as the guitarist in the famed Nat King Cole Trio from 1938 to late 1947, Moore kept solid rhythm for the group with brief solo flourishes. In 1947, Moore joined his brother's group, Johnny Moore's Three Blazers. Johnny was a guitarist as well, but more in the R&B camp, and would wind up influencing Chuck Berry. In the mid-1950s, Oscar Moore became a small-group leader and a sideman, but left the music business at decade's end.

On the new box's first CD, Moore is showcased in the Nat King Cole Trio and in a range of R&B groups, including Johnny Moore and His Blazers and with Ray Charles, Illinois Jacquet and vocalist Kitty White. On the second and third CDs, Moore's playing becomes increasingly modern as he leads a duo, trio and quartet.

For too long, Moore has been thought of solely as a swing-era pop player in Cole's popular trio and not much else. He's also been misjudged as a rhythm player with little solo development. This box shows how Moore's style evolved, initially inspired by Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian before moving on to a confident coolness closer to Barney Kessel.

Among the treats on the second and third CDs, we also get to hear terrific sidemen. This includes Ernie Freeman on piano on 11 tracks; Carl Perkins on piano, Joe Comfort on bass and Lee Young on drums on 16 tracks; nine duo tracks with bassist Leroy Vinnegar; and 12 tracks with Gerald Wiggins on piano. And if this isn't enough, there are vocal tracks with Anita O'Day, George Bledsoe (a bassist), Kitty White and Dru Pegee.

This 82-track box is fat with astonishing guitar talent. Moore was one of the first to have a signature sound, dragging notes to make his guitar meow or gulp for emphasis. Moore also was clearly an influence on guitarist Ray Crawford, a mainstay in Ahmad Jamal's earliest trio, and surely rubbed off on guitarists Wes Montgomery and Tal Farlow, among others. What's more, Moore's technique was so soulful,  fleet and flawless that he was a favorite of Art Tatum.

Oscar Moore returned to recording in 1965 for a tribute album to the late Nat King Cole and briefly in the 1970s backing Helen Humes. He died in 1981 at age 64.

JazzWax tracks. You'll find The Enchanting Guitar of Oscar Moore: The 1945-1965 Years here. Don't forget to take your special JazzWax discount by adding the code: JAZZWAX_DISCOUNT

JazzWax clips. Here's Moore in the Nat King Cole Trio backing singer Anita O'Day in 1945..

Penthouse Serenade

Here's Roses of Picardy in 1952 with Ernie Freeman on piano...

Roses of Picardy

Here's Peg O' My Heart with Freeman in 1952...

Peg O' My Heart

Here's Blues in B-Flat in 1954 with Carl Perkins on piano...

Blues in B-Flat

Here's There Will Never Be Another You in 1954 with Perkins...

There Will Never Be Another You

Here's the Samson and Delilah Theme in 1954 with Perkins...

Samson and Delilah Theme

And here's That's All in 1965 for the Cole tribute album...

That's All

Bonus: Here's the Nat King Cole Trio with Cole at the piano, Moore on Guitar and Johnny Miller on bass playing Better to Be By Yourself in the mid-1940s...

And here are a bunch of Moore film solos...

Roy Ayers (1940-2025)

Roy Ayers, a vibraphonist, record producer and composer who created a new jazz sound in the mid-1970s that combined electric jazz, trippy funk and soothing soul that rested heavily on mellow chord sequences and lyrical melodies, died on March 4. He was 84. [Photo above of Roy Ayers]

Ayers began by recording hard bop in 1962 with Curtis Amy and recorded his first leadership album, West Coast Vibes (United Artists), a year later. He broadened his approach in 1966 when he teamed with jazz and world flutist Herbie Mann. After forming Roy Ayers Ubiquity in the early 1970s, he forged a new approach to fusion, the popular rock-influenced jazz style at the time.

Rather than mirror the psychedelic rock-centric approach favored by many jazz fusion musicians at the time, Ayers was the architect of a hushed funk and soul style that was played extensively on black FM radio stations as sophisticated late-night date music, eventually becoming known as acid jazz, chill and neo soul.

Deeply influenced by Earth, Wind & Fire's mid-1970s optimistic mysticism, Joe Sample's cool soul and Herbie Hancock's distilled funk, Ayers created a cerebral sound that rubbed off on contemporary jazz-influenced artists such as Robert Glasper, Lauryn Hill, Esperanza Spalding and D'Angelo. Ayers's contribution was artfully articulated and extended by the Roy Ayers Project, founded in 2010, which featured musicians adapting his songs and approach to create more dimensional interpretations of his work.

In tribute to Ayers, here are 10 of my favorite pieces:

Here's Ayers's Ricardo's Dilemma in 1963 with Ayers (vib), Curtis Amy (ss), Jack Wilson (p), Bill Plummer (b) and Tony Bazley (d)...

Here's Ayerloom from 1967 with Charles Tolliver (tp), Joe Henderson (ts), Roy Ayers (vib), Herbie Hancock (p), Reggie Workman (b) and Bruno Carr (d)...

Here's Herbie Mann and Roy Ayers playing Love Is Stronger Far Than We in 1967, also known as Stronger Than Us, from the film score to A Man and a Woman. The track features Herbie Mann (fl), Hubert Laws (fl), Roy Ayers (vib), Sonny Sharrock (g), Earl May (b), Grady Tate (d) and Ray Barretto (perc)...

Here's He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother in 1971, with Sonny Fortune (ss,fl), Roy Ayers (vib), Harry Whitaker (p), Sam Brown/Bob Fusco (g), Johnny Williams/Ron Carter (b), Jumma Santos (cga) and David Lee/Billy Cobham (d)...

Here's Love From the Sun in 1973, with a collective personnel...

Here's Everybody Loves the Sunshine in 1976...

Here's Running Away in 1977...

Here's Step Into Our Life in 1978...

Here's Don't You Ever Turn Away in 1987...

And here's Treasure from 1995...

Bonus: Here's the Roy Ayers Project, with Hiroshi Saito playing Green and Gold...

And here's Roy Ayers performing an NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert in 2018...

Jenna, Wanda and Gene

In The Wall Street Journal last week, I interviewed actress Jenna Elfman for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). Jenna co-stars in season 3 of AMC's Dark Winds. [Photo above of Jenna Elfman on Dark Winds by Michael Moriatis/AMC]

Here's the trailer...

What I watched...

Sicario (2015). Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin and Emily Blunt co-star in Taylor Sheridan's debut screenplay—an action crime thriller that pits a secretive, rules-breaking U.S. special-forces unit against a vicious Mexican drug cartel. (Netflix)

Here's the trailer...

In a Lonely Place (1950). This psychological noir stars Humphrey Bogart as a tortured Hollywood screenwriter (is there any other kind in the movies?) who has a serious anger-management problem, and Gloria Grahame, his one-expression love interest who has emotional baggage. Not the greatest film ever made but still odd and edgy, especially with Bogart at the helm as an anti-hero. (Tubi/free)

Here's the trailer...

My favorite streaming series, ranked...

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

Future stuff I liked that has started or will start soon...

• Dark Winds S3 (now/AMC)
• Long Bright River (March 13/Peacock)
• Good American Family (March 19/Hulu)
• Alto Knights (March 21/film)
• The Better Sister (May 22/Prime)

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)
• Il Commissario Manara (Inspector Manara) (2009-2011/MHz)
• 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/Max)
• The Night Agent—(2023-present/Netflix)
• 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)
• The Promised Life—(2018/MHz via Prime Video)
• 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)
• Enrico Piaggio - Un Sogno Italiano (An Italian Dream) (2019/MHz)
• 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)
• The 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)
• Tsunami: Race Against Time—(2024/Hulu)

Wes Montgomery. Following my post on guitarist Wes Montgomery last week, I heard from jazz singer and Indianapolis native Wanda Stafford:

Hi Marc, How lucky was I to have had the extreme opportunity to sing with Wes. I would go to his gig every Saturday at the Turf Club in Indianapolis, and then I got to work with him and his trio for my very first paying gig at another little club called the Hub Bub. He and his brother, Buddy, and I became very good pals. They both visited me in San Francisco after I moved here in 1967.

When they visited, Wes asked where we could get some good biscuits and gravy after his gig at the Matador. Sadly I had to tell him there wasn't any place in town that served "Indiana food."

Wes died shortly after that, and Buddy and I remained good friends. We even worked together a few times in the San Francisco area. I definitely owe my sense of swing to Wes and Buddy. It’s ingrained in me deeply from listening to them since I was a teenager.

Johnny Richards. Following my post on composer-arranger and bandleader Johnny Richards, I heard from composer-arranger Jeff Sultanof:

Hi Marc. I'm always happy to see anything on Johnny Richards. Figures you would post something. Excellent choices. I was amused to see something for Kenton's "Innovations" orchestra. He wrote another piece for Kenton's classical-oriented orchestra that was never played by the band that I'm hoping to get hold of from the Kenton collection.

I'm not sure if you've read my multi-part Substack series on Richards, from 2022. Todd Selbert put me in touch with Johnny's niece, the daughter of his brother bandleader Chuck Cabot. Johnny's history was all wrong in publications for years, so a new bio was needed.

Go here, here, here, here, here and here.

Artemis. Following my post on Renee Rosnes and Artemis, I heard from Mark Rabin [photo above of Artemis at New York's Village Vanguard on Thursday]:

Hi, Marc. Artemis is scheduled to perform at Todd Barkan's Keystone Korner Baltimore on Thursday March 18, 2025. Livestream tickets are only $15 (go here).

Streaming music worth a listen.

Alexander Brott—The Aesthetic Attitude. I last posted about guitarist Alexander Brott when his album Leon's Lullaby came out. Here's Mozaic, from his earlier release, The Aesthetic Attitude, where he's joined by Stefano Doglioni on bass clarinet, Ari Roland on bass and Keith Balla on drums...

Ramiro Sentido—Sentido. Here's Canto Triste from Ramiro's album, Sentido...

Eric Comstock (piano/vocals) and Barbara Fasano (vocals)—four-time winners of the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs' MAC Award for Major Duo Artists of the Year—have a new album out: Painting the Town. Here's Just One of Those Things...

Bianca Rossini's new album is I've Been Alone. Here's the title track...

Ornette and Bix radio. WKCR-FM in New York will present its annual Ornette Coleman and Bix Beiderbecke Birthday Broadcasts, back to back. The double-headers will air this Sunday and Monday. The Ornette tribute starts Saturday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET) and runs all day and night Sunday. Then the Bix tribute takes over for 24 hours, all day and evening on Monday. To listen from anywhere in the world, go here.

And finally, two individual solo ballads by tenor saxophonists from You Talk That Talk! (1971), one by Gene Ammons and the other by Sonny Stitt. Ammons plays The Sun Died and Stitt plays what I would argue is his finest rendition of Body and Soul.

Here's Ammons playing The Sun Died...

And here's Stitt playing Body and Soul...