Christina, Lou and Tadd

In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actress Christina Hendricks for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). Christina is in what I feel is the most compelling series of the year thus far—Good American Family (Hulu). Christina, of course, was in TV's Mad Men and Good Girls and has appeared recently in Hacks. [Photo above of Christina Hendricks courtesy of Christina Hendricks/Instagram]

Here's Christina in Mad Men, in her brilliant portrayal of Joan, the ad agency's office manager...

And here she is in Good American Family...

Also in the WSJ this week, my Album@50 essay on Aerosmith's Toys in the Attic, a half-a-century old. How can that be? Go here. 

What I'm watching

Currently...

• Bosch Legacy S3 (Prime)
• 1923 (Paramount+)
• Mobland (Paramount+)

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. Good American Family
16. Feud: Bette and Joan
17. The Old Man
18. Downton Abbey
19. The Blacklist
20. Goliath
21. The Gentlemen
22. Turn: Washington's Spies
23. Unbelievable
24. Landman
25. Voiceless (Bella da morire (2020/MHz)
26. Black Doves
27. Web Therapy

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

• Bosch Legacy S3 (Prime)
• 1923 (Paramount+)
• Mobland (Paramount+)
• Dark Winds S3 (AMC)
• Long Bright River (Peacock)
• Good American Family (Hulu)
• Alto Knights (film)
• The Better Sister (May 22/Prime)

Past 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)
• Enlightened—(2011-2013/Max)
• 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)

Gerry Mulligan. Following my wildly popular Perfection post on Gerry Mulligan's Night Lights, I heard from legendary bassist Bill Crow, who plays on the track and the album of the same name...

"Hi Marc. All I remember from that record date is how good the whole session was. Gerry hadn't written anything new for a while, and I loved playing together with Gerry, Art Farmer, Bob Brookmeyer, Jim Hall and Dave Bailey. Night Lights is still one of my favorite albums.

"By the way, I recorded Night Lights on my CD for Venus records in 1995 entitled From Birdland to Broadway, with Carmen Leggio, Joe Cohn and David Jones. When I received my first copy of it in January 1996, I was reaching for the phone to call Gerry and tell him it was dedicated to him when the phone rang. It was a friend telling me that Gerry had just passed away."

God Only Knows. In October 2014, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys assembled a good number of his singing friends to record a music video of God Only Knows, the song Brian and lyricist Tony Asher wrote for the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album in 1966. Here's the video...

You Say You Care. Back in June of last year, I posted a Perfection on John Coltrane's recording of You Say You Care, a song written by Jule Styne and Leo Robin and published in 1949. Last week, Bill Kirchner sent along two more great versions [Photo above of Karin Krog with Dexter Gordon]:

Here's Karin Krog singing, backed by pianist Steve Kuhn, bassist David Finck and drummer Billy Drummond in 2003...

And here's pianist Lou Levy, bassist John Heard and drummer Shelly Manne in 1982...

Tadd Dameron. Last week, Don Frese sent along an email with four fabulous clips of Britain's Ted Heath Orchestra playing Tadd Dameron arrangements. Here's his note:

"Hi Marc. As you know, Tadd Dameron stopped off in London in 1949 on his way home from appearing at Paris jazz festival with Miles Davis. Tadd had written the arrangements specifically for Heath, who recorded them in the fall. Dameron's songs Lyonia and So Easy were new, Euphoria was a Charlie Ventura-Roy Kral composition and The Nearness of You was a standard. As you posted recently, So Easy was part of Artie Shaw's Thesaurus Transcriptions recording in December of 1949." Here they are:

Here's Lyonia...

Here's So Easy...

Here's Euphoria...

And here's The Nearness of You...

Dave Thompson. Here's Dave Thompson in his practice studio last week working through But Beautiful...

And finally, on Friday, Louisiana singer Ashley Orlando and I shared the Zoom stage at the non-political LaMorinda Rotary Club, in Lafayette, Calif.,where she played and sang, and I followed with a 20-minute talk and Q&A on pop music's influence on mood and optimism. The club very kindly promoted my latest book, Anatomy of 55 More Songs. Here's Ashley...