The first week back to work after the December holidays is like entering a highway at rush hour. The traffic volume is heavy and everything moves slowly. Our holiday break was terrific, and we really appreciated the time off more because we didn’t travel. There’s something to be said for staying home and enjoying your own city or town rather than standing in lines and sitting on a plane to go someplace else.
This week, I had a large amount of movies and series I had to stream ahead of their release in advance of my Wall Street Journal interviews with Hollywood actors. I can’t talk about these, since they aren’t out yet, but I can tell you that I’ve been re-watching The Crown. If you haven’t viewed the glorious multi-season series tracing the post-war monarchy, be sure to put it on your list.
Still a free subscriber? If so, I wanted to remind you that you’re only seeing two out of five JazzWax posts produced each week. Which means you’re missing out on great stuff. For example, this past week you didn’t get my post on favorite albums by jazz artists who in the late 1960s took on pop hits of the day (seven hours of music listening); you didn’t see my post on Mundell Lowe’s 1956 album featuring new songs by Alec Wilder; and you didn’t see my Friday post on Thelonious Monk, which included a terrific documentary.
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Bill Evans’s grandson, Jaden, is a terrific pianist and has a similar poetic approach as Bill did. On January 18, at 2 p.m. (PT), history will be made when Jaden (above) joins bassist Chuck Israels (the second Bill Evans Trio) and drummer Joe LaBarbera (the final trio) at the Athletic Club in Los Angeles for a performance. The gig will be live-streamed (go here).
To read my interview with Jaden, go here. A special thanks to Peter Coppock for alerting.
Max Roach radio. On Saturday of this weekend, WKCR-FM in New York will be celebrating drummer Max Roach’s birthday by playing his music for 24 hours (ET). You can tune in from anywhere in the world by going here. [Photo above of Max Roach in 1947 by William P. Gotfried]
And finally, a treat. Here’s the complete Chewin’ the Fat, 53 minutes of Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, with Georges Arvanitas (p), Jacky Samson (b) and Charles Saudrais (d) recorded in Massy, France, in 1975…
Thanks for mentioning. Alas, I am at work and cannot stream it. ☹️
Great lockjaw. I was there. The Arvanitas trio was the first call to accompany the visiting soloists in France. I saw them , among many others, with Anita O' Day, Pepper Adams, Clifford Jordan and even the free tenor Frank Wright. At the end of the concert, when the musicians were leaving, I saw Lockjaw paying compliments to bassist Jacky Samson , adding after he left " I really meant it".