Thirty-four years ago, on a cold Saturday night, in a church about
thirty miles north of Chicago, tenor saxophonist Von Freeman played this, unaccompanied, at our wedding.
Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone) with The Modern Jazz Quartet (John Lewis, piano; Milt Jackson, vibraphone; Percy Heath, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums), “In A Sentimental Mood” (Duke Ellington), 1953
Vodpod videos no longer available.two takes
. . . the most beautiful song in the English language.
“Waterloo Sunset” (Ray Davies)
The Kinks, live, 1973 (TV broadcast), England
Vodpod videos no longer available.***
Ray Davies, live, 2010, England (Glastonbury)
Vodpod videos no longer available.Some voices seem to come from another world.
Skip James, “Devil Got My Woman,” 1931
Vodpod videos no longer available.More? Here.
**********
lagniappe
reading table: variations on a theme
I sometimes think that an idea is the worst thing that can happen to a writer.
—David Vann, New York Times, 1/14/11
***
[A]ll ideas . . . fail to work at some point . . .
—David Kirby, “L’Explication de Tasty-Fuck”
***
Ideas are always wrong.
—William Bronk, “Blue Spruces in Pairs, A Bird Bath Between”
Feeling lousy?
This’ll make you feel good.
Feeling good?
This’ll make you feel better.
It ain’t subtle. And sometimes their energy outdistances their musicianship.
But when they’re on their game, it jumps.
Bahamas Shed Session with drummers Mannix Evans, Ken McKenzie, Samuel Murphy & Christian Pratt; live; Bahamas (Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Nassau)
Part 1
Vodpod videos no longer available.***
Part 2
Vodpod videos no longer available.***
Part 3
Vodpod videos no longer available.two takes
The other night, as my older son Alex packed up his stuff for the next day’s trip back to school, this played on his computer—over and over and over.
The Mountain Goats, “This Year”
#1: recording (The Sunset Tree), 2005
Vodpod videos no longer available.***
#2: live, Iowa (Ames), 2006
Vodpod videos no longer available.**********
lagniappe
art beat
Lee Friedlander, New York City (Self-Portrait), c. 1960(?)
*****
More Son Seals
Last night I discovered that two of the sets Son played at the Bottom Line in January of 1978 can be heard here and here. The second features a guest
artist—Johnny Winter.
Back in the ’70s, when I was at Alligator Records, I worked with this guy—coproducing albums, booking live performances, traveling to New York for a series of “showcase” performances (little pay, big exposure) at the Bottom Line (opening for Buddy Guy & Junior Wells). But I was a fan before that. In college I had a weekly radio show, where I often played his first album, released in 1973. Now, like so many others I worked with (Hound Dog Taylor, Big Walter Horton, Fenton Robinson, Koko Taylor, Albert Collins, et al.), he’s gone.
Son Seals, August 13, 1942-December 20, 2004
“I Think You’re Fooling Me,” live (TV broadcast), 1987
Vodpod videos no longer available.***
“Your Love Is Like A Cancer” (The Son Seals Blues Band, Alligator, 1973)
Vodpod videos no longer available.**********
lagniappe
reading table
for . . . Son Seals, who left to work a better room
—Andrew Vachss, Mask Market: A Burke Novel (2006)
This lady, who cut just a handful of sides, really lights it up.
Sister O.M. Terrell, “Life Is A Problem,” 1948
Vodpod videos no longer available.Want more? Here.
Some music conjures a world so benign you don’t want to leave.
William Duckworth, Gymel (1973)/Southern Illinois University Percussion Ensemble, live, 2008
Vodpod videos no longer available.what’s new
(an occasional series)
Here’s some stuff my older (23-year-old) son Alex, who heads back to school Sunday, shared with me the other night.
Zoo Kid (AKA Archy Marshall [16 years old, lives in London]), “Out Getting Ribs,” 2010
Vodpod videos no longer available.*****
Destroyer, “Kaputt,” 2011
Vodpod videos no longer available.*****
M.I.A., “Bad Girls,” 2010
Vodpod videos no longer available.**********
lagniappe
reading table
If humor loosens the grip of logic, and poetry does too, how come there isn’t more humor in poetry?
David Kirby, “The Search for Baby Combover,” Atlanta, 2007
Vodpod videos no longer available.Talking with a Jamaican-born client, I mention Gregory Isaacs’ passing.
He responds, “He died too?”
Sugar Minott, May 25, 1956-July 10, 2010
1983:”Rough Ole Life (Babylon),” Reggae Sunsplash, Jamaica
Vodpod videos no longer available.*****
2009: Rehearsal, Lovers Rock Gala Awards, England
“Lovers Rock”
Vodpod videos no longer available.***
“Good Thing Going”
Vodpod videos no longer available.
music clip of the day 