passings
Tony Joe White, singer, songwriter, guitar player, harmonica player, July 23, 1943-October 24, 2018
“Rainy Night in Georgia” (T. J. White), live (TV show), London, 2013
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Live, Australia (Sydney), 2008
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Cicely Berry, Royal Shakespeare Company’s voice director, May 17, 1926-October 15, 2018
The Working Shakespeare/Muscularity of Language: Voice and Rhythm (excerpt), 2004
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, outside Chicago (Prairie Path)
passings
Otis Rush, guitarist, singer, April 29, 1935-September 29, 2018
Today, remembering him, we revisit a couple of posts.
1/21/10
Otis Rush (with Fred Below [drums], et al.), “I Can’t Quit You Baby,” live, Germany, 1966
I was staying with my sister and messing around with the guitar every day for my own amusement. Then she took me around and introduced me to Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Little Walter, and the first time I saw that onstage, it inspired me to play. I thought that was the world.
—Otis Rush
*****
9/15/18
basement jukebox
Otis Rush (1934-)
“All Your Love (I Miss Loving),” 1958
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“I Can’t Quit You Baby,” 1956
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“Double Trouble,” 1958
Shirley testifies
Shirley Caesar (with Tasha Cobbs), “How I Got Over,” Aretha’s homegoing service, Detroit, 8/31/18
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Oak Brook, Ill. (Dean Nature Sanctuary)
passings
Aretha Franklin, singer, pianist, March 25, 1942-August 16, 2018
Today we remember her by revisiting previous posts.
10/18/09
Here—at the funeral service for Bishop David L. Ellis, pastor of Detroit’s Greater Grace Temple of the Apostolic Faith—Aretha testifies.
Aretha Franklin, “Never Grow Old,” live, Detroit, 1996
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lagniappe
[A] lengthy service was perceived to be an honor to the deceased—a testimony to the great impact of his or her life. Consider the 1996 funeral of Bishop David Ellis Sr., pastor of Detroit’s Greater Grace Temple of the Apostolic Faith, whose services stretched over three days. His body was laid to rest in a $30,000 gold-plated casket that was ‘propped at an angle in the church aisle so mourners could see his body resting on red velvet cushions.’—Karla FC Holloway (in Passed On: African American Mourning Stories [2002])
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10/25/09
When someone sounds as good as Aretha did last Sunday, only one word seems to fit: more.
Aretha Franklin (joined on the second number by Billy Preston and Little Richard), “Surely God Is Able,” “Packin’ Up,” live (Tribute to Marion Williams), Washington, D.C., 1993
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lagniappe
My heart is still there in gospel music. It never left.—Aretha Franklin
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11/1/09
Aretha didn’t have to wait until she was grown to be great. She was great when she was 14.
Aretha Franklin (at 14, vocal and piano), “Precious Lord,” live, Detroit (New Bethel Baptist Church, where her father, Rev. C. L. Franklin, was pastor), 1956
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10/24/10
Here’s more of the late Albertina Walker.
“Lord, Remember Me,” live
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“I’m Still Here” (joined by Delores Washington), live, 1998, Philadelphia
Want more? Here.
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lagniappe
Here’s a better clip from this service than the one posted last Sunday (now deleted).
Aretha Franklin, “I’ll Fly Away,” live, Homegoing Service for Albertina Walker, Chicago (West Point Baptist Church, 3566 S. Cottage Grove), 10/15/10
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12/12/10
Friends and fans of Aretha Franklin offered prayers and good wishes after learning that the Queen of Soul, one of Detroit’s beloved musical artists, is suffering from pancreatic cancer.
A world without Aretha?
Impossible.
Aretha Franklin, “Oh It Is Jesus,” “Old Landmark,” live, featuring Rev. Cecil Franklin (brother) & Erma Franklin (sister), Detroit, 1985 (TV broadcast 1986)
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4/8/12
Aretha testifies
Aretha Franklin, “Surely God Is Able,” live, Detroit, 1990
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1/6/13
The other day, in the wake of Inez’s [Andrews] passing, we heard several takes on this. How about another?
Aretha Franklin (with James Cleveland & The Southern California Community Choir), “Mary, Don’t You Weep,” live, Los Angeles, 1972
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6/23/14
passings
Gerry Goffin, lyricist, February 11, 1939-June 19, 2014
The Shirelles, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” (G. Goffin, C. King), 1961
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The Drifters, “Up on the Roof” (G. Goffin, C. King), 1962
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Aretha Franklin, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” (G. Goffin, C. King, J. Wexler), 1967
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1/1/16
What better way to start the new year?
Aretha Franklin, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” (G. Goffin, C. King, J. Wexler), live, Washington, D.C., 2015
passings
Henry Butler, pianist, singer, September 21, 1948-July 2, 2018
With Steven Bernstein & the Hot 9, “Some Iko,” live, Chicago, 2015
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lagniappe
art beat
Lee Friedlander (1934-), New Orleans
Eureka Brass Band, late 1950s
*****
Young Tuxedo Brass Band, 1959
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Second Liners at Mardi Gras, 1957
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Second Liners, 1961
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Young Tuxedo Bass Band, 1966
passings
Glenn Branca, composer, guitarist, October 6, 1948-May 13, 2018
Live, Washington, D.C., 2012
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Live (Symphony No. 16 [Orgasm], First Mvt.), Paris, 2015
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lagniappe
reading table
That was fast.
I mean life.—Ron Padgett, “Haiku”
passings
Charles Neville, saxophonist, December 28, 1938-April 26, 2018
Neville Brothers, “Yellow Moon,” live, New Orleans, 1991
*****
More?
Here’s the whole set.
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lagniappe
random sights
last night, Oak Park, Ill.
passings
Bob Dorough, singer, songwriter, piano player, December 12, 1923-April 23, 2018
“Devil May Care” (B. Dorough, T. Kirk), live (studio), New York, 2015
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
passings
Cecil Taylor, pianist, composer, bandleader, April 25, 1929-April 5, 2018
Today we celebrate his singular musical presence by revisiting a few favorites.
Live, 1981 (Imagine the Sound)
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With Max Roach (drums), live, New York (Columbia University), 2000
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With Harri Sjostrom (soprano saxophone), Tristan Honsinger (cello), Thurman Barker (marimba), Paul Lovens (drums), live, Germany (Hamburg), 1995
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I try to imitate on the piano the leaps in space a dancer makes.
—Cecil Taylor
passings
Best minute of music you’ll hear all month?
Willie Pickens, April 18, 1931-December 13, 2017, pianist, educator
“Giant Steps” (J. Coltrane), live, Chicago, 2012
