Hank Jones, Jazz Master Class (Artists House). The pianist will be ninety at the end of this month. He was only eighty-six when he taught this class. Jones plays a solo concert, coaches and evaluates student pianists, charms his audience, chats with critic Gary Giddins and, in general, defies time. … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2008
The Latest Picks
Three CDs, a DVD and a book: your new Doug's Picks are in the center column. To see previous recommendations, click "more picks" at the bottom of that section. … [Read more...]
Book: Roger Scruton
Roger Scruton, Culture Counts (Brief Encounters). If you're concerned that the bad in culture is driving out the good, this little book by the British philosopher and polymath may make you feel better. Scruton writes not only about music, but about architecture, painting, literature and the … [Read more...]
Hellzapoppin’
Looking for the earliest Slim Gaillard clip I could find, I came across a sequence from Olsen and Johnson's manic 1941 hit movie Hellzapoppin'. Gaillard plays piano and guitar, with his constant companion of the period, the great Slam Stewart, on bass. Among the several dozen uncredited musicians … [Read more...]
Compatible Quotes
Summertime, and the living is easy. --Ira Gershwin, "Summertime" I hear laughter by the swimming hole. Kids out fishing, with the willow pole. Boats come drifting 'round the bend. Why must summer ever end? … [Read more...]
Where We Are
It has been some time since we ran a check on the whereabouts of Rifftides readers. Here is a partial location list of recent visitors, starting at the point farthest from home base. Wellington, New Zealand Wollongong, Australia Sydney, Australia Tokyo, Japan Beijing, China Tarnow, Poland … [Read more...]
Hiatus…And A Taste Of Miguel Zenon
The Rifftides staff is going to take a couple of days off and trek across the mountains to watch the Mariners play the Tigers. The links are for the benefit of those in, say, Casablanca or Tarnow who may not be familiar with the quaint US sporting culture. In the meantime, enjoy this video of … [Read more...]
George and Satch
A few years ago, research disclosed that Louis Armstrong was not born on the Fourth of July, 1900, but a little more than a year later. No matter; Armstrong believed that Independence Day was his birthday and identified himself with the United States of America. As his career and popularity … [Read more...]
Compatible Independence Day Quotes
(An annual Rifftides reminder) Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.--Benjamin Franklin America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed … [Read more...]
Aid For Ernestine Anderson
It appears that Ernestine Anderson is going to be able to stay in her house--at least for now. News of the seventy-nine-year-old singer's impending eviction traveled quickly around the world last week, and people responded. Help came from fans, old friends--including Quincy Jones--and just plain … [Read more...]
A Reasonably Golden Oldie
It was in the back of my mind that I would post something about this morning's bicycle ride. I took the mountain bike along the canal trails. It was a perfectly good ride, but it turned up nothing to report beyond the fact that by the time I finished, around 11 a.m., the temperature was approaching … [Read more...]
Compatible Quotes: The Bicycle
When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man's convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man's brain that … [Read more...]