Here’s another shot from the visit to smoky central Washington State, where the wildfires are intensifying today. Now, firefighters are coming down from Canada to help in the battle to contain the blazes. The landmark in the hazy distance is Saddle Rock. You may recognize it as the skyline feature on the cover of Poodie James.
For a thorough roundup of Washington fire stories and pictures, go here. For a good song with “smoke” in the title, listen to Django.
Django Reinhardt (guitar) and Stéphane Grappelli (violin), with the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, 1935
The nonagenarian pianist presented de Barros with every biographer’s hope, unrestricted access to his subject’s personal papers and nearly unrestricted access to her private thoughts. He made the most of it, turning exhaustive research and hundreds of hours of interviews into a true story with the sweep of a novel. From the early discovery of McPartland’s musical gift through her wartime service, her ecstatic and stormy marriage to Jimmy McPartland, her growth as a pianist, her deep affair with Joe Morello, and the radio show that made her a national figure, she has had a fascinating life. It makes a splendid read.
Mulligan’s Concert Jazz Band had three fewer musicians than most big jazz outfits. Its size permitted precision, flexibility and subtlety, yet the band had the power of sprung steel. In this concert from a half century ago, the CJB is as fresh as yesterday. Arrangements by Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn and Johnny Mandel set standards to which big band writers still aspire. Bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Mel Lewis inspired Mulligan, Brookmeyer, Conte Candoli, Gene Quill and Zoot Sims to some of the best soloing of their careers. This beautifully produced issue of the complete concert is a basic repertoire item.
This is terrifying. Hope you will win the battle.
As a little compensation, here’s the original “Smoke Rings” with Glen Gray & The Casa Loma Orchestra from 1937. — Glen’s husky radio theme was always effectively introduced on stage with a single spotlight on Bill Rauch’s muted trombone until the full orchestra came in.
Beautiful clarinet solo by Clarence Hutchenrider, and some gorgeous smoking Ladies in the video.
By the way: “Rauch” is German and means …. smoke
Gene Gifford, the chief arranger for The Casa Loma Orchestra, wrote the song, with lyrics by Ned Washington. Gray and the Casa Lomans introduced it but didn’t put it on record until 1937. The Mills brothers were the first to record it, in 1932, the year Gifford and Washington wrote it. The Mills Brothers’ recording featured the vocal group’s astonishingly accurate impressions of tuba, trombone and trumpet.
I greatly sympathize with the people who are suffering from the wildfires. This situation is similar to what we had a couple of years ago. People had to curtain the windows with wet bedsheets or some other cloths to ease the detrimental effect of the smoke. Plus the unbearable heat! It cost a lot of people their health.
I wish them all to survive this disaster with minimum loss to health and other things..