Midweek extra: Freddie Hubbard with Allyn Ferguson’s Band in the ’70s

AJBlogs Posted: May 16, 2019 11:56 am

The exact date is uncertain, but we know who was with Hubbard in this L.A. all-star band. They play “Ride With The Wind.” – Doug Ramsey

Snapshot: Nat Cole plays “Just One of Those Things”

Nat Cole plays Cole Porter’s “Just One of Those Things” on The Ed Sullivan Show. This episode was originally telecast live by CBS on April 13, 1958: (This is the latest in a... Read more

AJBlog: About Last Night Published on: 2021-04-14
Almanac: Somerset Maugham on literary productivity

“His fertility was of course amazing and fertility is a quality to be praised in an author. It denotes physical energy, a gift a writer can as little do without as a... Read more

AJBlog: About Last Night Published on: 2021-04-14
Benchmarking? Maybe Not

Benchmarking equity may not be effective. If it is attempted, it must be approached cautiously so as not to cause more harm than good.... Read more

AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published on: 2021-04-13
Lookback: the thirty-day song challenge

From 2017: In the wake of the thirty-day movie challenge comes a new meme that I find—perhaps not surprisingly—irresistible. As before, I’ve opted to do it in a single sitting, so here goes: 1.... Read more

AJBlog: About Last Night Published on: 2021-04-13
Almanac: Somerset Maugham on posterity

“There is one very good thing to be said of posterity, and this is that it turns a blind eye on the defects of greatness.” Somerset Maugham, Don Fernando Continue reading Almanac: Somerset... Read more

AJBlog: About Last Night Published on: 2021-04-13
A Gripping New Version of The Rite of Spring

Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring might at first glance seem an unlikely candidate for keyboard transcription. It calls for a huge orchestra, colorfully deployed. But the percussive ferocity of the writing, its sheer... Read more

AJBlog: Unanswered Question Published on: 2021-04-12
Taking a Break

Back soon.... Read more

AJBlog: Straight|Up Published on: 2021-04-12
This Blogger Needs to Take a Break

We weep to leave behind the sun lightly pencilled in, nothing left of the eternal. ... We are still only little animals.... Read more

AJBlog: Straight|Up Published on: 2021-04-12
Filtered

As I hear my student playing the piano through Zoom, just for a moment, I think I am hearing Paderewski in 1912. The sound is imperfect. At moments it drops out. There... Read more

AJBlog: PianoMorphosis Published on: 2021-04-12
Raising the flag

The Teachout Museum, my collection of midcentury-modern American art and its forerunners here and in Europe, contains two prints by American impressionists who were active around the turn of the twentieth century,... Read more

AJBlog: About Last Night Published on: 2021-04-12
Just because: Somerset Maugham is interviewed in 1965

Somerset Maugham is interviewed by Alan Pryce-Jones in 1965 for Wisdom, an occasional series of TV profiles of older “cultural icons” that aired on NBC from 1952 to 1965: (This is the latest in... Read more

AJBlog: About Last Night Published on: 2021-04-12
Almanac: Somerset Maugham on simplicity in literary style

“To write simply is as difficult as to be good.” Somerset Maugham, Don Fernando Continue reading Almanac: Somerset Maugham on simplicity in literary style at About Last Night.... Read more

AJBlog: About Last Night Published on: 2021-04-12
Marshall Marcus Talks the UN and Arts Organizations

Marshall Marcus, Secretary General of the European Union Youth Orchestra, shares about the connection between the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the mission of arts organizations.... Read more

AJBlog: Aaron Dworkin Published on: 2021-04-10
Doubting Thomas: Greenville County Museum Sells “Alma’s Flower Garden” in a Non-Transparent Transaction

Taking a page from the problematic playbooks of the Berkshire, Everson and Baltimore museums, the Greenville County Museum of Art (GCMA), South Carolina, has become the latest poster child for deplorable deaccessions.... Read more

AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published on: 2021-04-09
Rich Allen’s Film Dances to the Music

'Lost in Lydia City': Four minutes of pure sad funny nostalgic joy.... Read more

AJBlog: Straight|Up Published on: 2021-04-09
Underground: To a Remaindered Poet

An ancient shadow led the exiled Dante through the hell of his neurotic soul. Yet you, oh poet, are silent about your escape and slipped into the brown hide of a bookseller... Read more

AJBlog: Straight|Up Published on: 2021-04-09
Three’s company

In today’s Wall Street Journal I review webcasts of Yours Unfaithfully (by the Mint Theater Company) and Trying (by North Coast Repertory Theatre). Here’s an excerpt. * * * Miles Malleson is one of... Read more

AJBlog: About Last Night Published on: 2021-04-09
Replay: Steely Dan appears on The Late Show

Steely Dan’s two appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman, performing “Josie” in 1995 and “Cousin Dupree” in 2000: (This is the latest in a series of arts- and history-related videos that... Read more

AJBlog: About Last Night Published on: 2021-04-09
Almanac: Edward G. Robinson on screen acting

“You know, I’ve always figured the waiting is what they pay me for. The acting I do free.” Edward G. Robinson (quoted in Charlton Heston, In the Arena) Continue reading Almanac: Edward G.... Read more

AJBlog: About Last Night Published on: 2021-04-09
Gone But Not Forgotten The Pyramid Club on the Lower East Side

Gone, finished, closed, shut forever. Though less well known than CBGB, Webster Hall, The Palladium, the Continental, it gave birth to much LES culture. Over the last few years, the Pyramid Club... Read more

AJBlog: Straight|Up Published on: 2021-04-07