– I just got back from the Village Vanguard, where I heard the Bill Charlap Trio play a good-sized chunk of Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein, their new CD (my Washington Post review is here), along with such Charlap-type standards as Gerry Mulligan’s “Rocker” and Stephen Sondheim’s “Uptown/Downtown.”
I showed up early enough to grab a seat five feet from Kenny Washington’s end of the bandstand. I can’t think of many jazz drummers to whom I’d care to sit that close, but Washington is the man, and he was in stupendously good form. In fact, I’ve never heard a drummer swing as hard as he did on “Nobody’s Heart” (and who else but Charlap would have had the wit to turn that fragile Rodgers-Hart ballad into a medium-tempo swinger?). Right now I feel like sitting down and knocking out a dissertation entitled “The Use of the Hi-Hat in Kenny Washington’s Drumming.” If they asked me, I could write a book, though I’d rather wait until I’ve recovered from writing the last one….
– My personal Barbara Pym celebration is drawing to a close: I started rereading her last novel, A Few Green Leaves, over a plateful of pre-Vanguard sushi.
– Earlier today (or, to be exact, yesterday), I watched an hour-long interview with James Garner, an episode of Turner Classic Movies’ Private Screenings series that was repeated earlier this week in honor of the network’s tenth anniversary. As I mentioned
a few months ago, I’m a huge Garner fan, but I’d never seen an interview with him–it seems he doesn’t like giving them. I can’t imagine why, since he’s charming, articulate, and pretty much just like the character he plays in most of his films and TV shows. If I had any steam left, I’d watch one right now, but the loft beckons.
– Now playing on iTunes: Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro, as performed by the Hollywood String Quartet. I’m hoping that it’ll ease me dreamward.
And yes, I know I promised a bunch of choice links yesterday, but my unexpected houseguest threw me slightly off course. Maybe this afternoon, maybe tomorrow. Either way, I haven’t forgotten you!