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July 3, 2007:

COOL JAZZ

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I’m feeling laid back and relaxed right now because I’m listening to cool jazz. Easy sounds, smooth tunes, a late-night trio playing late-night grooves. What am I, a disc jockey all of a sudden? Next someone will be saying, “Play Misty for me.” I love cool jazz. It puts me into a mellow mood and therefore I am mellow and the notes just flow like Jell-O. Does Jell-O flow? It cubes, but I guess it flows before it actually becomes the Jell-O we know and love. You have to admit, the cool jazz is making these notes free form, just like jazz should be. The notes have an improvisatory feel to them, don’t they? They just go here and there and take a little detour then come back to where they were. I feel so cool right now – maybe I should put on some shades and smoke a marijuana cigarette. Of course, I don’t have a marijuana cigarette, so that would be difficult. Actually, I’ve never smoked a marijuana cigarette, so I don’t even know what the HELL I’m talking about, marijuana cigarette-wise. Actually, I don’t even know that the HELL I’m talking about, any wise-wise. But that’s what cool jazz is, baby – we go where we go and you dig it or you don’t. I dig it.

Well, that was a complete waste of a paragraph, wasn’t it? Still, it had a certain cool jazz feel to it and there’s something to be said for that – what, I have no idea. Speaking of no idea, yesterday was a day and a half, filled with non-stop comings and goings and also goings and comings, telephonic calls, meetings, rehearsals, and even some whatnot. I got up early, made a few telephonic calls, talked to a potential general manager (who I liked), then had a breakfast meeting with Miss Alet Taylor. From there, I came home, made a few more calls, then had a two-hour rehearsal with Miss Joan Ryan. We’re getting into specifics, both staging and performance-wise. All I can say is, I’m earning my money on this one. After rehearsal, I gathered up Mr. Cason Murphy and we went to a coffee shop in Glendale, where we met fellow board member, Joanna Erdos, and there we had a good meeting, basically setting the agenda for our big general meeting next Monday evening. Of course, we have no idea if it’s big or not – I’m hoping for a nice turnout, but we won’t know until then. After that, I came home, had a nice conversation with a costume designer who seems to be a nice sort, and then I had to answer a ton of e-mails, and then I had to go off to yet another meeting, this one with actor Barry Pearl. After that, I finally came home and sat on my couch like so much fish.

Obviously, there was no time to watch a motion picture on DVD, but I did have the opportunity to play the just-released (after forty years) soundtrack to one of my favorite films, Wait Until Dark. This score is one of Henry Mancini’s finest, and what a great CD listen it is. Whatever inspired Mr. Mancini, his idea of having two pianos, one a quarter tone flat, as his main instrumentation, is creepy and constantly unnerving. It’s actually an audacious score, the kind they could never write today – completely unique in every way. I must say, it’s the most extraordinary time for soundtrack collectors, with all sorts of CDs coming out of scores we never thought we’d own.

Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because the cool sounds of cool jazz have me laid back and in a mellow groove, and I feel it’s time to groove on over to the next section.

Today will be another day of doing and going and coming and doing, not necessarily in that order. I’m going to try and hire at least two more people today (yesterday, I hired a stage manager), then I have a two-hour rehearsal with Miss Ryan, then a meeting about a potential recording project that I’m being asked to “supervise” – just lend my ears to, and my guidance. It’s not anything that would be released on Kritzerland, but I like the performer (big former TV star) and it’s just two days, in and out. Then I’ll be doing more telephonic calls, and also trying to sort out this twenty-two-page contract, as I have to sign it, fill in some information and send it back with our entry fee by Friday. I also have to ship out about five packages today, and also do a few errands. When I’m supposed to get all this done is another story. And then, I’m having dinner with Mr. Walter Willison.

I still have to book a lot more people for our fundraiser, and that’s daunting and difficult, but on I shall go. I’m having a meeting on Thursday morning with a musical director, who I hope will do the benefit. That will be one less thing to worry about.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, package, ship, rehearse, meet, do a whole ton of whatnot, and then sup. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your all-time favorite Henry Mancini themes and/or songs, and full film scores? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we continue listening to the mellow grooves of cool jazz.

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