Well, dear readers, the great jazz icon Dave Brubeck has passed away at ninety-one years of age. (NOTE TO DEAR READERS: I was Facebooked, I’m afraid. This was all over Facebook last night, and I normally go directly to Google to fact check because it happens ALL the time there – but it was late and I didn’t check – Mr. Brubeck died three YEARS ago – but I didn’t write about it then, so will now.) No need to mourn anyone who lives that long, that fruitfully, and who worked right up until the end – no, celebrate is the way to go. Those who’ve read Kritzer Time know how I discovered jazz. As a precocious young teen I was twirling around the transistor radio dial one night and heard the most amazing music – I didn’t know what it was, what kind of music it was, I’d never heard anything like it, and I was mesmerized and so taken with it that as soon as the disc jockey came on after the song and I knew what station I was listening to, I got the phone number of the station and they put me right through to the disc jockey – amazing that that could happen, but it was a different time and world back then. I told him that what I’d just heard was incredible and I had to know what it was. He first told me that it made him very happy that I’d actually called – that him doing his job had introduced me to something completely different. He identified the song as Take Five written by Dave Brubeck and played by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. He said if I loved that that I would love the rest of the album. That began a lovely back-and-forth with the disc jockey, who introduced me to all kinds of other jazz artists. He invited me to the radio station, showed me how everything worked – he was a sweet and wonderful man. I told him I wanted to be an actor, and he said I should read The Browning Version, that I’d be wonderful for a role in that show. It’s always amazing how some people impact your life, even in tiny ways. I’ve lived my life by that example and always try to introduce people to new worlds.
So, the next day I went to my local record store and purchased the Brubeck Take Five album, went right back home and played it maybe twenty times in a row. I loved it all, but especially Take Five and Blue Rondo a la Turk. I couldn’t tell you why that music got to me – it was everything – it was fresh, it was unique, the sound was unique, I loved the way the piano, bass, drums and saxophone were a world unto themselves. And thus began my life-long love affair with Mr. Brubeck’s music and jazz in general. I bought the follow-up album to Take Five and loved that, too. One day while browsing the albums at Discount Record Center at the corner of La Cienega and Wilshire (it’s a high-rise now – where Hustler had its offices) I came upon an album called Points in Jazz, a ballet by – wait for it – Dave Brubeck, written for two pianos and played by Gold and Fizdale. I loved the cover and since it had Brubeck’s name on the cover, I bought it immediately. That album became an all-time favorite – I played it for anyone who’d listen. The main theme, which is called There’ll Be No Tomorrow, was one of the most haunting pieces of music I’d ever heard. I loved the sound of two pianos without any other instruments, I loved all the variations, and then the hot fudge, whipped cream, and cherry at the end of the album was a vocal version of There’ll Be No Tomorrow played by the Brubeck Quartet and sung by a singer named Carmen McCrae. I fell in love with her voice, too, and from then on was a huge fan of hers. Here’s the cover.
I have just about every CD of Brubeck’s music that’s been issued. He was unique, a one-off, and if you don’t know his work, you need to remedy that right away, and start with Take Five – the name of the album it’s on is Time Out and it’s available very inexpensively on CD. Certain music changes your life – Dave Brubeck’s was that kind of music. He was an amazing artist. While I don’t feel it’s as great as the Gold and Fizdale original recording, here’s a You Tube link that has the entire ballet played much more recently on a Koch recording. Someday the original will finally make it to CD and that day cannot come soon enough.
Yesterday was kind of a nice fun day for a nice Sunday. I slept very late and got ten hours of sleep. I did a little writing, a little work at the piano, and then it was time for our stumble-through. It went very well, and I probably gave fewer notes than any other show we’ve done. The show is so much fun – from the holiday songs to the handful of other songs that we’re just doing, it flows beautifully and the cast is fantastic. It’s kind of weird that we’re not doing the show tonight, but we now wait until Wednesday.
After that, I had a chat with Adyran Russ and Shelly Markham (he plays for Andrea Marcovicci) about the LA show and I gave them two ideas to think about. Then I moseyed on over to the Hills of Woodland and to Ruth’s Chris for a shared birthday dinner – mine and Sami’ mom. It was a great meal – I didn’t eat quite as much as usual – I had a Caesar salad, the New York steak, and just a teeny taste of the lobster mac-and-cheese, and some asparagus. The steaks there are simply extraordinary. We all had a fun time, then I came home and sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched a motion picture on a DGA screener entitled Suffragette, starring Carey Mulligan, with a cameo appearance by Meryl Streep (she’s really only in about five minutes of the film, if that). It’s about the women of England taking whatever measures were necessary to get voting rights for women. They’re beaten, imprisoned, treated like crap, but eventually as the end title cards tell us and as we all know, they got their way. Men were really insufferable back then, and, in certain ways, they’re equally insufferable now, but that’s another story for another notes. It’s one of those earnest Oscar-time films, with a nice score by the ubiquitous Alexandre Desplat. The director has a little too much hand-held camera for my taste. It’s reasonably short at 104 minutes.
Then I relaxed and just caught up with stuff.
Today, I have several things to deal with and deal with them I shall. The helper’s coming at ten and has a bit of shipping to do, then I’ll either eat or go to Gelson’s and get food to make here, and I’m expecting two or three screeners from UPS (I sign for them online), so I’ll be interested to see what they are. Hopefully I’ll pick up packages, and then I also have some writing to do, a final finessing of the commentary and then I’ll relax.
Tomorrow is more of the same, plus the Victor Young CDs should be in, at least that’s the hope. Oh, and it’s my birthday. No one has actually asked me to do anything, so perhaps I’ll just be all alone in the world. Wednesday is our sound check and show – we have a decent-sized audience, considering we’re mid-week and not on our usual Sunday. Thursday night I think I’m seeing a show, and then I have some meetings and meals and things to see on the weekend.
Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora or the mambo because today is the birthday of our very own beloved dear reader Jane. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our very own beloved dear reader Jane. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN BELOVED DEAR READER JANE!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, deal with things, see the helper, eat, hopefully pick up packages, get some UPS packages, write, finesse, and then relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What music and/or musical artists were life changers for you? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall fall asleep to the wonderful strains of Dave Brubeck’s Take Five.