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January 12, 2017:

MY BUDDY

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, let me begin these here notes with a little tribute to Buddy Bregman, who died a couple of days ago. He was in his mid-eighties and had suffered from Alzheimer’s for quite a few years. We did a long interview with him on this here site and I recommend it for anyone who’d like to know more about his history. I met him in the late 1990s – he was a fan of my recordings. I can’t remember how we came to meet, whether it was through mutual friends or if he’d just contacted me, but we met several times and became very friendly. At some point I got the idea that we should do a swing album together – the Brian Setzer Band was having a lot of popularity, and Buddy had worked with Ella Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby and other Verve artists and he was a great arranger. He had a LOT of ego – no one ever accused Buddy of not having a healthy ego, but he was so talented that no one really cared. At that point, he’d been a record executive, a record producer and arranger and conductor, and had also produced for TV and films. But as for many in the late 1990s he was somewhat forgotten. So, we decided to go ahead and we made an absolutely stunning album called – Swing. His arrangements were amazing, the band we put together was the crème de la crème of LA musicians, and we had a blast doing that. In the ensuing years we always met and talked about doing other things. He really wanted to do one of my compilation albums but, of course, the gig at Varese ended and those albums went the way of the dodo bird. He came to several Christmas Dos in the early 2000s. He seemed to get frailer every time I’d see him, but if you got him started talking about the old days he perked right up.

I know he came to our release party back in 2006, I think, for the Stages/Together Again CD. And I saw him just a couple of times after that, and he was really frail and kind of out of it on those occasions. His brother came to one of our Kritzerland shows and told me Buddy wasn’t doing well – he was in an assisted living facility and the Alzheimer’s had really settled in. That was about two years ago. But he had a long and wonderful life and him musical endeavors live on. I don’t think he ever knew we put out his score to The Delicate Delinquent – he would have been delighted and it’s really a terrific score. So, RIP my Buddy – as they say in She Loves Me, it was grand knowing you.

Yesterday was an interesting little day. I don’t remember why, but I do remember it being interesting in an interesting way. I was up at ten after about seven-and-a-a-half hours of sleep. I answered e-mails and got coherent around ten-thirty, but only was able to futz and finesse a couple of lines as our very own Jason Graae came by and I hadn’t seen him in such a long time we ended up chatting for about forty-five minutes. Then he left and I futzed and finessed only about three pages, after which I went and had a bacon cheeseburger and no fries or onion rings. Then I picked up a package and came back home.

I immediately futzed and finessed the rest of the previous day’s writing and I added two completely new pages to it, so that meant I’d written two pages for the day. I wrote another three, took a break, and wrote another couple of pages, then took a break and sat on my couch like so much fish.

Yesterday, I watched a motion picture on Blu and Ray entitled Snowden. I knew absolutely nothing about it, didn’t even know they’d made a movie about Edward Snowden, the whistleblower. The director was Oliver Stone (right up his alley) and it starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He does a fine job as Snowden and speaks normally, a big plus. Some of the supporting players are mumblers and therefore I can’t stand their performances. Oliver Stone does this kind of film very well and even though I knew the story and had seen a fine documentary, I was thoroughly engrossed throughout the movie and it moved very quickly. This one seems to have been a huge bomb, which is a shame, but it’s probably the kind of movie that will thrive on home video. Anyway, I liked it and would have liked it better if it had an actual real movie score instead of the drone that it has. The transfer is fine as is the sound.

After that, I buckled down, Winsocki and wrote about three more pages – I was going to shower and then write another page and a half for a total of eleven, but I actually finished the page and a half then took a hot shower. I got one fantastic idea to use for the last part of the book, and a couple of ideas for the part I was in. So, I wrote those down and then ended up writing another page and a half for a total of twelve and a half pages, which means I’m actually ahead for today’s writing.

Today will be an all writing day, I think. I can’t remember if I have a meeting at some point, so hopefully someone will remind me if I do. Otherwise, I’ll futz and finesse, write new pages, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, write, begin the commentary, write, perhaps watch a motion picture, and write.

Tomorrow I’ll write in the morning, then at noon I’ll be at LACC to shoot a little video for use in an Indiegogo campaign I’m helping them with. They really don’t know how Indiegogo works and came to me, and I am happy to help them set it up and make it appealing. That really shouldn’t take more than forty-five minutes, and then I’ll probably have some lunch at the House of Pies. Then it’s back to writing. The weekend will be all writing, and I’ll either print out the latest batch of pages for Muse Margaret on late Saturday but more likely around noon on Sunday.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, futz and finesse, write, eat, hopefully pick up packages, and write. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films about real-life events regarding politics and the government? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, wishing a fond farewell and happy afterlife to my buddy, Buddy.

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