Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to the violin concerto of one David Amram, a singular composer, whether in the concert hall or film music. I discovered him via his film music, of course – namely, an album called Hollywood’s Great Themes with Percy Faith, released in 1962. It remains my favorite movie theme album. My favorite track on it was the theme from Splendor in the Grass. I was so taken with the tune and the haunting chords, which were like nothing I’d ever heard, that I immediately sought out the name of the composer – David Amram. I quickly found the only other recorded version of the theme, released only on 45 by Stan Kenton. It was very different from the Percy Faith, but I still loved it. I hadn’t seen the film and wouldn’t for several years. Then, that very same year, I saw The Manchurian Candidate and as soon as the music began for the main titles, I knew it was David Amram, so unique was his style. No soundtrack from that one, not till decades later. There would be only one more major film score from him, The Arrangement in the later 1960s. However, back to 1962, I was in Discount Record Center on La Cienega and Wilshire, thumbing through the discount bins and I came upon a Columbia stereophonic soundtrack album to The Young Savages – music by David Amram. I snapped that puppy up instantly and loved it. Only in the 1970s did I discover his classical output, much of which is pure Amram and very enjoyable. I especially like his triple concerto and his Red River Valley variations for flute and orchestra. Flash forward to 1995 and Fred Karlin and I decided to do an album of 1960s movie themes and, of course, I wanted Splendor in the Grass on it. I was put in touch with Amram, and we hit it off right away. He sent me the music for it – it’s in storage – I really must go through all that stuff – and we recorded a terrific album. We hired a very well-known jazz French horn player to play the Splendor tune – unfortunately, he was a notoriously ego-laden guy whose best days were past. He came in, did is diva act, and proceeded to ruin take after take with cracked notes and clams. About the eighth take and the band was ready to kill him – and we had a GREAT band. We finally got something we could live with, but because of the experience, I never wanted to listen to it.
But then, just a few months later, a play version of On the Waterfront opened on Broadway – it was a flop and closed quickly, but the incidental music was by – David Amram. We quickly made a deal to issue it and it’s pretty terrific. I must find it and listen to it again. He’s now ninety-three and still at it. I’m thinking about e-mailing him and seeing if he has anything laying around that we could issue. Meanwhile, here’s the Percy Faith version of Splendor in the Grass for your mental delectation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gnLAPsRlZE
The entire album is on You Tube and it’s how I discovered David Raksin’s Too Late Blues (which we issued on CD) and Previn’s The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. It also has a great version of Rodgers and Hart’s Over and Over Again from Jumbo.
And then there was yesterday. The morning could certainly be described as the morning from hell. She of the Evil Eye arrived thirty minutes early – it’s been earlier and earlier. Just as my alarm went off, she was knocking at the door. I couldn’t believe it. I told her it cannot be that early. I hurriedly dressed and brushed my teeth and was in the motor car by 8:25. I’d decided to go to Uncle Bernie’s for breakfast – hadn’t done that in ages, and they’re much less expensive than Art’s and Hugo’s. Big mistake. It’s a ten-minute drive. Yesterday, it was a forty-five-minute drive. Ventura Blvd. was backed up at least s mile, to Kester. No movement. Have no idea what was up and wasn’t about to find out. I turned on Kester and headed north to Burbank Blvd. about three miles out of my way. Once there, I headed to Sepulveda – that was backed up three blocks, and by then my agitation level and claustrophobia level was at the boiling point. I got past that nonsense (it’s all in the way the idiots are programming the signals there) and began zooming along. I passed Woodley, got three blocks to find they’d closed Burbank Blvd. going west. At that point, I was ready to erupt. I pulled a U-turn and went back to Sepulveda and turned right to head back to Ventura Blvd. I got three blocks and could see cars backed up three miles. Thus began a classic BK meltdown. I pulled a U-turn and headed north to Victory. Headed east on Victory, got about a mile and came to a standstill for no discernable reason. At that point, I began screaming and hurling all kinds of amusing epithets to no one in particular. I screamed, railed, figured I was going to have a heart attack and die right then and there and wanted to eat the head of a chicken. Finally, we began to move. The issue? An accident being cleared and that had clearly happened over an hour before – nothing, and I mean NOTHING, was blocking any lanes, but the idiot drivers had to stop and look at the car being attached to a tow truck. Finally, past that, it was, thank the Lord, easy sailing to Uncle Bernie’s. I thought about ordering the head of a chicken, but instead I had bacon and eggs, and it was fine and ten bucks cheaper than Art’s or Hugo’s. I was there for an hour and fifteen minutes.
Then I headed to the freeway at ten-thirty figuring that traffic would be done – I could see it was anything BUT done, so I took surface streets back and went to Gelson’s. I bought something to eat for later in the day and then came home. There was no news about the book, so I wrote another missive. Then I decided I’d had quite enough of the morning from hell, thank you very much, not really, and had a somewhat heartening e-mail that I can’t talk about – but should the stars ever align in perfect harmony, it could be a VERY good thing. So, that was very nice. Then dear reader elmore happened to mention Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles. Hadn’t been there in ages and ages, in fact, I just looked it up and it was 2011 with Melody Hollis and family. So, I checked UberEats to see if they delivered and they did, so it was futile to fight it and I ordered my usual Carol’s Special – one breast, one waffle, and I also got a side of potato salad. I knew it probably wouldn’t travel that well but I could not resist, oh, no, I could not resist. It warrived about thirty-five-minutes later. I did microwave both waffle and breast, just a bit to put some heat back. I began with the waffle. It was great. Then the chicken breast – huge and wonderful. The potato salad wasn’t as good as I remembered.
Then I watched some irritating videos on YouTube, had a text volley, and then finally watched a motion picture from this year entitled The Great Lillian Hall, starring Jessica Lange as a legendary actress in the beginning throes of dementia. The screenplay was by the niece of the great Marian Seldes, who suffered from that very thing at the end. The director was Michael Cristofer, who seems to have eked out an entire career really based on one Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Shadow Box. Then somehow he was a director and not a very good one. He also takes a “Additional literary elements by” credit, his way of saying the Writer’s Guild would not allow him to share the writing credit. I’m pretty sure I know what his “literary” contributions were. Anyway, it’s a story we’ve now seen many times. not very well directed, but brilliantly acted by Jessica Lange. She is, as they say, worth the price of admission, which is, if you have Max, free. And here we are, at long last.
Today, I’ll be up by eleven at the latest, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll hopefully hear that the book has been sent to the printers, I’ll continue the hunt for young people for the August Kritzerland – found several really talented kids yesterday – and then at some point, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
The rest of the week is similar, Friday night is the reading of a screenplay, then I’m hoping for a restful weekend.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eleven at the latest, do whatever needs doing, hopefully have a book report, continue casting, then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, hoping we’re now past mornings from HELL but hoping we have nice days as we approach a month like to call July.