Thanks to a hip tip from Ivy Style, here is a great shot of the patron (secular) saint of North Beach - and one of the last surviving Beat Poets - Lawrence Ferlinghetti. It is dated February 1957, San Francisco. It looks to be a theater of some sort based on the backdrop. But your guess is as good as mine. All of the shots from this Time magazine photo-shoot can be seen here.
This is a VERY cool and interesting clip. I first heard the song via Italian-American "blue-eyed soul" man Steve Alaimo. Digging through the crates at Rooky's record shop off of Fillmore one day, owner Dick Vivian, put this one on the hi-fi saying that he knew I would love it. He was correct. Released in the US on ABC-Paramount Records in 1964, it was a rare early example of a US ska disc cut by Alaimo and featuring a solid, swinging backing (Capitol Records studio, NYC, perhaps?). A few years later I got my ears on the original version by Jamaica's Blues Busters - equally cool and groovy. The Blues Busters are still one of my favorite acts from this era - perhaps because of their slightly more overt soul/R&B influence. The above clip is from a wonderful 1964 documentary This is Ska!which my pal Domenic Priore hipped me to years ago. I would LOVE to see someone get a hold of the original film and put it out on DVD, Blu-Ray, or whatever format they come up with next. But the real inspiration behind this post is the fact that I am off to LA this weekend to appear with Ron Silva & The Monarchs opening up for LA's kings of classic ska, Hepcat. See how it all ties in now? I thought so.
As a young boy, being raised as a Roman Catholic, I celebrated November 2nd as "All Souls Day". I must admit the succession of days around this time of year confused and (maybe) frightened me (a bit). Let's see. You have the secular holiday Halloween, proceeded by the pagan holiday Devil's Night and followed by the Holy Day of Obligation All Saints Day. After this is all over (and the sugar crash has faded away) comes All Souls Day, a day during which we were supposed to pray for the souls of all of the departed. Phew! That's a whole lotta hoodoo for one weekend. So this All Souls Day I am focusing what my soul needs. And I am thinking that entails some pre-crossover Staple Singers. Any suggestions on where to start?
If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger, There'd Be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycatsis not only the name of a Charles Mingus composition, but it is also the name of one of my favorite photo blogs covering a wide array of topics, but regularly featuring some great jazz shots. Today is Shutterbug Friday over there and they are featuring the photography of Blue Note Records' Francis Wolff in a series of several cool shots - many of which I have never seen. The latter statement does have some heft as I have made it my business to see as many of these photos as possible. Wolff took the above photo of the legendary (and my personal favorite) drummer Max Roach at Rudy Van Gelder's first studio in Hackensack, NJ on December 16, 1956 on a Sonny Rollins recording session. An alternate shot from the same session is for sale here, through Mosaic Records for those you who got the news that the recession is over and were looking to spend a little cash.
Born 1971 in San Diego, California. San Francisco resident since 1989. Guitarist. Performer. Director at an Event Marketing & Management Firm. World Traveler. Design Addict. Architecture Fan. Film-goer. Art Admirer (from afar). Possibly OCD.
Thanks to a hip tip from Ivy Style, here is a great shot of the patron (secular) saint of North Beach - and one of the last surviving Beat Poets - Lawrence Ferlinghetti. It is dated February 1957, San Francisco. It looks to be a theater of some sort based on the backdrop. But your guess is as good as mine. All of the shots from this Time magazine photo-shoot can be seen here.
As a young boy, being raised as a Roman Catholic, I celebrated November 2nd as "All Souls Day". I must admit the succession of days around this time of year confused and (maybe) frightened me (a bit). Let's see. You have the secular holiday Halloween, proceeded by the pagan holiday Devil's Night and followed by the Holy Day of Obligation All Saints Day. After this is all over (and the sugar crash has faded away) comes All Souls Day, a day during which we were supposed to pray for the souls of all of the departed. Phew! That's a whole lotta hoodoo for one weekend. So this All Souls Day I am focusing what my soul needs. And I am thinking that entails some pre-crossover Staple Singers. Any suggestions on where to start?
If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger, There'd Be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats is not only the name of a Charles Mingus composition, but it is also the name of one of my favorite photo blogs covering a wide array of topics, but regularly featuring some great jazz shots. Today is Shutterbug Friday over there and they are featuring the photography of Blue Note Records' Francis Wolff in a series of several cool shots - many of which I have never seen. The latter statement does have some heft as I have made it my business to see as many of these photos as possible. Wolff took the above photo of the legendary (and my personal favorite) drummer Max Roach at Rudy Van Gelder's first studio in Hackensack, NJ on December 16, 1956 on a Sonny Rollins recording session. An alternate shot from the same session is for sale here, through Mosaic Records for those you who got the news that the recession is over and were looking to spend a little cash.
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