Daphnis et Chloé (1912) and Artistry in Rhythm (1943)

Messrs. Merriam and Webster define serendipity as "the phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for." So, how does this grab ya? I made a fairly last-minute decision to attend the San Francisco's Symphony performance this past Sunday afternoon. Stravinsky, Bernstein and Ravel were on the bill and the sound of modern classical music performed live by a symphony orchestra never fails to really thrill me. Seriously. At any rate, I set out by foot to the symphony hall early in the afternoon with the intention of buying whatever ticket I could get my hands on. Arriving at the box office I was told that "rush" tickets were available for a mere $20. What more, I could sit front row center, if I so chose. Yes, I did choose. Once I was settled in my seat, the program notes informed me that the Stravinsky piece would not be performed due to performer visa/immigration problems. Well OK, I thought, Lenny and Maurice would have to see me through.

Michael Tilson Thomas (or MTT if you are into the brevity thing) made his typical grand entrance at the appointed time and promptly informed us that while the Stravinsky chorale would not be performed that he would be treating us all to a 3-movement "Ode." Yes, a treat indeed. What more, this particular piece featured a middle section originally written for the Sir Laurence Olivier film version of Jane Eyre. It would seem Igor yearned to break into the film composing game, something I never knew about the Russian genius. It was an excellent, if brief, piece of music which was followed by Leonard Bernstein's ...

The second half of the program held the biggest surprise though. Maurice Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé was originally written as a ballet and was the longest piece of music the composer wrote. Its dynamics really need to be heard to believe, while it ran the whole gamut of musical emotion. I am being serious here people. I will 'fess up to nodding off at one brief moment, when the clarinets and harps lulled me into a beautiful deep submission. In fact, I found myself daydreaming - wondering what it would be like to have "lounge seats" at the symphony where an afternoon lie down would not be frowned upon. But I snapped to, made sure the conductor did not notice my transgression and focused back on the music. Yes, I could almost read the music of the first violinist who sat a few feet from me.

And then I made a connection.

What was that riff? OK, motif as the long-hairs would call it. But where had I heard that before?

Hear it? Listen closely. I did. And then it hit me.

OK, so the above may not be the best performances of the pieces in question, but you get the idea. Of course, once I got home I hit the Google machine and several pages made mention of the relationship between the two pieces of music. I just love the serendipity of it though. Perhaps it is time to go back and give Stan Kenton's Orchestra a little more ear time? Perhaps.

Hank Jones (1918-2010)

January 6 or 11, 1961

Reeves Sound Studios, New York City

Riverside Records Session

Photo by Bob Parent, courtesy of Getty Images

Rest In Peace, Mr. Jones

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings at The Apollo Theater (2010)

Harlem, New York, NY

Photo by Ryan Barkan

There are some more excellent pics here, including The Dap-Kings sporting continental cross-over ties, which of course get my whole-hearted seal of approval.

Turk & Hyde (Yesterday & Today)

What I love about the JazzWax blog is the way the author manages to convey his enthusiasm about his subject matter. I nearly almost "walk" away from the blog with the desire to download the tracks he mentions, be it a known quantity like Charlie Parker with Lennie Tristano or someone who I never thought to be up my street like Helen Merrill or Joe Mooney. Marc also does a great job illustrating his posts. Take this post for example. Sure, I like Shelly Manne. In fact, nearly every time I hear him play I think, "Man, is this guy under appreciated and sadly forgotten." Well, Marc addresses exactly that and does so quite well. If you are a fan of the jazz music, I strongly recommend you make this blog a habit.

I nabbed one of Marc's photos (apologies to the copyright holder, but there is a purpose to all of this)
Thanks to miracle products over at Google we can see just exactly what the same spot looks like today. What a shame.

The Tenderloin (as that particular neighborhood is known) has been San Francisco's skid row certainly ever since I have been in the City (1989). There's always been a few good bars and nite spots to attract the likes of me, but overall it's pretty rough going and a pretty grim reminder of the cost of urban living.

The MGs (1962)

I recently rented and watched Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story and was somewhat disappointed. Chips Moman, Lewie Steinberg, and Packy Axton all got the short shrift to say the least. After grousing a bit on Facebook, I gave it a lot of thought. Admittedly, I do know quite a bit more than the average person about Stax and it's history, but my fear is that through these "definitive" statements, some folks often just end up getting marginalized - no disrespect intended to any of those involved with the documentary (or any other attempts to tell the story). So here are a couple of bits I culled over the years about the legendary Stax house band...

The MG's (or M.G.s or MG's or M.G.'s - all these variations appeared on their early singles and LPs) were "formed" in June 1962. While the actual date is unknown (early Stax session logs are not very helpful it would seem), it was recalled by participants to be a rare-for-the-label Sunday session. The focus was to be Billy Lee Riley who may or may not have recorded a couple tracks with a pulled-together backing band consisting of Booker T. Jones (Hammond organ), Steve Cropper (guitar), Lewis Steinberg (bass), and Al Jackson, Jr. (drums). All had done recording work for the label, but it was quite possibly the first time the four had played together as a quartet with no additional musicians. In fact, the first call drummer may not have been Jackson. Howard Grimes who appeared on a number of early Stax sessions - including a number of Mar-Keys recordings, missed the phone call for the session.

MG has come to be stand for "Memphis Group" in many of the official bios and blurbs. But the footnote version is a little more complicated. Initially, "The MGs" referred to the British sports car. Yes, a bit eccentric for the early 1960s in Tennessee, but true all the same. In fact, the instrumental combo who proceeded The MGs was named The Triumphs after producer Chips Moman's British sports car. Once "Green Onions" took off and the pick-up group had been established as a bona-fide recording act/house band (and not to mention, once Moman was out of the picture) - perhaps as late as the Al Bell era - publicity started to carry the more widely-known definition. In fact, if anyone knows the first mention of this, I would love to hear from you via the comments section.

One final note. Bass man Lewie Steinberg (pictured above, far right) played on every Booker T & MGs recording through the end of 1964 including both of their first 2 LPs. Lewie is still with us, living in Memphis. Wouldn't it be GREAT to read a full length interview with the man himself? His involvement in Memphis music goes deep, long before the Stax-era. Again, if anyone knows of any good links to Steinberg, please let me know.

Steve McQueen (1963)

Life Magazine has just released some previously unpublished photos of the legendary Steve McQueen. There are some great candid shots (including a glimpse of an Eames recliner in LA home) and some cheesecake for the gals, but this photo is the one for me. Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, The Jazztet, Sintra/Basie. As if the guy needed to be any more hip?

Al Caiola (1955)

Deep in a Dream - The Guitar of Al Caiola

Savoy Records, 1955

Recorded in Rudy Van Gelder's parent's living room