Flamingo by Alexander Calder (1973)

Photo by Raniero Tazzi

Barney Kessel Trio (1962)

I've been digging deeper into Charlie Christian lately and have been re-evaluating some of those guys he most heavily influenced. I haven't given Barney Kessel a lot of air time around the flat in the past, but that has been changing. I've always respected him - but some of his tracks are downright top notch. Here's a clip featuring Kessel's tight 1962 trio with the legendary Stan Levey on drums (anyone who held down a regular gig in Charlie Parker's group is legendary in my book). What more is that I am 90% sure this was taken from Steve Allen's "Jazz Scene U.S.A." hosted by none other than Oscar Brown, Jr. (aka THE MAN). OBJ is absent from the clip, but he is with us always in spirit.

Chico Hamilton Quintet (1956)

From the Life archives. Photo by Gordon Parks. Hollywood, California.

Work Promotes Confidence (1936)

What this administration needs is a series of great posters with great graphic design. And I mean, like quick!

Outside, Looking In

I thought I would share a couple of interesting "outsider" perspectives on the state of the States, as it were. I use the parenthetical term outsider only because I honestly feel that our fates as human beings are more and more intertwined as the world truly gets smaller and smaller with the passing days.

The first comment comes from a good friend (UK born/bred) who I met while he was living here in San Francisco (only mentioned as I think it gives him a little inside perpective as well). It's an interesting perspective coming from someone who until just recently was living and involved with business at a fairly high-level in the United States. He is now living in France and is able to look at things from yet another angle.

The prospect of unemployment in this country has never been good (yes, I have been unemployed, several times). For all of the historical rhetoric on what makes this country great, taking care of it's own has never been it's strong suit. For centuries with only a couple of side-steps, the USA has existed as and perpetuated an unapologetic, often aggressive free-market capitalist system. Until recently history books and much of the world (despite what one might think) have been very kind to that system. But I think what we have seen not only with the recent crash and burn of the US economy but as early as the beginning of the most recent Presidential campaign, was a large-scale grass-roots challenge to the way things have been done for most of our lifetimes. I found in Obama' campaign rhetoric (and in many other candidates including people like John Edwards) a desire to move away from the "greed is good" axiom that has shaped much of the US policy, both domestic and foreign. Sure, it took Oliver Stone (yes, a rare doff of my cap to him) and Stanley Weiser to articulate it in a pop sound-bite manner - but it does capture the essence of the system in a concise way I have never heard bettered.

My hope is that the ground-swell of progressive thought that so many of us have been caught up as of late will not only actualize some of the proto-Socialist dreams of our youth, but will truly challenge the axiom of greed in a manner that is long over-due here. Hold on. I just menioned hopes and dreams in the same sentence. I should move on.

The second comment comes from one of the BBC's US correspondents/bloggers. For years, my version of reading the morning paper was having my home page set to the BBC. It was a way to look in from the outside. I hadn't been on the Beeb's newspage in a while (it's the NY Times these day for me), but just happened across it earlier this week. The header caught my eye. After a youthful appreciation of the English Romantic poets (Lord Byron's biography, John Keats poetry, Samuel Taylor Coleridge's connection to Iron Maiden, et al), I have long considered somewhat in the Romantic tradition. What I mean is that I do believe people are good at the core - or at least born as such. The negativity that deforms and degrades is the product of the environment in my belief: corruption, misfortune, ignorance, pain. This belief also led to my being labeled a "heretic" by a lay professor in Catholic college and contributed towards current religious beliefs - but, again, I digress...

"Ozymandias" is a poem that has stayed with me for years. I instantly recalled it sentiment and drew a mental connection between Percy Bysshe Shelly's 1817 sonnet (reportedly inspired by a visit to the British Museum) and the speeches posted on the Beeb from both President Obama and ex-Governor Bush. I strongly encourage you to read the full text of the sonnet and then listen to/read the speeches in succession. The progression from Bush to Obama is astounding - although Shelley's image of the boundless and bare sands remains the most powerful.

Club Deluxe (2009)

The missus and I stepped out last night for a drink or two and some offline social networking. Posed with the challenge of what to do with a Saturday night in San Francisco, I hit my usual web resources and saw that a friend was scheduled to play the Club Deluxe on Haight Street. I have performed at the small bar/nightclub off and on for the past 10 years or so, often holding down a residency gig there. It hasn't changed...much. Well to be fair (and to reveal one of it's more appealing attributes), Club Deluxe seemingly hasn't changed since it was opened in 1949. I first visited the club in early 1992 to see the Royal Crown Revue in one of their earliest San Francisco performances and it was my first introduction to "swank".

Well, the Deluxe is still swinging. The last couple of times I have been in the club I have spoken with it's owner who tells me crowds are good and steady these days. Live music (mostly jazz, mostly straight-ahead) is fairly consistent Thursday through Sunday nights and because of the the closure of several other notable jazz venues in the City you are just as likely to hear some local "A Listers" as you are to hear anyone else.

Spending a couple of hours there last night reminded me why I have frequented this bar for so long as well as keep returning to perform there, the latter of which I plan to do so again soon.

Now about those WPA-style murals on the walls...oh OK, another post for another time...

Hank Jones (2009)

I found the perfect tonic for the sadness of the recent passing of so many great artists: I got out and saw a living legend! Jazz pianist Hank Jones has been performing since the mid-1940s alongside so many other greats of the Modern Jazz Era. In addition to early stints with Jazz at the Philharmonic and associations with both Charlie Parker and Ella Fitzgerald, Jones held down something of "house pianist" chair at Savoy Records in the 1950s, while at the same time maintaining a staff job at CBS. Needless to say, he is on more great records than one can almost imagine (take a look through your stack to see for yourself).

Last week Jones showed himself to be the consummate trio pianist of that era, but in no way tied down by history. I am still savoring what he offered musical and to see him perform alongside Jon Clayton and Clayton Cameron was a rare treat. New Yorkers should be sure to keep their eyes on the Iridium calendar as he performer there March 11-15 with another top-notch group.

Here's a clip of a nice, intimate portrait of Jones taking about his early days and "bebop"...