Lennie Tristano

Lennie Tristano is a somewhat neglected figure in the jazz world, known as much for the musicians who played with him, like Lee Konitz, as for his own abilities. Here is a rare clip of Tristano playing solo piano in Copenhagen in 1965. The song is "Tangerine".

The Old Fashioned Way

I have a long time interest in comic books, both for the art and, at its best, the storytelling. Even so I haven't followed the DC and Marvel lines for a long time, in part I just don't have the time, money or space to read and collect the stuff anymore, in part because I'm just turned off by the cheap cynicism and convoluted storytelling that has consumed both companies. Still I just have enough interest left to pay attention to it all and occasionally wonder if I'm missing anything. I finally ran across one story that appealed to me, DC's Justice.

Justice is a maxiseries by Jim Kreuger, Alex Ross and Doug Braithwaite featuring the Justice League Of America. It's a story blessedly free of all the recent twists and turns of DC continuity that is simply about all the classic Justice League members, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, et al., dealing with the combined menace of a bunch of their old enemies who suddenly present themselves as the saviours of humanity. The tone is serious but not overly grim with personalities well sketched and characters acting recognizably. Ross' and Braithwaite's art is epic and powerful giving a weight to this cast, especially the villains, that they rarely had in the formative 60's and 70's.

Of course I just read the first of three volumes, so now I want to find the other two, which is more than I've been able to say about any super-hero comic in years. This was not enough to make me a comic book junkie again but it reminded me what I ever got out of the stuff.

Gayle McCormick and Smith

After Janis Joplin broke big in the early 70's a number of bluesy, hard-singing female vocalists appeared on the scene, either solo or fronting bands. There was Genya Ravan witrh Ten Wheel Drive, Lydia Pense with Cold Blood and in particular there was Gayle McCormick with a band called simply Smith. This is Smith performing "Baby It's You" and little more commentary is needed. The only other thing I want to say is that I'd like to go back in time and slap the jackass who prevented this woman from becoming a major star.

The Original Little Green Bag

When I first saw "Reservoir Dogs" like everyone else I was blown away by the credit sequence with the robbers in the black suits walking along in slow motion, not the least because I knew the song playing underneath, "Little Green Bag" by The Groge Baker Selection.

The George Baker Selection was one of three Dutch bands, along with the Shocking Blue and the Tee Set, that was promoted in America as a supposed "Dutch Invasion". They all had minor hits over here, the Shocking Blue's "Venus" being the biggest but nobody really remembers them outside of the people who heard them at the time, including I suppose Quentin Tarantino. Here is the original video for "Little Green Bag" which coincedentally features a lot of walking. Judging by the group's other videos this was a novelty song for them because everything else I looked at is the cheesiest sort of oompah laden European pop.

Mister Five By Five

One of my all time favorite singers, the imperious Buddha of the Blues, Jimmy Rushing, seen here in his youthful glory with the Count Basie band.

Lounge-ing Away

Ah, the Lounge Lizards. They began a mock-Jazz group doing "ironic" covers of old 50's cool jazz tunes but eventually morphed into their very hip original identity. I'm not sure how old this clip is or where it's from but all the usual front guys are here, John Lurie, Curtis Fowlkes and Roy Nathanson. The highlight here though is some sick guitar by Marc Ribot. The tune is "Big Heart".

Sukiyaki

Here's a song I've always liked though I'm a little embarassed to admit I remember when it first came out in 1962. It's a Japanese pop song, "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto which I believe was the first foreign language song to reach Number One on the American charts. I've always loved the arrangement of this with the trombones and strings. It sounds like the closing theme for some Western as the hero slowly walks out of town. Coincidentally there is a lot of walking in this clip which comes from a Japanese TV show, "Shall We Meet At Seven".

Manic Street Preachers - Suicide Is Painless

I'm not intimately familiar with the Manic Street Preachers but I've heard enough of their music to think they have followed a weird career trajectory. The early songs I've heard by them sounded like punky Clash knockoffs. Then somewhere along the way while their lyrics continued to have Marxist-Leftist sentiments, their music changed to soaring widescreen pop which is fine with me because songs like "A Design For Life" and "If You Tolerate This..." are brilliantly catchy works, a lot better than what a comparable band like U2 usually puts out.

All that said this video is for a cover of "Suicide Is Painless", a wonderfully sarcastic song from one of the great anti-war films of all time, M*A*S*H. The instrumental TV version leaves out how jarring this piece is but the Manics bring that feeling back.