Class Acts

Miles Davis' Kind of Blue

2012-01-20T05:06:00.000-08:00

by Len Hart

Why play so many notes instead of just choosing the most beautiful? --Miles Davis

Jazz historians know this date: April 22, 1959, the date on which Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Julian "Cannonball" Adderly, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, and James Cobb recorded the watershed Kind of Blue album. Words like "watershed", "milestone" or even "seminal" are often used to describe this LP, remembered for Miles' efforts to loosen the "harmonic strictures on Jazz improvisation". Prior to Kind of Blue, musicians improvised within specific chord sequences. Kind of Blue shifted the paradigm with free improvisations based upon 'modes' i.e, scale sequences.

Prior to Kind of Blue, Miles had already voiced his displeasure with bebop's seeming dependence on increasingly complex chord structures. The musical underpinnings of five pieces on Kind of Blue are modes or scales --not complex chord patterns. It was not entirely revolutionary. Modes had been used extensively before the baroque and classical eras and more recently by composer Ralph Vaughn Williams.

Miles was convinced that 'modal improvisation" might liberate jazz which he believed had become increasingly 'thick'. Indeed --Kind of Blue immediately impresses with the elegant simplicity of its style and the fresh transparency of its delightful harmonic inventions.

That this CD represents yet another re-issue of this landmark recording is appropriate when a renewed interest in jazz is especially keen. There are, of course, many fans who never left this uniquely American art form. Yet, as Rock N' Roll and the subsequent British Invasion swept up the counter-culture that birthed modern jazz in its inception, jazz very nearly lost its pre-imminent voice among that larger audience.

It is not just that the technical problems which beset earlier releases of Kind of Blue have been admirably solved and addressed in this CD, it is a recording to "come back" to. As in live sessions and in the original recording sessions, Miles' phrasings are full-throated (not tinny or off-key) and spontaneously brilliant in the absolute richness of the musical ideas they represent. Likewise, Coltrane and Adderly dazzle us with seemingly infinite improvisational motifs seamless in their gestaltic wholeness.

Then there is Bill Evans! What can be said of such genius and virtuosity that his notes are precisely "right" yet never fail to delight or surprise?

If you are one of those who momentarily left jazz, come back to this CD. Listen yet again for the first time. At a time when Rock is sounding somewhat tired and long in the tooth, Miles and crew have never sounded fresher or newer.

So What by Miles Davis from 'Kind of Blue'

More Davis et al from Kind of Blue

Kind of Blue from a TV Broadcast

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Betty Boop: Wonderland Jig Saw Puzzle

2011-10-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

The famous (or infamous) animated character, Betty Boop, was created by Max Fleischer and made her first appearance in the Talkartoon film series produced by Fleischer studios and released by Paramount. She has also been featured in comic strips and mass merchandising.

She was actually 'toned down' during the mid-1930s, an apparent effort to make her more demure. Even so, she became one of the most well-known and popular cartoon characters.

Betty Boop made her first appearance on August 9, 1930, in the cartoon Dizzy Dishes;[5] the sixth installment in Fleischer's Talkartoon series. Although Clara Bow is often given as being the model for Boop,[7] she actually began as a caricature of singer Helen Kane.[8] The character was originally created as an anthropomorphic French poodle.

Max Fleischer finalized Betty Boop as a human character in 1932, in the cartoon Any Rags. Her floppy poodle ears became hoop earrings, and her black poodle nose became a girl's button-like nose. Betty Boop appeared as a supporting character in 10 cartoons as a flapper girl with more heart than brains. In individual cartoons, she was called "Nancy Lee" or "Nan McGrew" – derived from the 1930 Helen Kane film Dangerous Nan McGrew – usually serving as a girlfriend to studio star, Bimbo.

LikeTelevision Watch Movies and TV Shows
Betty Boop in Wonderland

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Popeye Makes a Movie

2011-09-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

'Popeye Makes a Movie' dates to 1950. Popeye and Olive prepare to make a movie and the nephews get to watch and learn how movies are made. This movie is a part of the longer 'Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves' of 1937 which makes up some 80% of this release.

It includes the beginning in which Popeye and Olive are suffering from heat and lack of water in the desert. The nephews are involved at key plot points, primarily by tossing Popeye his spinach when he needs it most.

Popeye Makes a Movie

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Sydney Poiter Reads Plato's 'The Allegory of the Cave'

2011-09-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

When Poitier's interpretation of classic passages by Plato were released, JFK had been recently assassinated in Dallas, the United States was bogged down in Viet Nam, Berlin was divided, the world had devolved into two incompatible spheres --a 'west of the wall' and an 'east of the wall'. A generation protested the U.S. presence in Viet Nam; a Civil Rights Movement demanded of an establishment: '...let our people go!" We sought to leave the cave! We sought to 'behold the light'.

The son of a wealthy and noble family, Plato (427-347 B.C.) was preparing for a career in politics when the trial and eventual execution of Socrates (399 B.C.) changed the course of his life. He abandoned his political career and turned to philosophy, opening a school on the outskirts of Athens dedicated to the Socratic search for wisdom. Plato's school, then known as the Academy, was the first university in western history and operated from 387 B.C. until A.D. 529, when it was closed by Justinian.

Unlike his mentor Socrates, Plato was both a writer and a teacher. His writings are in the form of dialogues, with Socrates as the principal speaker. In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato described symbolically the predicament in which mankind finds itself and proposes a way of salvation. The Allegory presents, in brief form, most of Plato's major philosophical assumptions: his belief that the world revealed by our senses is not the real world but only a poor copy of it, and that the real world can only be apprehended intellectually; his idea that knowledge cannot be transferred from teacher to student, but rather that education consists in directing student's minds toward what is real and important and allowing them to apprehend it for themselves; his faith that the universe ultimately is good; his conviction that enlightened individuals have an obligation to the rest of society, and that a good society must be one in which the truly wise (the Philosopher-King) are the rulers.

The Allegory of the Cave can be found in Book VII of Plato's best-known work, The Republic, a lengthy dialogue on the nature of justice. Often regarded as a utopian blueprint, The Republic is dedicated toward a discussion of the education required of a Philosopher-King.

The following selection is taken from the Benjamin Jowett translation (Vintage, 1991), pp. 253-261. As you read the Allegory, try to make a mental picture of the cave Plato describes. Better yet, why not draw a picture of it and refer to it as you read the selection. In many ways, understanding Plato's Allegory of the Cave will make your foray into the world of philosophical thought much less burdensome.
--The History Guide, Lectures on Modern European Intellectual History, Plato's 'The Allegory of the Cave'

Sydney Poitier Interprets Plato

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Maxwell Anderson: Winterset

2011-08-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

James Maxwell Anderson (15 December 1888 – 28 February 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist and lyricist. His most famous play --Winterset --is a drama written largely in poetic form. It deals with an American tragedy: the executions of Sacco and Vanzetti, two Italian immigrants whose politics were considered to be 'radical'.

In fact, Ferdinando Nicola Sacco (April 22, 1891–August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (June 11, 1888–August 23, 1927) were anarchists --not terrorists. Today, there are few who believe that the charges against them were, in any way, justified. The trial on charges they murdered two men during a bank robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts is still controversial for what has been called the 'utter lack of evidence' against them. After a controversial trial, a series of appeals, Sacco and Vanzetti were executed August 23, 1927.

There is still a highly politicized dispute over their guilt or innocence. Many believe that the trial were unfair, there was no admissible evidence against them, that much of the evidence was contradictory. There remains no consensus among historians.

The plot of 'Winterset' follows the 'quest' of Mio Romagna to prove his father’s innocence years after Bartolomeo Romagna had been executed for the crimes of robbery and murder. Mio's quest is complicated by his love for Miriamne Esdras and difficult ethical decisions resulting from his connection to her family.

Not surprisingly --'Winterset' is a very political play with 'Shakespearean meditations' on faith, truth, justice, love, and duty. It frequently alludes to the Bard as well as to Judaic philosophy.

The Broadway production was produced and directed by Guthrie McClintic. It opened September 25, 1935 at the Martin Beck Theatre in New York and ran for 195 performances. The cast included Burgess Meredith, Margo, and Eduardo Ciannelli. It won the first ever New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play.

Meredith, Margo, and Ciannelli were joined by John Carradine, Stanley Ridges, and Mischa Auer in the 1936 film adaptation, directed by Alfred Santell.

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Detour - The Complete Movie

2011-04-28T05:29:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

'Detour' seems always to be on any list of classic, film noir movies, a 'style' said to have reached its zenith in the early 40's. The term itself is attributed to a French Critic --Nino Frank. Literally, it means 'black films.' No one set out to make a 'film noir'. Most 'film noir' are dark, shadowy, suspenseful, and, often, filmed on smaller budgets with smaller casts and available locations. Few huge studio films are associated with this style most often associated with independent producers.

The style results from creative efforts to rise above the limitations of set, scene, and size of cast. While 'classic' Hollywood was producing epics in full color --'The Ten Commandments', 'The Wizard of Oz', smaller producers were make suspenseful crime dramas and influencing larger producers to cast stars like Humphrey Bogart in classic films like 'The Big Sleep'.

The following film is proof that good movies can be made with smaller budgets. Here's the official synopsis of 'Detour':

A Man is involved in two freakish accidents that make him look like a murderer. Poverty row masterwork that is the most precise elucidation of the noir theme of explicit fatalism." - noir expert Spencer Selby | Cast: Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake, Edmund MacDonald. | A B-movie, it was shot in six days. The film, budgeted for $89,000 and ended up costing $117,000 to make.

Detour

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Staring at Hopper

2011-03-31T12:19:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

It could be a still-frame from an Alfred Hitchcock movie —a stately lighthouse towering above eye-level. Were not the blues so beautiful and rich it would be bleak.

Another image, Early Sunday Morning, is enigmatic
—a subtle study of the not so gentle play of early morning rays that rake the broken surface of a row of decaying, urban facades of a shade of burnt sienna so nearly the color of dried blood that we are discomforted. It is a building made surrealistically stark in the sunrise sidelight; we can only wonder —were these buildings ever inhabited?

And finally –a window lit interior reminiscent of Vermeer. But there are no rich tapestries, no virginals, no Sixteenth Century maps.

Just a woman staring blankly out the open window at, we uneasily suspect, nothing at all.

The artist is the quintessential American artist: Edward Hopper. One of his most famous paintings, Night Hawks, depicts a near empty diner in the wee, small hours of the morning. Night Hawks, painted in 1942, is a tour-de-force of American "film noir". The man in the fedora could be Sam Spade; his female companion —a leggy client. [See the detail view of Night Hawks]

It is fitting that this painting is parodied in an image that has become almost as famous as the original. In it, the diner is peopled by Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, and James Dean. Like these personalities both Hopper and his satirists have captured the essence of American alienation —people in public, together, but alone, and at night. If the street outside is not wet, it should be and will be, soon; if not tonight, some night! And in a black and white movie. Here’s lookin’ at you kid.

Hopper himself claims no such intentions. His purpose was merely to capture the play of light and shade. That he succeeded so brilliantly is undeniable. However, Hopper himself acknowledged viewers’ interpretations even if he did not agree with them. Of one of his paintings, he wrote:

The picture is an attempt to paint sunlight as white, with almost or no yellow pigment in the white. Any psychologic [Sic] idea will have to be supplied by the viewer.
—Edward Hopper

Unlike many another American artist, Hopper never intended to develop an “American” style; he did so in spite of himself. His goal was more modest.

“I guess I'm not very human. All I really want to do is paint light on the side of a house."
—Edward Hopper

He succeeded admirably. His painting of 1925, House by the Railroad, is a study of sunlight on the side of a house, to be sure, but much more besides.

The low vantage point, like that of his famous lighthouse, is as edgy as the Bates Motel. We are curious but not nearly curious enough to want to go inside. Like his silent, lonely human observers who stare into the void, the façade stares but at you!

Hopper’s compositions are minimalist. But it would be uncharacteristic of Hopper to have done so because he believed in a doctrine like "less is more".

No, Hopper was just being Hopper when in 1951, he returned to the open window to the sea theme. As if to underscore a recurring theme of emptiness, he left out the staring woman. We are left with the emptiness in a bare room.

Stare at a Hopper long enough and you will find yourself in Hopper’s universe beside the young woman staring out the open window, among the anonymous souls together and alone in the diner, like the stately lighthouse which regards a vast but empty ocean. Friedrich Nietzche said that if you stare into the abyss long enough, it will stare back at you. Is that what it means to be alone?

Americana

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Robin McKelle: Bei Mir Bist du Schon

2011-03-26T13:56:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

"Bei Mir Bistu Shein" has been a big hit for many great and/or popular musicians since it was cmposed by Jacob Jacobs (lyricist) and Sholom Secunda (composer) for a 1932 Yiddish musical. Secunda is said to have sold publishing rights for $30.

The original Yiddish version, a dialogue between two lovers, became a hit with English lyrics. Sammy Cahn heard a performance by African American performers Johnnie and George at the Apollo Theater in Harlem in 1937 and was immediately convinced that it was hit material. Buying the rights, Cahn and Saul Chaplin rewrote the song with English lyrics and added contemporary 'swing rhythms' and orchestrations. He then convinced the 'still unknown' Andrews Sisters to record the song on November 24, 1937. It became their first major hit, earning the 'sisters' a gold record --believed to be the first ever for a female vocal group.

A world-wide hit, Renata Flores sang it in the film The Last Metro. A Russian language version featured the State Jazz Orchestra. It was at least as big a hit in Nazi Germany but only until its Jewish origins were discovered and banned.

The following version is by Robin Mckelle.

Bei Mir Bist du Schoen

Abracadabra

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Ray Charles, Barbra Streisand: Cryin' Time

2011-03-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

Crying Time is often thought of as a Country and Western song; indeed, it was written by the legendary Buck Owens in 1964. Owens recorded a version of his song, but it failed to reach the music charts; but the 'cover' by Ray Charles was a huge hit on several charts, most notably the Billboard Hot 100 where it reached the No. 6 and number 5 on the R&B chart.

Typical of Ray Charles' talent, his version retains the C&W flavor yet does not compromise his unique approach to soul. It was a huge hit. Just as interesting is his televised duet with Barbara Streisand. The Ray Charles' version of "Crying Time" won two Grammy Awards in 1967 --Best R&B Recording and Best R&B Solo Performance.

Charles considered his version to be an homage to the 'Country and Western' style. Among other recordings of C&W songs is his hit with "I Can't Stop Loving You".

Following are two of the 'same' video. I believe the top one has better audio quality but the bottom embed is of higher quality video. Your choice.

Ray Charles, Barbra Streisand: Cryin' Time

Barbra Streisand and Ray Charles - Crying time -Live found on Pop

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The Fantasticks

2011-03-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

Back in 1960, few could have known that an improbable musical called "The Fantasticks" would become the world's longest running musical --on or off Broadway. Like many things "New York", the 'Fantasticks' might have fallen victim to 911 but, in fact, it's closing had been announced on September 6, 2001. Like all closings theatrical, a general decline in box office sales and attendance was blamed. In a run of some 42 years, the "Fantasticks" established an enviable record of 17,162 performances --a record.

The opening met mixed reviews but eventually became the most frequently produced show with 11,000 productions in some 3,000 cities and towns. Forty-four original investors were pleasantly surprised by a 19,465% return on their initial contributions. By comparison, "Cats," the longest-running show in Broadway history, finished last September at a measly 7,485 performances.

"The Fantasticks" announced its closing once before -- in 1986 -- but a flurry of business kept it going. By the end of 2000, the show had grossed more than $23 million.

--Curtains for 'The Fantasticks'

The musical is known for the songs "Try to Remember" and "Soon It's Gonna Rain" and is often called a "mock version" of Romeo and Juliet" because the two families do not really feud as is the case in Shakespeare. In the 'Fantasticks', rather, two fathers feign a feud to encouraging young love with a bit of 'reverse psychology'.

Syracuse Stage's production is composed of a treasury of talent. Amster's actors master his choreography during the "Abduction Ballet" scene, wherein El Gallo and his two cronies kidnap Luisa and feign defeat at Matt's hands. Emmy award-winner Norris commands attention as Henry, "The Old Actor," whenever he speaks. Studwell's baritone voice booms as El Gallo during the famous number "Try to Remember" and cooperates with Matt's equally capable singing during their duet, "I Can See It."

Marrero costumes the cast in excellent, eclectic garb. To name a few, El Gallo sports a swooshing cape, the fathers wear comfy-looking overalls and gardening gloves, Mortimer dresses as a pirate, and the Mute in her horizontal-stripe outfit looks like she came directly from an avenue in Paris.

Bradley's inspired set design also seems influenced by artistic references; in the beginning, El Gallo enters in front of a cloudy backdrop with a bowler hat and a green apple covering his face, much like the Magritte painting "The Son of Man." Later, when Luisa and Matt meet in the woods, The Mute "pulls" down another large backdrop of cubist-ish depictions of leaves. The wooden stage itself, though, remains true to the original Fantasticks - it looks flat and spare but is full of hidden openings for actors to scoot in and out of and to hold innovative props like musical instruments for the Mute to discreetly discover and sound off.

--Mark Tedeschi, Syracuse stage's production of long time favorite

The Fantasticks is a sentimental favorite with me. As a high-schooler, I played "Mortimer" –the man who dies. It was a local, amateur production in an improbable part of Texas. But we played to packed houses every night. My character, that of a grandiloquent old Shakespearean, was not intuitive, not a case of 'type-casting' to be sure. Nevertheless, I managed to do a 'hammy' death scene for lots of guffaws and an ovation.

They Were You

Jerry Orbach: Try to Remember

Soon it's Gonna Rain (The Fantasticks)

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Arrowsmith: Eat the Rich

2011-03-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

Arrowsmith [Aerosmith] is sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston"notable for a blues-based hard rock style, incorporating elements of pop, heavy metal, and R and B into their recordings.

They were formed in Boston in 1970 consisting of Guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton who were originally in a band called the Jam Band. Upon meeting singer Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarist Ray Tabano formed Arrowsmith [Aerosmith].

They signed with Columbia Records in 1972, releasing a string of multi-platinum albums, beginning with their 1973 eponymous debut album, followed by their 1974 album Get Your Wings. They went mainstream in 1976 with Toys in the Attic, and Rocks, By the end of the 1970s, they were among the most popular hard rock bands in the world with a loyal following of fans often called the "Blue Army".

Although Perry and Whitford returned in 1984 and the band signed a new deal with Geffen Records, it was not until the band sobered up and released 1987's Permanent Vacation that they regained the level of popularity they had experienced in the 1970s.[13] Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, the band scored several hits and won numerous awards for music from the multi-platinum albums Pump (1989), Get a Grip (1993), and Nine Lives (1997). Their comeback has been described as one of the most remarkable and spectacular in rock 'n' roll history.[6][7] After 41 years of performing, the band continues to tour and record music.

Aerosmith is the best-selling American rock band of all time, having sold more than 150 million albums worldwide,[14] including 66.5 million albums in the United States alone.[15] They also hold the record for the most gold and multi-platinum albums by an American group. The band has scored 21 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, nine #1 Mainstream Rock hits, four Grammy Awards, and ten MTV Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and were included among both Rolling Stone's and VH1's lists of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[16]

Aerosmith [Arrowsmith] EAT THE RICH!

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The Little Shop of Horrors

2011-02-10T13:34:00.000-08:00

Roger Corman's classic 'kitsch' horror show which gave a young Jack Nicholson his first motion picture appearance after having 'schlepped' for Corman for several years.

It's called 'paying your dues'!

The Little Shop of Horrors (complete movie)

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Audrey Hepburn: Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany's

2011-01-29T04:17:00.000-08:00

By Len Hart

Audrey Hepburn is remembered as an actress but also a humanitarian. Born in Ixelles, Belgium, she spent her childhood in the Netherlands and, during World War II, she lived in German occupied Arnhem, Netherlands.

Hepburn had become a proficient ballerina and, during the German occupation, danced secretly to raise money for the Dutch resistance. Recalling the experience, she later said, "The best audience I ever had made not a single sound at the end of my performances".

Living conditions worsened after the allied landing on D-Day. During 'Operation Market Garden', chronicled in the motion picture 'A Bridge Too Far', Arnhem was devastated.

Having studied ballet in Arnhem, Hepburn moved to London in 1948 and found work as a photographer's model. She made her American film debut as Gigi in 1951.

She is remembered for a brilliant performance in Roman Holiday (1953) which won her an Oscar , a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA. Later, she won a Tony Award for her performance in Ondine (1954). She is among a handful who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony. She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1961. She is also remembered as a tireless advocate for animal rights.

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.
--Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn: Moon River

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Sinatra: It Was a Very Good Year

2011-01-27T05:25:00.000-08:00

by Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy

It's not easy to write about Frank Sinatra who often seems himself to have shaped post-war American pop music. It is said that he began his career as a 'callow crooner'. To be sure, he matured into the sophisticated pop stylist often associated with the 'rat pack' of Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford!

Sinatra was something of an ingenue in 'From Here to Eternity' with Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift. He had lived several lifetimes by the time he got around to singing 'It Was a Very Good Year' or 'My Way'.

His idol was Bing Crosby who pioneered the use of the microphone. Sinatra would follow suit, exploring the 'intimacy' of the microphone. It was a new 'sound' resonating most noticeably among his growing legion of female fans.

'The Voice', not merely a nick-name, was described as 'extraordinarily smooth and flexible'; his phrasing was often echoed by other 'crooners' --Vic Damone, Dick Haymes, Tony Bennett and, most recently, Harry Connick Jr.

Sinatra made maturity and sophistication 'hip'. One writer --whose name I no longer recall --wrote of Sinatra that while women adored him, "men wanted to be him or --at least --have his memories."

While the rock culture of the late sixties, early 70s turned much of pop music on its head, Sinatra seems in retrospect to have ridden it all out, perhaps rose above it all. He had hits --'My Way', 'It was a Very Good Year'. 'The 'Summer Wind' dates to 1965, itself a very good year to include the Rolling Stones 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction', Sonny and Cher's 'I Got You, Babe' and Barry Maquire's 'Eve of Destruction'. This was an era about which it was said an entire generation did not trust anyone over thirty.

Sinatra was not always a nice guy. In Australia, as I recall, he compared female reporters to 'whores'. The bad press might have sunk a lesser career. But not Sinatra's!

Frank Sinatra, the singer and actor whose extraordinary voice elevated popular song into an art, died on Thursday night in Los Angeles. He was 82.

The cause was a heart attack, said his publicity agent, Susan Reynolds. Ms. Reynolds said his fourth wife, Barbara, his son, Frank Jr., and daughters, Tina and Nancy, were at his side at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She said he would be given a private funeral.

Widely held to be the greatest singer in American pop history and one of the most successful entertainers of the 20th century, Sinatra was also the first modern pop superstar. He defined that role in the early 1940's when his first solo appearances provoked the kind of mass pandemonium that later greeted Elvis Presley and the Beatles.
--STEPHEN HOLDEN, Frank Sinatra Dies at 82; Matchless Stylist of Pop

Frank Sinatra - It Was a Very Good Year (Live)
envoyé par goldrausch. - Regardez d'autres vidéos de musique.

Frank Sinatra - My Way
envoyé par gilles76. - Regardez plus de clips, en HD !
My Way

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Benny Goodman's Mission to Moscow - Avalon, 1962

2010-12-26T08:32:00.000-08:00

by Len Hart

Benny Goodman's 1962 visit to the U.S.S.R. was an historic triumph for Goodman, his orchestra, his many fans and also for the cause of peace. After Goodman played Moscow I would suspect it was much more difficult for either 'side' of the long cold war to demonize the other. It was historic. It was the first time an American jazz or swing band had toured what was then the 'Soviet Union' at the invitation of the Soviet government. It was also the first time an American swing or jazz band was recorded in the Soviet Union. It is interesting to note that that the Goodman orchestra would be playing for an audience that was for the most part unfamiliar with the swing and/or jazz idiom. The auction reaction seems to prove that they embraced it.

Fortunately Benny Goodman In Moscow was recorded in concert and a double LP released on RCA Records. The Album is also interesting in that as of this article, no CD of the performance has been released.

Only a few Goodman 'classics' --hits of the 30's or 40s --were were included. Many were surprised that a very modern piece by Tadd Dameron was included in the program. And those most surprised were Goodman's American friends.

The 'album' features arrangements by younger band members including Tommy Newsom who was to be associated much later with the Tonight Show. Harkening back to the bands historic recordings of the late 30s is pianist Teddy Wilson, of the original Goodman trio.

Goodman himself had Russian origins, born of was born in Chicago of poor Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire. Benny began his musical studies at age 12 at the Kehelah Jacob Synagogue.

When Benny was 12, his father enrolled him and two of his older brothers in music lessons at the Kehelah Jacob Synagogue. The next year he joined the boys club band at Jane Addams' Hull House, where he received lessons from director James Sylvester. Later he would study with the classically trained clarinist Franz Schoepp. His Jazz influences were the New Orleans clarinetists who had migrated to Chicago in such of steady work in the city's night clubs increasingly featuring many who would become jazz greats --Johnny Dodds, Leon Roppolo, and Jimmy Noone.

Benny Goodman played with his band in Moscow (1962) at the CSKA Sport Palace. CSKA stands for Central Sports Club of the Soviet Army. At the height of spy scandal (American U2 spy plane was just shot off the Russian sky) the KGB (Commitee for the State Security) was suspicious of "capitalist provocations," so only a handful of tickets went into Moscow's jazz fans' hands; several thousand tickets were distributed among "ideologically tested" blue-collar Communists through the Party committees at Moscow's industrial facilities. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was present at the concert, but soon got bored by the alien music that he hated, and left during the intermission.

The U2 spy plane incident was in 1960, not 1962. Also, doubt Khrushchev left at intermission because he sat in the VIP box with the American Ambassador and his wife and then went on to a reception at the Ambassador's residence following the concert where he had a lively conversation with Mr. Goodman.

Read more at Wiki Answers

Benny Goodman's Classic 'Sing, Sing, Sing

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Miles Davis' Kind of Blue: The Album that Changed Jazz

2010-12-10T02:24:00.000-08:00

by Len Hart

Jazz historians know this date: April 22, 1959, the date on which Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Julian "Cannonball" Adderly, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, and James Cobb recorded the Kind of Blue album. Words like "watershed", "milestone" or even "seminal" are often used to describe this LP which has come to represent Miles' efforts to loosen the harmonic strictures on Jazz improvisation.

Before the 'Kind of Blue' session, Miles had already voiced his displeasure with bebop's dependence on increasingly complex chord structures. The musical underpinnings of the five pieces on Kind of Blue are not complex chord patterns but rather modes or scales.

Modes had been used extensively before the baroque and classical eras and more recently in the works of of the British composedr Ralph Vaughn Williams. Miles recognized that 'modal improvisation' might liberate jazz which Miles had come to believe was increasingly 'thick'. Indeed, Kind of Blue immediately impresses with a simple yet elegant style, a fresh transparency, delightful harmonic inventions.

That this CD represents yet another re-issue of this landmark recording is appropriate at a time when renewed interest in jazz is especially keen. There are, of course, many fans who never left this uniquely American art form. Yet, as Rock N' Roll and the subsequent British Invasion swept up the counter-culture that birthed modern jazz in its inception, jazz very nearly lost its pre-imminent voice among that larger audience.

It is not just the technical problems which had beset earlier releases of Kind of Blue that are admirably solved and addressed in this CD, it is a recording to "come back" to. As in live sessions and in the original recording sessions, Miles' phrasings are full-throated --not tinny or off-key. The improvisations are spontaneous, brilliant and original. Likewise, Coltrane and Adderly are simply dazzling. Then, of course, there is Bill Evans! What can be said of such genius and virtuosity that his notes are precisely "right" yet never fail to delight or surprise?

If you are one of those who might have left jazz, this is a CD to come back to. Listen yet again as if for the first time. At a time when Rock is sounding somewhat tired and long in the tooth and modern pop sounds like it is composed by machines, Miles and crew have never sounded fresher or newer.

The Liner Notes:

Kind of Blue was released on Augtust 17, 1959, by Columbia Records in the U.S. The studio sessions at Columbia's New York studio on 30th Street took place on March 2 and April 22, 1959. The ensemble sextet consisted of saxophonists John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, pianists Bill Evans and Wynton Kelly, drummer Jimmy Cobb, bassist Paul Chambers. Pianist Bill Evans would later base albums entirely on modality.

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue 50th Anniversary

Miles Davis: So What

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Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton: Cleopatra (trailer)

2010-12-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

by Len Hart

They don't make movies like this anymore. The version starring Elizabeth Taylor cost $44 million (the equivalent of $307.5 million in 2009 dollars) but lost money, grossing just $26 million in the U.S. It is believed to be the only money losing film to be the highest grossing film. Not surprisingly, it very nearly bankrupted it's producer, 20th Century Fox. Despite its financial and often critical failure, it won four Academy Awards.

The 1963 film was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewic with a screenplay adapted by Sidney Buchman, In addition to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, other stars included Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowell and Martin Landau. The music score was by Alex North.

An earlier Cleopatra dates to the 30s and starred Claudette Colbert. More recently, Angelina Jolie may play Cleopatra in a new multi-part broadcast documentary. The story, of course, chronicles the struggles of the young Queen of Egypt against the imperial ambitions of Rome.

Elizabeth Taylor was awarded a record-setting contract of $1 million swelling to some $7 million due to the production delays. Taylor also became very ill and required an emergency tracheotomy to save her life. The scar can be seen in some shots.

The film was shut down and moved to Rome from England. During the filming, Taylor met Richard Burton. The affair became a public scandal --generating bad publicity for a troubled production.

Mankiewicz screened a cut running six hours. Eventually, three hours of run time were cut, but only by sacrificing certain story details. Mankiewicz failed to secure a release of two versions --a part I and a Part II. Though a 243 minute version has been released, efforts are still ongoing to find all of the missing footage. If they are ever found, the original six hour 'vision' may be seen eventually.

Trailer: Cleopatra

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The Ted Weems Orchestra

2010-11-26T08:51:00.000-08:00

by Len Hart

Ted Weems was born in Pitcairn, Pennsylvania, learned to play the violin and trombone, and organized a band at Lincoln School in Pittsburgh. The Ted Weems Orchestra dates to 1923 when Weems was still attending the University of Pennsylvania. By 1925, Weems and orchestra had moved his band to Chicago where work was found in hotels and ballrooms.

The Weems orchestra was among those playing for the inaugural of President Warren Harding; it toured for the MCA Corporation in 1923. The band's first Number one hit was Somebody Stole my Gal for RCA Victor in early 1924.

By 1932, national broadcasts with Jack Benny and Fibber McGee and Molly gave the ensemble national exposure and a recognizable identity. Perry Como joined as vocalist is in 1936. But with the onset of World War II, the orchestra disbanded. Weems himself joined the Merchant Marines but formed a new band after the war. It remained active until the early 1950s.

Weems moved to Chicago with his band around 1928. The Ted Weems Orchestra had more chart success in 1929 with the novelty song "Piccolo Pete", and the #1 hit The Man from the South. The band gained popularity in the 1930s, making regular radio broadcasts. These included Jack Benny's Canada Dry program on NBC during the early 1930s, and the Fibber McGee & Molly program in the late 1930s.

The Ted Weems Orchestra gave singer Perry Como his first national exposure in 1936. His other famous discoveries included was whistler-singer Elmo Tanner, sax player and singer Red Ingle, and Marilyn Maxwell, who left the band for acting and motions pictures. Arranger Joe Haymes is credited with creating the band's jazzy-novelty style.

It was Weems who signed a budding young ventriloquist --14 year old ventriloquist Paul Winchell whose 'partner' Jerry Mahoney inspired a generation of Winchell wannabes of which the writer was one. Inspired by Winchell, I appeared on local TV programs in West Texas with none other than the now legendary Roy Orbison. The money raised on these 'telethons' went to the March of Dimes for polio research.

The whistling on Heartaches is by Elmo Tanner. In a 1960 interview, Tanner revealed that he and Weems had received nothing for the reissue as both men had let their contracts expire while they were in the Merchant Marine. Decca Records also seized the moment, and its reissue of I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now with vocals by Perry Como became another major chart hit.

When the hits began to dry up by the early 50s, Weems became a disc jockey in Memphis, TN, later moving into management positions with the Holiday Inn hotel chain. Perry Como played host to his old boss, Elmo Tanner, and three other Weems band members on his Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall show of October 18, 1961.Ted Weems died of emphysema in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1963.

The following YouTube playlist features:

Heartaches -1938

Baby Doll - 1929

Somebody Stole my Gal - 1924

Boulevard of Broken Dreams (a Film Noir Montage)

Piccolo Pete

You're the Cream in My Coffee

Playlist featureing Ted Weems Orchestra with 'Heartaches';
Whistling: Elmo Tanner
Ted Weems Orchestra: Baby Doll - 1929

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Analysis and Review: Elizabeth (The Movie)

2010-11-04T05:34:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

Thanks to digital technology anyone can make a movie. Whether or not your movie will be seen outside your living room, YouTube, or Facebook depends primarily upon your script.

Every movie begins and ends with a script. It follows that great movies require a great script! If your movie is to be seen in theaters or DVD, you need a great script. The best scripts –from Euripides to Shakespeare, from Charlie Chaplin to Robert Towne or James Cameron –pit finely drawn heroes against equally believable villains! Along the way, a hero will encounter both obstacles and aids –tricksters, mentors and 'heralds and, of course, villains and other obstructions. What holds this mix of plot, character and motive together is called story structure.

One of the best contemporary examples of such a structure is the motion picture Elizabeth, 1998, starring Cate Blanchett. As an instructive example of great screenwriting 'Elizabeth' ranks with Robert Towne's great 'Chinatown' starring Jack Nicholson.

Act I: The Set-up

The first 30 minutes of a screenplay is called the 'set-up' in which we are introduced to the "hero" and other main and supporting characters; we are shown the setting and historical context --contemporary or period; we learn something of the "premise" of the story and something about the "primary motives" of the main characters. It is here that the work of Lajos Ergri [The Art of Dramatic Writing] is essential and timeless. A groundwork of motivations and relationships is laid for the web of conflicts to follow. Even action movies, whose very first sequence may be action-packed, as is the case in the Bond films, are primarily expository for those first 30 minutes.

Consider, for example, how much we learn in only the first 30 minutes of Elizabeth:

England, under the rule of Queen Mary I, a zealous Catholic, is racked by financial and religious instability. The country buzzes with rumors of terrorism, conspiracy, and the burning of Protestants as Mary steps up her campaign to purge the country of heresy.

Mary is married to Phillip of Spain but it is doubtful that her marriage was consummated. Childless, her impending death will leave the succession in doubt.

We are introduced to two major antagonists: the enigmatic, ruthlessly Machiavellian Sir Francis Walsingham –in exile during Mary's reign and Norfolk, who covets the throne. Norfolk shares with Spain a desire that England remain Catholic. As long as Mary reigns, Norfolk's 'alliance' with Spain is not treasonous. A 'regime change' would --obviously --change things. Therefore, Norfolk has a great deal at stake. Something is definitely 'on the line'!

A plot to overthrow Mary and place Elizabeth on the throne is discovered and Elizabeth is suspected of complicity. While in the company of Lord Robert Dudley, of whom she is particularly fond, Elizabeth is arrested by Norfolk allies and imprisoned in the infamous Tower of London.

In a meeting with her half-sister, "Bloody" Queen Mary, Elizabeth affirms her loyalty and disavows any connection with plotters led by Thomas Wyatt. It is unclear whether her life is saved by her pleas of innocence or by the death of Mary who dies without naming an heir. Norfolk reluctantly orders that Elizabeth succeed to the throne.

Act II: The Game is Afoot

The Second Act then begins when the Crown is placed upon Elizabeth's head --an event which occurs at the end of a segment that is very nearly 30 minutes to the second.

The succession of Elizabeth to the throne is what author/script guru Syd Field calls the first "plot point". It almost always happens within thirty minutes of the start of the film give or take a minute or two. I began timing Elizabeth from the opening titles in which "supers" provided some essential expository information. I would not have begun timing with titles over a black screen or other non-expository footage.

Plot Point #1 is the beginning of Act II. Act II is always characterized by what Lajos Egri (The Art of Dramatic Writring) calls rising conflict. This rising conflict leads to Plot Point #2 one hour later, on page 90 of the script. It is called rising conflict because, like poker, the stakes rise at every step along the journey. All major characters have something 'riding on' various outcomes. It is in Act II that we learn why the winners are winners and the losers, losers.

Pages 90-120 comprise Act III. By timing and analyzing many movies, I have found Field to be accurate, either because screenwriters have read and emulate Field or because good story structure seems to naturally fall into that pattern.

Although there is no denying Field's influence, many "older", pre-Field films are easily found to fall into this pattern. Casablanca, Psycho, Notorious, Rebecca, Citizen Kane, High Noon, Chinatown come to mind. It was, after all, Aristotle who first described the structure of a play: a beginning, a middle, and an end. Field’s theories may have been inspired by Aristotle and are often thought of as refinements applying primarily to film.

Structure is story and story is character. Motivated characters act upon their motivations. Equally motivated characters oppose them. Strong characters do not merely lock into siege; they attack and counter-attack. Leading characters --heroes and heroines --are opposed and/or threatened. There is always something at stake--love, fortune, fame. Lajos Egri writes of 'rising conflict' that it is not mere 'tit for tat'! Rising conflict results when the stakes are raised. Audiences lose interest in heroes who have nothing to lose, nothing 'on the line'. A fortune on the line is good drama, but also lives, reputations, virtue, a sense of self. Thus, a good story is an unfolding, universal dialectic as old as Socrates. And with Plot Point #1, the words of Sherlock Holmes apply: "The game is afoot".

It is not merely because it happens 30 minutes into the script that the crowning of Elizabeth is the first plot point. The first plot point is not simply defined as whatever it is that happens thirty minutes into the story. It is, rather, the very beginning of the story at the end of background exposition. As soon at the Crown is placed upon her head, Elizabeth's 'protestant' regime poses a threat to the Catholic Norfolk, friendly with Catholic Spain. The game is afoot.

The "story" of Elizabeth is the story of her reign and how that reign changed her and the nation she ruled. That story must begin with her coronation. It is her coronation that is the catalyst for the rising conflict which propels the next one hour of film time. That conflict is nothing less than the conflict between those would plot to assassinate her and replace her with a Catholic monarch and Elizabeth's allies -- equally ruthless in her defense.

This is the stuff of high drama; it rarely gets better than this. It is, literally, a struggle of life and death, a drama of Shakespearean weight and profundity. Anything else is a "sub-plot" and, in this film particularly, the subplots are subtly interwoven into the main story line like a fine Belgian tapestry. They provide context, commentary, and perspective but also influence in subtle ways the main story line.

Syd Field attributes a "structure" to Act II:

a "pinch" on page 45;
a "mid-point" on page 60;
another "pinch" on page 75.

In my own analyses, I have found the "pinches" to be more specific. An event on Page 45 almost invariably defines a serious complication, obstacle or setback. In Elizabeth, the French "warrior queen" Mary of Guise, has amassed troops on the Scottish border; forty-five minutes into the film, Mary routs Elizabeth's soldiers in the field. This is a serious complication --a setback --which threatens Elizabeth's tenuous hold on her throne, undermines her efforts to unite her deeply divided realm, and incurs the murderous enmity of Mary of Guise.

This event leads causally to the arrival of the Duke of Anjou. A marriage to the Duke, an alliance with France, is deemed necessary to secure Elizabeth's tenuous throne and repair the deteriorating relationship with Mary of Guise. All this is in reaction to the conflict in Scotland. It sets the stage for the next big plot point of page 60.

The Point of No Return

Elizabeth angers Catholic partisans with the passage of the Act of Uniformity. This is, indeed, a point of no return for both England and Elizabeth. It is seen by the Vatican as heretical and sets the stage for yet another dialectical reaction. The Queen's actions inspire a Catholic plot to assassinate and replace Elizabeth. The Pope himself is in on it with local traitors and co-conspirators.

While Field recognizes an important "pinch" on page 75, I have found this point to be, in most cases, a "reversal of fortune". In Elizabeth, this occurs when Elizabeth, against the wishes of her loyal advisor, William Cecil, refuses the Duke of Anjou's proposal of marriage. Seventy-five minutes into the film, this move almost costs Elizabeth her life --an assassination attempt that just barely goes awry. In the meantime, Mary of Guise has vowed revenge.

When Mary's attempt to murder Elizabeth with a poisoned dress fails, the Machiavellian Walsingham (brilliantly portrayed by Geoffrey Rush), Elizabeth's "Master Spy" takes action. Walsingham –in response –tricks, seduces, and murders Mary of Guise. One enemy of the Crown --down! The stakes are raised to set up Plot Point #3.

Act III: It's Payback Time

Lesser movies bog down in Act III. Not Elizabeth, where Act III itself evinces three discreet sections of 10 minutes each. They flow seamlessly from one to the other. On page 90, Walsingham begins to fight back against the enemies of the Crown: the plotters who have conspired with Norfolk to install Norfolk --a Catholic --as King.

Walsingham secures the cooperation of informers and spies to secure the remaining evidence of plots against Elizabeth. He tortures a murderous priest whom it is believed was sent by his "holiness" to assassinate Queen Elizabeth, a protestant. Torture is not pretty.

Confronted with the evidence, Elizabeth gives Walsingham carte blanche to "round up the usual suspects". They are imprisoned in the tower until they can be tried and beheaded. It is not difficult to imagine the many ways this 'round-up' is received, the many ways in which one in danger might try to escape the Queen's anger and often vicious retaliation.

The final section I call the apotheosis of Elizabeth in which she becomes the Virgin Queen. The final section is worthy of note. Few movies have approached Elizabeth in the manner in which all the various threads, motivations and conflicts are resolved so profoundly, so poignantly, so tragically. Much of that effect is owed to the inspired direction. A montage of piked "heads" prominently includes the head of Norfolk. The montage dissolves into Elizabeth in contemplation before the statue of the Virgin Mary.

The enigmatic, ruthlessly loyal Walsingham, appropriately distant in the Cathedral shadows, addresses his Queen in hushed tones. The people need the Virgin, he tells her. "They must be able to touch the divine!" The people, he says, have found nothing to replace her. Walsingham, thus, proves himself much more than a ruthless and blindly loyal trickster and spymaster. He is both a psychologist and propagandist who understands the symbolic value of the Queen's 'virginity'.

A moving crane shot makes it appear that the Virgin is leaning beneficently above Elizabeth. CUT TO: a reversing angle above Elizabeth who is symbolically shorn of her long, red, worldly hair. In a straight on head shot in which she looks like Joan of Arc, Elizabeth intones to her unseen companion, Kat Ashley: "Kat...I have become a virgin". Thus, in a Protestant nation, England may "...touch the divine" but will do so via their Queen, not as Norfolk would have hoped, through the Church in Rome.

When Elizabeth appears in public, her court is awed, and as she passes among them, they bow to kiss the hem of her garment. She is transformed, deified, untouchable. She is the Virgin Queen.

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Shoot a Movie in a Weekend

2010-11-04T05:25:00.000-07:00

By Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy

Many people talk movies. Few actually shoot them. Often budgets are drawn up on a napkin at the House O' Pies or Denney's. In Hollywood, I learned how to shoot a movie on a small budget or even no budget. A mentor prepared just such a budget over a coffee somewhere in Hollywood. Four days later, they were in production.

The producer was the legendary Roger Corman. The line producer working up the budget was Dov S-S Simens who now teaches other aspiring movie makers how it's done.

I not only attended Dov's film school in Hollywood, I hung out with some real distributors --folks making a good living producing films and/or 'distributing' films at Mifed, Cannes or the American Film Market in Santa Monica. I learned a lot from these folk and was confident enough to put a full length feature in the can.

I have written three screenplays and got one of them "in the can". The 'trailer' for it is among the videos in the playlist. Entitled "Portrait of Evil", it was done on a micro-budget over two weekends. The post production was computerized non-linear on bartered equipment. While this movie did not get into distribution, it did result in my getting three offers from a very well-known distributor of medium budget action films. And a conditional offer from a much bigger firm with respect to one of my screenplays.

Every movie begins with a script. See my article: Analysis and Review: Elizabeth (The Movie)

My Videos and Movie Trailer: "Portrait of Evil"

Trailer: Portrait of Evil

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Diana Damrau: Mozart's Queen of the Night, Magic Flute

2010-11-04T03:11:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

Diana Damrau studied with Carmen Hanganu at the Musikhochschule Würzburg. After graduating. she worked in Salzburg with Hanna Ludwig. She has sung in venues throughout the world --the Vienna State Opera, the Metropolitan Opera New York, Covent Garden, the Bavarian State Opera, Munich and the Salzburg Festival. She was invited to sing the title role in Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta at the re-opening of La Scala, Milan in 2004, under the baton of Riccardo Muti.

The Magic Flute (German Die Zauberflöte, K. 620), composed in 1791, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto is by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue.

The opera premiered in Vienna September 30, 1791 at the suburban Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden with Mozart conducting. The role of the Queen of the Night was sung by Mozart's sister-in-law Josepha Hofer.

It was immediately evident that Mozart and Schikaneder had achieved a great success and contempory accounts report the opera drawing immense crowds during hundreds of performances during the 1790s.

Diana Damrau: Queen of the Night by Mozart

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Roy Orbison & Friends: Black and White Night

2010-11-02T05:53:00.000-07:00

This 1987 performance at the Ambassador Hotel's Coconut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles is now legendary, consisting of Orbison by himself and numerous friends who volunteered to perform. Other celebrity admirers were in the audience; they included Billy Idol, Patrick Swayze, Sandra Bernhard, and Kris Kristofferson.

Backing up Orbison and his mega-star performers was the TCB Band, which accompanied Elvis Presley from 1969 until his death in 1977: Glen D. Hardin on piano, James Burton on lead guitar, Jerry Scheff on bass, and Ronnie Tutt on drums. Male background vocalists, some of whom also joined in on guitar, were Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, and Steven Soles.

The female background vocalists were k.d. lang, Jennifer Warnes, and Bonnie Raitt. During the end credits, several of the band members are shown talking about how Orbison influenced them.

Roy Orbison and Friends: Dream Baby from 'A Black and White Night'

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Ginger Rogers: We're in the Money, Goldiggers 1933

2010-10-25T05:52:00.000-07:00

Ginger Rogers: We're in the Money

Rogers was born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri, the daughter of William Eddins McMath, an electrical engineer, and his wife Lela Emogene Owens (1891–1977). Ginger's parents separated soon after her birth, and she and her mother went to live with her grandparents, Walter and Saphrona (née Ball) Owens, in nearby Kansas City. Rogers' parents fought over her custody, with her father even kidnapping her twice. After the parents divorced, Rogers stayed with her grandparents while her mother wrote scripts for two years in Hollywood.

Rogers is remembered for many numbers from the "Great American Songbook" of which 'We're in the Money' by Harry Warren and Al Dubin from Gold Diggers of 1933 is a prominent example. Other famous songs associated with Rogers include "Music Makes Me" from Flying Down to Rio (1933), "The Continental" from The Gay Divorcee (1934) and Irving Berlin's "Let Yourself Go" from Follow the Fleet of 1936. Rogers is also associated with George Gershwin's classic, "Embraceable You" from Girl Crazy and "They All Laughed" from "Shall We Dance" of 1937.

Her duets with Fred Astaire made film history. Together Astaire and Rogers introduced many classics including Irving Berlin's "I'm Putting all My Eggs in One Basket" from Follow the Fleet (1936), Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields's "Pick Yourself Up" and "A Fine Romance" from Swing Time (1936) and the Gershwins' "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" from Shall We Dance (1937)

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'The Darlings' on the Andy Griffith Show

2010-10-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy

They don't make TV like this anymore. In the little town of Mayberry, North Carolina, time, if not life, seems to stand still. Good sense is still good sense but for comic relief, there is Barney Fife, Sheriff Andy Taylor's faithful, if often hyper and often wacky deputy and cousin.

Sheriff Andy is a widower; he and his son Opie live with Andy's Aunt Bee in Mayberry NC. If there are few crimes to challenge Sheriff and deputy, there is always time to for a blue grass group like the 'Darlins' --in real life: the Dillards. The 'Darlins' are the subject of this episode in which the mountain folk come to town with all their gear --guitars, banjos and a jug! It is a reminder that what is 'rustic' and what is 'sophisticated' is relative. And, in Mayberry, 'relatives' are always just down the street or around the corner.

'The Andy Griffith Show' never condescended. It portrayed small town America with gentle respect, humor, satire, and, as the 'Darlins' episode proves conclusively, music. Someone pointed out that if this kind of programming no longer gets on TV, it is not because there is no more talent to be found in our American small towns and countrysides as well as in our big and often overgrown cities.

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Andy Griffith Show with the 'Darlins'

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Always a Class Act: Diana Krall

2010-10-24T04:41:00.000-07:00

Krall – at the age of 43 – has experience in her favor. Born in Nanaimo, Canada, to a musical family – her father is a stride–style pianist and serious record collector –– she grew up absorbing music that guided her future growth. She attended Berklee School of Music in the early ‘80s, then moved to Los Angeles where she continued her studies with bassists Ray Brown and John Clayton, drummer Jeff Hamilton and pianist Jimmy Rowles; Rowles convinced the young pianist to focus on her singing as well. By 1990, Krall relocated to New York City and began performing with a trio, and in 1993, she released her debut album on a small Canadian independent label.

Fifteen years later, she can look back over a stellar career path: in ’99, signed to Verve, her career exploded when When I Look in Your Eyes won a GRAMMY® for best jazz vocal and became the first jazz disc to be nominated for Album of the Year in twenty–five years. In 2002, The Look of Love was a #1 bestseller in the US and a five–time platinum album in Canada. 2004’s The Girl in the Other Room, was her first to focus on her own songwriting (with six tunes co–written with husband Elvis Costello); 2005’s Christmas Songs proved one of the season’s best–sellers; and 2006’s From This Moment On was an upbeat, critical success that coincided with the birth of her twin sons – a life–affirming event that LiPuma feels enhanced Krall’s continuing growth as a musician. ”Motherhood definitely agrees with herâ€”and marriage. I think she’s really come into her own.”
--Diana Krall Official Website

Your lips were like a red and ruby chalice
Warmer than the summer night
The clouds were like an alabaster palace
Rising to a snowy height
Each star its own Aurora Borealis
Suddenly you held me tight
I could see the midnight sun

I can't explain
The silver rain that found me
Or was that a moonlit veil
The music of the Universe
Around me
Or was that a nightingale
And then your arms miraculously found me
Suddenly the sky turned pale
and I saw the midnight sun

Was there ever such a night
It's a thrill
I still don't quite believe
But after you were gone
There was still some
Stardust on my sleeve

The flame of it may dwindle
To an ember
And the stars forget to shine
And we may see the meadow in December
Icy white and crystaline
But oh my darling always I'll remember
When your lips were close to mine
And we saw the Midnight Sun

--The Midnight Sun

Also see: Diana Krall Official Site

Diana Krall: Midnight Sun

Diana Jean Krall

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Hotel California

2010-09-21T06:18:00.000-07:00

Video by Len Hart

"Hotel California" was a big single and LP hit for the legendary 'Eagles'. Released as a single in 1977, it remains one of the Eagles' most recognized mega-hits, often said to have done for the Eagles what Hey Jude did for the Beatles, that is lending to the group a certain 'gravitas' that transcends mere 'pop music'.

It is still among the best-known recordings of the pop-era. It is remembered for an extended 'coda' and an electric guitar dialogue between Felder and Joe Walsh. Writing credits belong to Don Felder, Don Henley and Glenn Frey. The original recording featured Henley singing the lead vocals.

"Hotel California" topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in May 1977; in three more months, the release had gone 'gold' with the sale of some 1,000,000 records. Following, in 1978, 'Hotel California' won the Grammy for 'Record of the Year'.

Eagles: Hotel California (acoustic)

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Beatles: Hey Jude

2010-09-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

Now a Lennon/McCartney classic, "Hey Jude" was originally entitled "Hey Jules," a song Paul McCartney had written and dedicated to John Lennon's son Julian whose parents' were in the process of divorce.

This rock classic begins with Paul McCartney's 'verse-bridge', a solo vocal with McCartney playing the piano accompaniment. Quite a departure from the typical pop song structure of the day, Hey Jude added additional instruments, notably a chorus of horns in a 'fading out' coda which in itself lasts some four minutes. To be honest, I have not timed it.

Released in August 1968, it was the first single bearing the Beatles' new record label --Apple. At the time, it was, at about 7 minutes, the longest single to reach the top of the British pop charts.

"Hey Jude" has sold over eight million copies since its release.

The Beatles: Hey Jude

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Jay Ungar and Molly Mason: Ashokan Farewell from Ken Burns' 'The Civil War'

2010-09-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

"Ashokan Farewell" is a waltz in D Major composed by Jay Ungar in 1982 and later used as the title theme of the Burns miniseries, The Civil War. Unger said the piece resulted from his desire to write a 'Scottish lament'. The most popular arrangement begins with a violin solo later joined by the guitar.

Filmmaker Ken Burns heard "Ashokan Farewell" in 1984 and "was moved by it", using it in two films, most prominently 'The Civil War' and his 1985 documentary --Huey Long. But it was certainly 'The Civil War' which brought the tune national attention. It was played 25 times during the eleven hours of the series.

It was popularly but erroneously believed that the tune was a traditional tune of the Civil War era. In fact, it is the only contemporary composition in the series. Every other piece of music is authentic 19th Century.

Indeed, Burns' effort --as superb as it was --was enhanced immeasurably by this 'instant' American classic. Jay and Molly are now immortal.

Jay Ungar and Molly Mason: Ashokan Farewell from Ken Burns' 'The Civil War'

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Xavier Cugat, Walt Disney and Pink Martini: Aquarela do Brasil

2010-08-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

This song is most often associated with Xavier Cugat for whom it was a huge hit and featured in a delightful Walt Disney cartoon, an early 'music video'. Too often, the Xavier Cugat version, sadly, suffers from many poor audio renditions that are available. The better versions are worth searching for as they reveal the Cugat orchestra to have achieved the very highest standards of musicianship and showmanship. The better recordings display Cugat's genius as it should be presented.

Aquarela do Brasil by Xavier Cugat

Ary Barroso wrote "Aquarela do Brasil" in 1939. The title refers to a watercolor painting, the inspiration, in fact, for the famous Walt Disney animation in which Donald Duck is taught the Samba. Composer Barroso is also said to have composed "Três Lágrimas" (English: Three teardrops) on the very same night before the end of a rain fall that was the inspiration for his 'Aquarela do Brasilo', literally 'Watercolor of Brazil' or, simply 'Brazil' as it is often shortened.

The following recording is features a Xavier Cugat in the mid-section. The vocal is by contemporary group --Pink Martini, notable for the superb vocal and the equally impressive trumpet work. The animated Donald Duck, if course, is by Walt Disney.

Pink Martini/Xavier Cugat - Brazil

Still another interpretation of this evergreen by the legendary Django Reinhart.

Django Reinhart: Brazil

Aquarela do Brasil Instrumental - Amilson Godoy e Orquestra Arte Viva

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Lancelot and the Lady of Shallot

2010-08-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

By Len Hart

Tennyson's poem, The Lady of Shallot, is about a young woman cursed and imprisoned in a tower. Her world is one of mere reflections, mirror images of the world. To look directly at the world is forbidden under penalty of death.

The poem is an eternal story in which love transcends every obstacle. In some stories love overcomes death but in the Lady of Shallot, death is overcome only symbolically. In Tennyson's poem, the Lady of Shallot breaks the curse with the power of her love for Sir Lancelot but pays for that moral triumph with her life. That her death results during her voyage of escape, in hopes of uniting with Lancelot is all the more tragic and poignant.

The Tennyson character is based upon Elaine of Astolat, one of the figures from the legend of King Arthur. Traditionally, she was identified only as "demoiselle d'escalot," the fair maid of Astolat. It was Sir Thomas Malory who gave her the name "Elaine" in his 1485 book Le Morte d'Arthur. Tennyson wrote about her as Elaine, the Lilly Maid of Astolat, in The Idylls of the King, of 1885.

Many have pointed out that while the Lady is literally a prisoner as a result of the curse, Lancelot, whom she loves, is mobile. Certainly, this fact resonates in an age in which many believe that women have yet to achieve equality.

James Hyland: Lancelot and the Lady of Shallot (click icon to view full screen HD 1280x720)

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How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb

2010-08-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

In 1964, Stanley Kubrick's 'Dr. Strangelove or 'How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb' turned an imminent nuclear holocaust into a high satire, a political comedy in 'film noir'.

As only Kubrick could do, he focused upon the insanity of those in power, insane people creating an insane world perched upon the brink of utter annihilation. To be expected, his film created a stir back in 1964, arguably the height of the cold war.

This was a world already sobered if not 'shocked and awed' by the Cuban Missile Crisis. Both music and movies changed following those dangerous events in which a single misstep might have triggered the doomsday scenario satirized so brilliantly by Kubrick.

The significance of nuclear weapons is that they are the product of a world gone insane. If we are not able to find a way to live peaceably with one another, we will blow up ourselves and the world. This scenario is, of course, insane and beyond our ability to articulate our newly tragic sense of the absurd. That task was thus left to Kubrick who filmed it, served it up and left it to succeeding generations to find a way to rise above the threat --or perish!

Sydney Pollack: Dr. Strangelove

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Wille Nelson: Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain

2010-08-14T12:59:00.001-07:00

by Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy

"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" was a huge hit for Willie Nelson. It is unfair to say that this 'cross over' reached a new audience; Willie, though country, was as popular among MOR and even rock or 'Top Forty' fans.

'Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" is by Fred Rose and dates back to the original recording by Roy Acuff. Willie featured it in his album -'The Red Headed Stranger' I would not say it 'jump-started' Nelson's career. He was already legendary among C & W fans. There is yet another version by Hank Williams from 1951.

The 'arrangement' is called 'spare', proving that Nelson's genius does not lie in gimmicks but straight-forward musicianship called a "fine example of clean, uncluttered country music, (with) a spare arrangement that could have come straight out of the 1940s."

My video consists of images that might be conjured up in any genre if the topic is 'love' and 'parting'. The source of those images are primarily the movies: 'The Third Man', 'Casablanca' and 'Blue Velvet', the most recent of the three and the most surrealistic, dealing with the darker, sinister aspects of human relationships.

Willie Nelson: Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain

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Watergate Recalled: Hush Money

2010-08-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

CBS news anchor, Walter Cronkite, who died in 2009 at age 92, played a key role in reporting what is known as the Watergate Scandal. His extensive stories were aired in 1972.

As this video indicates, subsequent reports owned as much to Cronkite as well as the Washington Post team of Woodward and Bernstein. Former Washington Post editor, Ben Bradlee, credited Cronkite with convincing people that 'Watergate' was a substantial story, a story of national importance.

"In October 1972, Cronkite devoted two segments, back to back, to the Watergate story. The first was 14 minutes, the second eight. I think that second night was curtailed by CBS chairman William S. Paley because Paley was scared of it. The fact that Cronkite did Watergate at all (let alone at that length) gave the story a kind of blessing, which is exactly what we needed—and exactly what The Washington Post lacked. It was a political year, and everyone was saying, "Well, it's just politics, and here's the Post trying to screw Nixon." We were the second-biggest newspaper in the country trying to scramble for a good story—whereas Cronkite was the reigning dean of television journalists. When he did the Watergate story, everyone said, "My God, Cronkite's with them."

--Ben Bradlee, Former Editor Washington Post

Watergate Recalled: Hush Money

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Dion: Abraham, Martin and John

2010-08-03T04:31:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

We have not been told the truth about the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy which is often described as a coup d'etat. By any name or label, it was in fact and practice the overthrow of a legitimate regime elected by a free people. On the other side of it, we have suffered an increasingly reactionary, increasingly militaristic 'government' that seems owned by the very Military/Industrial complex that JFK had promised he would oppose and tame. We have likewise suffered inumerable 'adventures', blunders and 'covert operations' to include assassinations by the same CIA that JFK had promised he would 'smash into a thousand pieces'. We are likewise victimized by a central banking system --the Fed --which JFK had vowed to reform or put an end to.

We know who the liars are! We know what it is they are lying about! We also know a great deal about why they lied and continue to lie. We also know who is protected by the lies and why. We also know who it was who was photographed 'hangin' around' in front of the TSBD just minutes before a fatal shot would be fired from the grassy knoll killing the last truly legitimate President in our recent and tragic history. The lanky man 'hangin' around' the TSBD is betrayed by his receding hairline and unique slouch. That man is George H.W. Bush.

It has been my experience that only the guilty are sufficiently motivated to lie about a crime. Those who cover up a crime do so because they are guilty. By contrast, the innocent are highly motivated to tell the truth or to get at the truth. In some cases, their very lives depend upon getting at the truth.

The innocent must insist upon the truth if they are to remain free. It was Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes who said: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth!"

Dion: Abraham, Martin and John

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Bobbie Gentry: Ode to Billy Joe

2010-07-31T07:23:00.001-07:00

Bobbie Gentry's mega-hit of 1967, her "Ode to Billie Joe". was a huge hit sounding as at home on Country and Western stations as on 'Top Forty' formats. Much of its appeal lay in its ability to conjure up images of Chickasaw County, Mississippi, the setting for the song and the story it told.

The single was released in late July of that year, quickly reached the top of the chart, and quickly became an international hit. Rolling Stone rated the song at #412 on a list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"; it has sold over 3 million copies and earned eight Grammy nominations to include three wins for Bobby Genetry, one for arranger Jimmie Haskell.

The story is set in the American south, specifically the Mississippi delta area. Part of the song's appeal is its authentic sound and a feeling that the story might well have been true, a story in which "Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge."

Bobbie Gentry: Ode to Billie Joe

It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin' cotton and my brother was balin' hay
And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And Mama hollered out the back door "y'all remember to wipe your feet"
And then she said "I got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge"
"Today Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge"

And Papa said to Mama as he passed around the blackeyed peas
"Well, Billy Joe never had a lick of sense, pass the biscuits, please"
"There's five more acres in the lower forty I've got to plow"
And Mama said it was shame about Billy Joe, anyhow
Seems like nothin' ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge
And now Billy Joe MacAllister's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge

And Brother said he recollected when he and Tom and Billie Joe
Put a frog down my back at the Carroll County picture show
And wasn't I talkin' to him after church last Sunday night?
"I'll have another piece of apple pie, you know it don't seem right"
"I saw him at the sawmill yesterday on Choctaw Ridge"
"And now you tell me Billie Joe's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge"

And Mama said to me "Child, what's happened to your appetite?"
"I've been cookin' all morning and you haven't touched a single bite"
"That nice young preacher, Brother Taylor, dropped by today"
"Said he'd be pleased to have dinner on Sunday, oh, by the way"
"He said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge"
"And she and Billy Joe was throwing somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge"

A year has come 'n' gone since we heard the news 'bout Billy Joe
And Brother married Becky Thompson, they bought a store in Tupelo
There was a virus going 'round, Papa caught it and he died last Spring
And now Mama doesn't seem to wanna do much of anything
And me, I spend a lot of time pickin' flowers up on Choctaw Ridge

And drop them into the muddy water off the Tallahatchie Bridge

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Mary Shelley's Worst Nightmare

2010-07-25T10:02:00.001-07:00

by Len Hart

The products of technological advance are, themselves, neutral. What we do with rocks, sharp sticks or nukes, however, is a moral issue. The emergence of 'artificial intelligence' carries implications for warfare --'automated nukes' and 'robotized warfare'. The word 'Frankenstein' has come to mean 'monsters of our own creation', monsters beyond our control.

Until Isaac Asimov's seminal "I, Robot", most robotic oriented sci-fi could be summed up in a sentence: Robots were created and destroyed their creator.

Some Sci-fi authors imagined an advanced race taming both its own destructive impulses as well as those of its robots. The fifties classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still, is premised upon the use of robotic power to impose peace. [See: Sci-Noir: The Day the Earth Stood Still (Again!)]

Asimov attempted to 'create' a 'noble' robot that could not harm a human being. Thus was born in his 1942 short story "Runaround", Asimov's 'Three Laws of Robotics'

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

The very word 'Frankenstein' has come to mean 'monsters of our own creation' but more generally, monsters beyond our control. 'Frankenstein' has come to symbolize the Faustian bargain made by man with his own technology. The '50's Sci-Fi classic, Forbidden Planet, echoed Shakespeare's The Tempest which, likewise, dealt with the same theme. [See: Monsters From the ID]

The film, Rowing with the Wind, is set near Geneva, Switzerland in the summer of 1816. It was then that Lord Byron challenged Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley, and her stepsister Claire to write the ultimate horror story. Mary Shelley's response to the challenge made literary history: Frankenstein.

It was a brilliant piece of work for someone so young. But it came out of a hotbed of post-industrial-revolution intellectuals, steeped in a rising concern over what science and industrialization were doing to the world.

Her young protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, tells us early on that
My reluctant steps led me to M. Krempe, professor of natural philosophy, an uncouth man, but deeply imbued in the secrets of his science.
And under Krempe's instruction, Frankenstein's Faustian quest for knowledge takes him to the terrifying secret of life. His product, the monster, is more articulate, more intelligent, and more able to feel pain than his human maker. The monster produced by Frankenstein's intelligence and creative drive had Frankenstein's intelligence and sensibilities, but in a kind of grotesque parody.
--Dr. John Lienhard, Frankenstein

In Rowing with the Wind, Mary Shelley fears that the 'monster' of her fertile imagination has become, in a sense, real as she witnesses a series of tragedies befalling the people around her.

The 'monster' of this film is not the one of her famous story --Frankenstein. The 'monster' of this film is seen throughout but never actively causing deaths. It is the vehicle with which the film explores the four disparate personalities, their intellects, their eccentricities, their fears and passions, their 'monsters from the Id'.

The film takes place near Geneva, where Byron had made his challenge, where Mary Shelley birthed her 'monster'. The photography is scenic and colorful; the costumes recall the era; the dialogue is witty and of the period.

Following is not 'Rowing with the Wind' but my video based upon Dr. Leinhard's excellent and incisive script for the Engines of Our Ingenuity.

Frankenstein

Unless there is a dramatic and universal change of attitudes, mankind will fall victim to its own robotic weapons of mass destruction. Already, sophisticated 'robots' have been built and tested. A 'second generation' will make Robocop look antique. Future generations may utilize exotic or nuclear power. They may fly, see through buildings, target victims with a panoply of high-tech detection technologies not dreamed of today. This is truly 'Frankenstein' beyond Mary Shelley's worst nightmares.

Until he learns these things, he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man. I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking.
I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.
--William Faulkner, Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, 1950

Additional resources:

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Glenn Miller and the 'Memphis Belle' in England

2010-07-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

One of America's most famous bombing aircraft during World War II was the Memphis Belle. She is remembered as much for her 'nose art' as her incredible record; she was among the first aircraft to reach her goal of 25 missions, a required goal before a crew could go home. By 1943, the Memphis Belle had flown missions over France, Belgium, and Germany and returned to the states June 1943. Much of the story was told by the Oscar winning director --William Wyler with a 41 minute color documentary. Some of that footage is included in the short video featuring the music of Glenn Miller following this article.

Of about twelve-thousand such aircraft, the 'Memphis Belle, a B-17 Flying Fortress, was the most famous --shooting down eight enemy fighters, destroying five others, inflicting assorted damages on other enemy fighters. The only B-17 to have her own file in the Air Force Film Depository, the 'Belle' dropped some 60 tons of bombs over Germany, France and Belgium. The 'Belle' flew over 148 hours and covered more than 20,000 combat miles. While in Europe, another 'sub-plot' developed. It involved one of America's most famous (now legendary) musicians, the famous band-leader, arranger and trombonist --Glenn Miller.

In October 1942, Miller disbanded his orchestra and joined the US Army Air Force with the rank of captain and assembled a quality dance band to perform for the troops. When the troops moved to England, Miller's band followed. On December 14, 1944, Miller got on a plane to Paris. The plane never arrived. It crashed somewhere over the English Channel. Miller's death was mourned by music lovers all over the world, and he was heralded as a hero worldwide. The movie The Glenn Miller Story, starring Jimmy Stewart, was filmed in 1953 as a tribute to Miller. In fact, the Glenn Miller Orchestra still plays today.
Over the years there have been much speculation as to what happened.
One of the most widely held beliefs is that the aircraft Miller was flying in was victim to friendly fire of a sorts. At the time B-17s returning from the front, dropped unused bombs over the English Channel before returning to their home base. In a freak accident, a load of these bombs may have hit the lower flying UC-64 in the dark. For more regarding this particular theory, click here. Another account had him in Paris dying in the arms of a prostitute. Still another had him captured by the Germans and dying during the war in aprison camp. Then there is the account of Fred W. Atksinson, Jr. According to Atkinson, who was a member of the 320th Air Transport Squadron based at Le Borge' Airport at Paris, France, one of there aircraft was used to transport Miller to Paris. - "Several days after our plane left London, we were notified that an aircraft that might be ours had crashed on the coast of France and that the occupants were dead. We dispatched a plane to that location and the aircraft and the bodies of our pilots were identified. Our crew also said that the other body definitely was that of Glenn Miller. They said there were identification papers and dog tags that were on his body. Our second crew that was in London at the time verified they had witnessed Glenn Miller and our two pilots board the aircraft and depart." --Click here for more info.
Glenn Miller

Writer Chad Criswell has this take on the many theories that have sprung up with regard to Miller's disappearance:

It has been over fifty years since band leader Glenn Miller's plane disappeared on its way to Paris in 1944. Since that time conspiracy theorists have claimed a number of different theories about the whereabouts of Miller and the nature of his demise. Some stories had Miller surviving and spending his last days in a Paris bordello. Others claimed that he actually survived the trip and later died in an American hospital. Now another theory has been hatched, but this one comes with a full out deathbed confession.
In a book recently published by Author House Publishing Co., author Clarence Wolf confesses that the crash was no accident and in fact an accidental shoot down by United States military near Folkestone, England. Mr. Wolf reports that under instructions from radar monitors he participated by sending the order to shoot down a small unidentified plane. Upon realizing what they had done, his superior officer ordered him to never reveal the facts of the case, a secret that he has faithfully kept for the last sixty years. In his book titled "I Kept My Word," Clarence Wolf attempts to tell his story and set the record straight.
Whether or not you believe his account of the events of that day in 1944 this new book appears to be an interesting read that anyone fascinated with the life and disappearance of Glen Miller will want to see. I Kept My Word is published by Author House.
--Chad Criswell, Glenn Miller Missing Or Shot Down?

Glenn Miller; scenes from the film "The Memphis Belle" and the Documentary: "A Story of a Flying Fortress" by William Wyler

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The Prohibition Blues

2010-07-20T07:33:00.001-07:00

by Len Hart

With the crash of the stock market in 1929, the American Dream turned nightmare, ushering in an era defined by images of poverty, hunger, unemployment and lines of hungry hopeless lined up at soup kitchens. In farming communities, the Dust Bowl added to the problems of the Great Depression.

The 'depression era' was lightened and often defined by a soundtrack: jazz and eventually the big bands. Conventional wisdom dates the end of the long depression to U.S. entry into World War II. There is some truth to that; interestingly, much music associated with the war years is 'sweeter' than the often earthy, sexy, bluesy jazz era of flappers, strippers and growling blues.

Pre-war jazz was most surely affected by 'Prohibition', a government crackdown on alcohol, an experimental attempt to legislate morality. It failed! Liquor flowed in 'speakeasies' where was also found strip shows and often easy sex. As always, music is both a product and a reflection of the times in which it is made.

Prohibition Blues

The Great Depression

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Ronnie Millsap: Lost in the Fifties Tonight

2010-07-20T06:55:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy

By the end of 50s the world had --at last --recovered from WWII only to find itself involved in a protracted Cold War, in fact, a rivalry of two ideologies and two global spheres of influence.

A dramatic awakening associated with the fifties was the Soviet launch of Sputnik, an event dramatically challenging ideas of U.S. post-war supremacy. ;It was against this geo-political background that President Dwight Eisenhower warned of the growing influence of a 'Military-Industrial Complex'.

Life in America --often mundane, increasingly suburban --would go on, a mere subplot to the greater global and political struggles. Rock n' Roll, pop, and C&W would become the soundtrack for 'young' love affairs. Drive-in motion pictures were never more popular.

Only in America could a specialized parking lot provide both an escape and the setting for a romantic interlude. Millsap's big hit from the 80s triggered memories of both reckless youth and real dangers of nuclear apocalypse.

Ronnie Millsap: Lost in the Fifties Tonight

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From Lohengrin: Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral

2010-07-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

From 1850, a romantic opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. The origin of the story is Medieval German, specifically that of Parsifal (Persival), a part of the Knight of the Swan tradition.

The Opera by Richard Wagner has inspired many works in various arts, including the fairy tales that had been found so 'moving' by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. He is remembered for his 'fairy tale' castle Neuschwanstein or "New Swan Stone". Lohengrin and King Ludwig's patronage enabled Wagner to build a theatre and complete his epic cycle --The Ring of the Nibelung.

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Dambusters

2010-06-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

The soundtrack is music composed for the film 'Dambusters' by the distinguished British composer, Eric Coates. This recording of the Dambuster's theme is by the unrivaled British Brass Band --the Black Dyke Band, formerly called the Black Dyke Mills Band.

617 Squadron, RAF, "The Dambusters" was a single squadron formed during the Second World War to carry out a single special and dangerous task. That operation "Chastise" has since become a legend in the annals of military history and it possess all the traditionally admired military attributes of originality, surprise and heroism coupled with a very dramatic outcome. Operation Chastise has in many ways overshadowed the later exploits of the men who formed the squadron.
--Author Unknown

Dambusters

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Beyonce Knowles and Etta James Together 'At Last'

2010-06-30T05:21:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

A needless controversy. Both Beyonce Knowles and Etta James have recorded great versions of --At Last --a standard since the 1940s.

If anyone owns that song it is Glenn Miller for whom it was written and for whom it was, perhaps, the greatest hit.

Glenn was a 'class act'! There are no indications that he was ever upset, vindictive or, in any way, resentful of the many artists --some great --who 'dared' to record the song that his band made famous before Glenn himself would die entertaining U.S. troops in Europe during World War II.

If you love a good celebrity catfight–and really, who among usdoesn’t?–then congratulations, friend! This is shaping up to be a very good week for you. First came the utterlylopsided Faye Dunaway/Hilary Duff tiff, which centered on that bizarro Bonnie & Clyde update and brought both of thoseladies back into the headlines after a long spell of irrelevance. Nowcomes word that 71-year-old soul legend Etta James has turned on noneother than Beyonce Knowles, who so memorably portrayed her in last year’s overlooked film Cadillac Records.
I guess all of those platitudes that Etta showered on Beyonce when the movie came out were uttered through gritted teeth, ’cause at a Seattle concert last week, Etta complained about not being asked to sing her signature song, "At Last," during President Barack Obama’s first dance with his wife, Michelle. "You guys know your president, right?" she asked the crowd. "The one with the big ears?"
--Etta James vs. Beyonce: 'At Last,' the catfight you knew was coming

'At Last' dates to 1941 --before Etta, before Beyonce. In that sense, it belongs to neither though both versions are excellent. 'At Last' was written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for 'Orchestra Wives' starring George Montgomery and Ann Rutherford. The first filmed performance is credited to Glenn Miller and his orchestra with vocals by Ray Eberle and Pat Friday. Unreleased recordings were included in the film Sun Valley Serenade. Miller's version reached number 9 on the Billboard pop charts in 1942 and stayed their for some 9 weeks. As a result, the song became a standard!

Nat King Cole recorded it in 1957 for his album: Love Is the Thing. It was not until 1960 that Etta James 'covered' it and was, as a result, inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999; it became her signature, the third in a string of hits for her Chess Records debut album --At Last!. By April 1961, it had become her second number 2 R&B hit, crossing over to pop, reaching number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. No one can take anything away from her interpretation of it.

At last --'At Last' has been covered by many artists --Brenda Lee, Doris Day, Stevie Wonder, Randy Crawford, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall, Lou Rawls, Phoebe Snow, Jimmy Scott, Diane Schuur, B. B. King, Stevie Nicks, Eva Cassidy, Joni Mitchell, Jason Mraz, Céline Dion, The Temptations, Christina Aguilera, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Bolton, Martina McBride, Kenny G, Arturo Sandoval, Baby Washington, Ben E. King, Norah Jones, Aretha Franklin and --most recently --Beyoncé Knowles.

My two cents: GIVE IT A REST! Enjoy the music.

Beyonce Knowles and Etta James: At Last

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The 'Real' Hotel California?

2010-06-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

Released in 1976 --Hotel California was the first Eagles album without founding member Bernie Leadon and the first with Joe Walsh. This acoustic version is from a live performance.

Glenn Frey described the origins of the song:

The song began as a demo tape, an instrumental by Don Felder. He’d been submitting tapes and song ideas to us since he’d joined the band, always instrumentals, since he didn’t sing. But this particular demo, unlike many of the others, had room for singing. It immediately got our attention. The first working title, the name we gave it, was ‘Mexican Reggae.
--Glenn Frey

It was in the mid to late 80s that an urban legend was born. It was believed that Todos Santos was home to the 'Hotel California' made famous by the Eagles. By the 90s, the story had achieved cult status, repeated by journalists in the major media.

My friend Laura Knight-Jadczyk has unearthed yet another theory: the 'real' Hotel California is not in California but Mexico City.

I have to tell you that the first night was HORRIBLE!
The sixteen-year-old was travel sick and the 8 year-old was crying to go back home because Mexico "smelled" bad. It was really only a pungent smell of lots of car exhaust which was not really too bad at 17 floors. But, when the older child had finished being sick in the bathroom (which appeared to be fairly modern), she then discovered that the toilet would not flush. That was bad enough. Then, she went to the sink to wash her face, and the sink would not drain.
Well, Ark, being a physicist, decided to go in and fix things. Pretty soon he shouted "it works!" and we could hear the toilet flushing. It was an industrial type with the jet lever at the back, and, sure enough, we could HEAR that jet of water!
And hear, and hear, and hear, and hear....
It seemed that the lever was now stuck and the jet kept SHUSSSSSHING continuously.
Unfortunately, the out flow was not working as well as the inflow... and the water was overflowing so rapidly that it was beginning to pour into the living area of the hotel room. Ark was working frantically to get the lever to shut off, I was grabbing every towel in sight to block the flow from under the bathroom door.
Finally, he managed to shut the thing off.
Oldest child is crying quietly on the bed that all she wants is a shower; youngest child is sitting with her face buried in her arms, looking stunned, miserable, and pathetic, and I decided to take the matter in hand. I picked up the phone and called the desk clerk to request emergency assistance and clean towels.
"Hello? Habla Ingles?" I inquired hopefully...
"Un pocito, " came the NOT encouraging reply.
I began to describe the present state of things, the flood that was still moving slowly like a spreading epidemic as it soaked into the blood-red carpet; the fact that we had, at least, managed the emergency, but could they please send someone to mop up the water and bring us some clean towels? .
"Manana." Was all that was said in response to my desperate plight. "Manana."
"MANANA?!" I shouted incredulously. "Do you mean to tell me that there is no one who can come and take care of this tonight? "
"Manana."
"Listen to me!" I said, using my very best "you are the bureaucrat and I am the customer/taxpayer" voice. "I have saved your blasted hotel from a deluge of cataclysmic proportions, using ALL the towels and throw rugs in this MISERABLE room to do so, and NOW you are telling me that I must wait until MANANA to get this mess cleaned up????"
"Manana!" CLICK. Phone went dead.
Not to be treated with such insouscience, I stabbed the numbers of the phone again.... it rang a VERY long time before anyone answered it. It was a different voice this time, so I was sure that the previous person was cowering downstairs in the corner after running to fetch someone else to talk to the crazy American woman who dared to demand service after 10 o'clock at night.
I was sure that I was going to have a sympathetic ear now... someone in authority who could DO something, so I calmed down and began to repeat the entire story of the shower that did NOT, the sink that would not drain full of vomit which was the obvious place for it to be since the toilet had not flushed, only NOW the toilet was flushing, only it would not STOP flushing, and had flushed until it nearly drowned EVERYONE... the kids were sick, I was exhausted, and for GOD'S SAKE, could we JUST HAVE SOME CLEAN TOWELS!
"Manana."
"WHAT?!!?"
I did NOT like the hysterical shriek that issued from my throat. This time, I slammed the phone down! And, I turned to face my crying children looking at me with miserable "why did you make us come? You KNEW we didn't want to" eyes.
So, we used blankets for towels, and managed baths in the trickle of water that had, at least, stopped running brown, ignored the mess in the sink, and thanked God that the toilet was flushing. After all our cleaning up, I took the huge pile of wet linens and rugs and carried them to the door and plopped them unceremoniously on the floor in the middle of the hallway outside our door soaking wet. I had SOME satisfaction in doing that!
And we renamed Hotel Bamer... forever after we called it "Hotel California."
Laura Knight-Jadczyk, Ark and Laura go to Mexico

The Detroit Free Press published an article in 1996 about the 'Mexican' theory. Other writers repeated the story as younger writers cited the original articles as authoritative. The legend began to take on a life of its own. Some journalists made the trip To Todos Santos but little 'real' research resulted, no 'mystery' was solved. Many simply wrote what they had wanted to believe, what they could sell or pitch, or what they could attribute to other sources. What is left, meanwhile, is what really counts: a classic hit from a great era.

The Eagles: Hotel California

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Pete Fountain: Basin Street Blues

2010-06-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

"Basin Street Blues" written by Spencer Williams is often thought of as a 'Dixieland' number. It is, in fact, a part of a strong 'blues' tradition the roots of which may be traced to early 'shouts' and 'work songs' of the slave era. It was a natural for the early bands who made of 'Storyville' not merely a red light district but a fertile incubator for a new and emerging American music: Jazz!

'Basin Street Blues' was published in 1926 but it was not until Louis Armstrong recorded it in 1928 that it became an instant classic. It is said that the lyric -'won't you come along with me to the Mississippi' --was added by Glenn Miller and Jack Teagarden.

Basin Street was located, of course, in notorious Storyville, a red light district that was, in fact, established by the city New Orleans as a means of better regulating 'vice', emulating European models and 'legalized red light districts in northern Germany and Holland. Storyville was summarily shut down by the U.S. 'war department' as the U.S. entered WWI in 1917. Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels called 'Storyville' a "bad influence".

Many artists have made of this song a classic --from Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys to Louis Prima who recorded it in 1957. A famous version by Ella Fitzgerald with the Sy Oliver orchestra was released on Decca album called: "Lullabies of Birdland".

Other artists recording it include Jo Stafford, Frankie Laine and Lisa Minnelli. Sam Cooke's version dates to 1963, a year in which he performed it on both the Tonight Show and the Mike Douglas Show.

Many artists have made of this song a classic --from Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys to Louis Prima who recorded it in 1957. A famous version by Ella Fitzgerald with the Sy Oliver orchestra was released on Decca album called: "Lullabies of Birdland".

Other artists recording it include Jo Stafford, Frankie Laine and Lisa Minnelli. Sam Cooke's version dates to 1963, a year in which he performed it on both the Tonight Show and the Mike Douglas Show. This video includes scenes from the James Bond film of 1973 --Live and Let Die starring Roger Moore. The scenes are of a 'New Orleans' funeral characterized by joyous music after the 'dearly beloved' is laid to rest.

London, UK, June 02, 2009 (PressReleasePoint) -- The trend in trying to make the most gloomy of occasions more joyful is so pronounced that a recent study of 750 people showed one fifth of them wanted Monty Python's 'Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life' played at their funeral. Whether such a high percentage of clergy would welcome that is another matter.
Though the Jazz Not Jazz band hire agency have been supplying New Orleans music at funerals for many years throughout the UK the growth in demand is sudden and unexpected. Leader of the Jazz Not Jazz music agency, Jeff Williams explains: "In my opinion the single biggest factor has been the James Bond film 'Live and Let Die.' There is a New Orleans funeral scene at the opening of the film and this has captured the imagination of people that watched the film. It is nearly always mentioned when a recently deceased’s relative contacts us to arrange for a New Orleans Jazz Band to play at the funeral. I think those who remember the film when it was released and upon which it made such an impression are now those of an age, to be blunt, that are dying off hence the demand now."
--Jazz Band Plays New Orleans Funeral Music to Cheer Up Mourners

Please note: 'Basin Street Blues' was composed by Spencer Williams --not W.C. Handy who is remembered for his immortal St. Louis Blues.

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And All That Jazz: An Unabashed Look At the Roots of Jazz

2010-06-16T10:54:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

Most Jazz fans have heard a theory repeated so often that it has become the conventional wisdom if not an 'official theory' and that is: jazz was born in New Orleans and moved north to Chicago when the U.S. Army closed down 'Storyville', the legendary, near mythic birth place of jazz. There is much truth to the story. Indeed, the entire district was summarily closed, a event immortalized in a movie starring that famous New Orleans 'son' --Louis Armstrong.

'Storyville' had been, in fact, a creation of the City of New Orleans itself inspired and based upon 'red light' districts in Holland and Northern Germany. The idea, presumably, was to limit the 'trade' to a specific area where it could be regulated.

By the late 1890s, "blue books" --literally guides to prostitution --included descriptions of various 'houses', addresses, prices, and 'services'. The 'philosophy' behind both the district and the 'guide books' was summed up by the inscribed motto of the Royal Order of the Garter: Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense (Shame to Him Who Evil Thinks.)

In the meantime --before the U.S. Army closed 'Storyville' --many New Orleans artists had already discovered Chicago. A 'Chicago Style' had begun to evolve even before the summary shutting down of the legendary 'birth place' of jazz. For many, therefore "Chicago style" has a double meaning to include white, ensemble 'dixieland jazz' as well as the emerging Chicago-style that came to be associated with virtuoso soloists like Benny Goodman.

The appeal of burlesque lay in its ribald humor, sexual innuendo, and irreverent stance toward all forms of established authority. Urban artisans, shopkeepers, and better-off laborers were among early burlesque's most passionate fans.

During the late nineteenth century, the emergence of a handful of powerful burlesque circuits transformed the burlesque business in the United States. These circuits owned or controlled theaters in multiple cities. Each of the nation's major circuits hired its own acts and produced its own burlesque shows. Managers combined successful acts into large troupes, which rotated around the circuit, or "wheel," as a single ensemble. Many of the twentieth century's most popular actors and comedians honed their craft while touring the burlesque circuits. Fanny Brice, Al Jolson, W.C. Fields, Sophie Tucker, and Bob Hope all broke into show business through burlesque.
--Jazz Age Chicago, Burlesque Theaters

Thus Jazz was early on associated with 'strip tease' where the emphasis was on 'tease'. Prominent 'artists' competed with their obvious native talents as well as the imaginative use of props, costume and lighting. In New Orleans, some of them attained 'star status' on stage and small parts in early films.

Billie Holiday & Louis Armstrong - Farewell To Storyville

'All That Jazz' is the big production number from 'Chicago', the big musical extravaganza from 2002. It starred Cathereine Zeta-Jones and Rene Zellweger. Zeta-Jones is Velma Kelly --the sexy vaudeville star who murders her husband and sister upon discovering them in the act. Roxie (Renee Zellweger) is the wannabe vaudeville star who kills her lover when it had become clear that he would never make her famous.

Catherine Zeta-Jones: All That Jazz

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Imagine Peace

2010-06-08T12:52:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

Released on May 8, 1970, "Let it Be" marks the end of all of our dreams for peace! Viet Nam raged on and ended eventually with our ignominious retreat upon the roof of the U.S. embassy in Saigon.

That 'Saigon' is now called 'Ho Chi Minh City' is proof of our ignomious defeat, the end of the 'American Empire'. Nothing was gained by our presence in Viet Nam, S.E. Asia! But what was learned from the experience?

Nothing!

Paul, John R.I.P.

The Beatles: Let it Be

The Peace that we may only "Imagine"!

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'The Darlings' on the Andy Griffith Show

2010-06-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

The fictional 'blue grass family' --the 'Darlin's' --were, in real life, 'The Dillards'. As the musicially inclined Darlin' (Darling) family, they made several appearances on the venerable 'The Andy Griffith Show'.

The Dillards were originally from Salem, Missouri and consisted of Douglas "Doug" Dillard, Rodney "Rod" Dillard (guitar, dobro), Dean Webb, (mandolin), and Mitch Jayne of Hammond, Indiana.

The fictional Darling family were presumed to have lived in a mountain shack somewhere near the fictional Mayberry where Andy Taylor, portrayed by Andy Griffith was the sheriff.

The jug was played by the 'Darlin' patriarch --Briscoe Darlin a role played to perfection by Denver Pyle. Whenever the 'Darlin' family had a problem that led them to come to Mayberry, you could rest assured that there would be an occasion for music making with Andy Taylor who played guitar.

As a jug band, it was a joy to listen to. Nevertheless, the 'Darlins' were 'mountain folk' and considered 'back woods' by the citizens of Mayberry. As their arrival usually meant trouble of some sort for Sheriff Taylor and Deputy Barney Fife, there was always a 'jam session' and some music which Sheriff Taylor could describe as 'mighty fine!'.

The 'Darlins' on the Andy Griffith Show

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Beyonce with Etta James: At Last

2010-06-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

'At Last' dates to 1941 --before Etta, before Beyonce. In that sense, it belongs to neither though both versions are excellent. 'At Last' was written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for 'Orchestra Wives' starring George Montgomery and Ann Rutherford.

The first filmed performance is credited to Glenn Miller and his orchestra with vocals by Ray Eberle and Pat Friday. Unreleased recordings were included in the film Sun Valley Serenade. Miller's version reached number 9 on the Billboard pop charts in 1942 and stayed their for some 9 weeks. As a result, the song became a standard!

Nat King Cole recorded it in 1957 for his album: Love Is the Thing. It was not until 1960 that Etta James 'covered' it and was, as a result, inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999; it became her signature, the third in a string of hits for her Chess Records debut album --At Last!. By April 1961, it had become her second number 2 R&B hit, crossing over to pop, reaching number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. No one can take anything away from her interpretation of it.

At last --'At Last' has been covered by many artists --Brenda Lee, Doris Day, Stevie Wonder, Randy Crawford, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall, Lou Rawls, Phoebe Snow, Jimmy Scott, Diane Schuur, B. B. King, Stevie Nicks, Eva Cassidy, Joni Mitchell, Jason Mraz, Céline Dion, The Temptations, Christina Aguilera, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Bolton, Martina McBride, Kenny G, Arturo Sandoval, Baby Washington, Ben E. King, Norah Jones, Aretha Franklin and --most recently --Beyoncé Knowles.

Beyonce Knowles & Etta James: At Last

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Many Worlds and Infinite Universes

2010-05-19T04:25:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

I was asked: how can an infinite universe be created? In response, I thought of yet another question: what is a "creator" if not a part of whatever universe is created? Immediately, we are plunged into a 'universe' of infinite regress, 'sets of all sets', infinity itself! Georg Cantor posited a hierarchy of "infinities", i.e. some infinities greater than others, a counter-intuitive concept yet logically consistent once you've gotten your mind around infinity itself. Most of us feel small upon looking up at the starry sky at night! An infinity of infinities is simply overwhelming, mind blowing, awe inspiring, perhaps a bit intimidating and fearsome. We feel small, finite, mortal!

Recently, Cambridge Physicist Julian Barbour asked us to imagine immortality in "...a universe with no past or future, where time is an illusion and everyone is immortal." Growing up with 'time' as a 'fourth dimension', Barbour requires some getting used to. Barbour uses the familiar analogy of motion pictures to illustrate his ideas at their most simplistic. When we view a motion picture as it is projected in a motion picture theater, we experience the passage of time marked as it is by each projected frame upon the screen in front of us. But, counter-intuitively as if in another dimension, every frame of the motion picture exists --on film. Each frame is, in fact, a projected 'instant' of a four dimensional world. The film strip itself is a series of such 'frames', a projection of the fourth dimension --'time'. Each frame is but the two dimensional projection of three dimensional objects; the movie itself is the series of frames (instants) but projected over time in which we experience the fourth dimension plus height and width. Thus, Barbour discounts the very existence of 'time' and likens our world to the motion picture film strip on which 'reality' is 'flattened' instant by instant upon a series of single frames. Past, present and future for Barbour exist and have always existed. Like motion picture goers, we experience 'time' as it is 'projected' instant-by-instant, a projection we call the passage of time.

It is most often assumed that the word "universe" may be be defined. I doubt that! Neither may 'God' be defined into existence with the phrase 'Supreme Being' ergo God Exists or 'God exists by definition!'. In fact, the terms 'God' or 'Supreme Being' imply a "set of all sets" —itself inherently contradictory. See A history of set theory; also: The Theory of Infinite Sets, Georg Cantor. Also:Bertrand Arthur William Russell An excerpt:

Principles of Mathematics

David Hilbert

Luitzen Brouwer

To conceive of that, think of traversing the universe at the speed of light ala an "Einsteinian" thought experiment; for such a traveler no time will have transpired but more significantly the universe will have shrunk to nothingness. Now reverse the process and you have a "big bang". Such a universe may have a beginning —or it may not —depending upon your point of view.

Similarly, a man on board a moving train may walk from one end of the car to the other at some 2 or 3 miles per hour —but from the point of view of someone outside the train, he moves at that speed plus the speed of the train. But as the speed of a train approaches a limit i.e, the speed of light, the 'speed' of the pedestrian slows and, if graphed, is a curve approaching 'zero' as the train approaches the speed of light as a limit.

From the Discover article about Barbour:

Barbour's central argument is that a mistaken belief in the reality of time prevents physicists from achieving their ultimate goal: the unification of the submicroscopic atomic world of quantum mechanics with the vast cosmic one of general relativity.That's the holy grail that eluded Einstein. Indeed, if time and space are the same, then time keeps two points apart just as surely as does space. If time is an illusion, so, too, is the universe. But that's only an apparent contradiction. Here's a link to Barbour's own web site: Physics. In short, there are logical difficulties with defining the Universe as "...all that is"!

More about the contradictions inherent in the concept: set of all sets:

A = { X | X is not a member of X }.

—A history of set theory

The logical difficulties with "set of all sets" are the same difficulties one encounters with various non-mathematical concepts of God and/or various efforts to equate "God" with the "universe" as a whole.

Religious folk simply define God into existence by claiming that he is "supreme" and must, therefore, exist. Because existence precedes essence [See Jean Paul Sartre], you can't simply define something into existence —even God, perhaps, especially God! A definition consists of attributing characteristics to objects are that known already to exist —not the other way round. The definition, therefore, is the sum of observed characteristics. Existence precedes anything that we may presume to say about 'essence'.

In 1954, a young Princeton University doctoral candidate named Hugh Everett III came up with a radical idea: That there exist parallel universes, exactly like our universe. These universes are all related to ours; indeed, they branch off from ours, and our universe is branched off of others. Within these parallel universes, our wars have had different outcomes than the ones we know. Species that are extinct in our universe have evolved and adapted in others. In other universes, we humans may have become extinct.

Outer Space Image Gallery

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However one's mind may boggle, the notion is comprehensible. Notions of parallel universes or dimensions that resemble our own have appeared in works of science fiction and used to 'explain' metaphysical, even occult concepts. But why would a young up-and-coming physicist risk his future and career by posing a theory of parallel universes?

With his multi-universe theory, Everett attempted to answer sticky questions relating to quantum physics, specifically, why does quantum matter appear to behave erratically? The quantum level is the smallest level detected so far. The study of quantum physics began in 1900, when the physicist Max Planck first introduced the concept to the scientific world. Planck's study of radiation yielded some unusual findings that contradicted classical laws of physics.

These findings suggested that another set of laws was at work at the quantum level and yet another set throughout the rest of the universe. That seems counter-intuitive and among those not comfortable with the idea was Einstein himself who said: "God does not play dice with the universe!" But, it must be pointed out, his own attempts to arrive at a Unified Field Theory --a set of consistent theorems embracing every level of reality from the smallest infinitesimal particle to the vast reaches of the cosmos --were not satisfactory.

Quantum physicists noted peculiar things about the sub-atomic world. Particles in this 'world' take on different forms arbitrarily. Photons, for example, are thought of us as 'tiny packets' of light that behave as both particles and as waves --wavicles! Photons are therefore 'shape-shifters', particles in one instance, waves in another.

In the famous 'double-slit' experiment the inseparability of 'waves' and 'particles' or perhaps more accurately, the dual nature of the single phenomenon was demonstrated. A 'coherent light sources' is aimed at a thick plate with two slits to admit light. The 'wave' nature of light is seen as two 'beams' emerge on the other side by way of the two slits. It is the projected interference pattern of alternating light and dark bands that confirms light as 'wave'.

If light were 'particles' no bands would be seen. Unblocking both slits, however, results in in some points made brighter and others darker. The only explanation is the alternate additive and subtractive nature of 'wave interference'. Simply, light evinces the characteristics of both waves and particles, a so called 'particle-wave duality'.

The 'double slit' experiment is not limited to light. The same results are obtained with electrons which are most often thought of as particles orbiting a nucleus of 'neutrons' and 'protons'. In any case, it is a mistake to think of sub-atomic particles as ..well...particles.

Christiaan Huygens understood and predicted the path light may take through devices, various apparatuses. Light sources, he understood, emit waves in series analogous to waves spread by a float that is bobbed up and down upon the surface of water. Huygens proposed a method by which 'waves' may be predicted by generating a series of concentric circles on a number of points on a wave front. A diagram based upon his method predicts a result of an extended flat wave front. Augustin Fresnel, for whom a type of lens is named, maintained that 'light as wave' does not contradict the intuitive and observed fact that light travels in a straight line.

With what has come to be known as the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, Physicist Werner Heisenberg suggests that by observing quantum matter, we affect its behavior. We can ascertain velocity or position but not both at the same time.

ΔxΔp ≥ h

This idea is consistent with the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, posed by Danish physicist Niels Bohr who believed that quantum particles don't exist in one state or the other, but in all possible states at at the same 'time' or, more accurately, the same instant. It is the 'sum total' of all possible states that is called the 'wave function'. The 'state' of an object in which it exists in all possible states is called 'superposition'.

According to Bohr, the observation of a quantum object affects its behavior, literally breaking 'superposition'. Much earlier, Immanuel Kant had written of a 'phenomena', things as they are observed --and a 'noumena', things as they are.

It may be imprecise to conclude that observation 'forces' a change in the state of an object. It is more accurate to say that 'observation' is akin to perspective or 'point of view'. Everest, for example, is often unrecognized even by Sherpas when it is seen from an unfamiliar angle, the other side, for example. I may have the same problem with Mont Blanc were I to view it from Torino instead of Geneva. Likewise, physicists taking opposite measurements of the same quantum object, will observe an object appearing to "choose" different states with different measurements.

An Immense Universe Seen in 'Powers of Ten' with Phillip Morrison author: "The Ring of Truth"

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Cab Calloway: Minnie the Moocher from the Blues Brothers

2010-05-16T13:21:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

"Minnie the Moocher" by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra sold over a million copies in 1931. It is remembered for 'scat singing' most famously "Hi De Hi De Hi De Hi, Ho De Ho De Ho" which earned Calloway the nick-name "hi de ho" man. As in this performance from the famous film, The Blues Brothers with Dan Akroyd and James Belushi, Calloway invited audience participation in which was repeated his phrases in a 'call and response' until the were so long that the audience could not repeat them. It was fun and, at the same time, a jazz landmark. "Minnie the Moocher" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

Young Cab might have attended law school but met Louis Armstrong, who taught him how to 'scat'. Calloway's oldest sister Blanche, a professional singer, helped young Cab get his first 'gig' on the road in the "Plantation Days" revue of 1925.

In 1931, Cab and his manager, Irvin Mills, put together a song that will forever be identified with Calloway -- "Minnie The Moocher." The tune sold over one million copies and the group soon broke every existing record for all-black band audiences.

Cab's scat singing, dancing, comedic personality and flashy elegance had made him a star and a million-selling recording artist. He continued to perform right up until his death in 1994 at the age of 88.

Gunther Schuller sums up Calloway's brilliance as an entertainer: "People still remember Cab Calloway as a dancer and vaudevillian with his wonderful white tuxedos and all of that -- and, as a great, great showman."

Cab Calloway 'The Blues Brothers': Minnie the Moocher

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Orbison on the Ed Sullivan Show, 1964

2010-05-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

From West Texas, I almost feel like I grew up with Roy Orbison and, in fact, met him once at a block party in Odessa, TX. I just just kid.

Roy was, by that time, already fairly well known in West Texas --first with a group called the Wink Westerners and, later, the Teen Kings. It was the 'Teen Kings' who appeared regularly on KOSA-TV in Odessa, TX. A CD of those performances may still be available. The sound quality is excellent. It includes big earlier hits, most memorably, 'Ooby Dooby'.

Orbison had formed the Teen Kings but working in the West Texas oil fields by day, studying by night should a career in music not work out.

According to most accounts it was while Orbison was living in Odessa that he drove to Dallas to see Elvis Presley. Like almost everyone else, he was stunned by Presley's on-stage gyrations.

It was Johnny Cash, touring in West Texas, who suggested Orbison approach Sam Phillips of Sun Records. Sun had been the 'home' of 'Rockabilly' stars like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins. Eventually, Phillips agreed to listen to Orbison's "Ooby Dooby", a song he performed on television in Odessa with the 'Teen Kings'. It is said to have been composed in a frat house at North Texas State University.

Orbison's appearance on the Ed Sullivan show followed in the wake of the historic appearance by the Beatles. Ed's line up also included Connie Francis and the Harlem Globetrotters.

Roy Orbision on the Ed Sullivan Show, 1964, 'Pretty Woman'

Roy Orbison, Black and White Night, Pretty Woman

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Chicago: All That Jazz with Catherine Zeta-Jones

2010-05-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

All That Jazz is a big production number from the 2002 movie 'Chicago' starring Cathereine Zeta-Jones and Rene Zellweger. Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is the sexy vaudeville star who murders her husband and sister after finding them in bed together. Roxie (Rene Zellweger) is the wannabe star who kills her lover after finding out he was never going to make her famous. Both spend their nights in Chicago during its 'Jazz heyday'.

The two main characters have little in common except that they are both murderesses and that both murders involved sexual infidelity. The plot is vintage Hollywood but it works: when Roxie comes along, Velma is 'old news'. The pair compete for press, men and attention.

During the late nineteenth century, the emergence of a handful of powerful burlesque circuits transformed the burlesque business in the United States. These circuits owned or controlled theaters in multiple cities. Each of the nation's major circuits hired its own acts and produced its own burlesque shows. Managers combined successful acts into large troupes, which rotated around the circuit, or "wheel," as a single ensemble. Many of the twentieth century's most popular actors and comedians honed their craft while touring the burlesque circuits. Fanny Brice, Al Jolson, W.C. Fields, Sophie Tucker, and Bob Hope all broke into show business through burlesque. Touring the country as part of a troupe relieved burlesque acts of the burden of continually auditioning for new bookings at individual theaters and provided them with stable, steady employment.

In Chicago, two national circuits, the Columbia (Eastern) Wheel and the Empire (Western) Wheel, vied against one another and several independent theater owners for a share of the local burlesque trade. Competition was fierce between the city's burlesque theater owners and managers. In an effort to attract as many customers as possible, they made constant adjustments to the types of acts that performed in their shows. Over time, these changes produced a major shift the structure and style of burlesque. Comedy sketches and satirical skits declined in prominence, replaced by ad-libbing and sexually suggestive musical revues featuring voluptuous show girls known as "burlesque queens." Scantily-clad "hootchie cooch" belly dancers became commonplace. Performances by Chicago's burlesque stars were among the bawdiest and most risque in the nation. By the 1920s, striptease acts involving partial or total nudity were standard fare at most of the city's burlesque theaters. [...]

The quality of striptease acts varied greatly. Some strippers, such as Gypsy Rose Lee and Sally Rand, imbued their performances with great artistry. But many others aimed only to titillate the sexual desires of the increasingly all-male burlesque audiences. So far as most patrons were concerned, the more clothing the strippers shed, the better. While striptease acts helped many burlesque theater owners stay afloat well into the 1950s, they also destroyed the reputation of these theaters as community institutions. Indeed, as burlesque performances became more salacious, local authorities increasingly challenged their right to exist. In Chicago and elsewhere, social reformers and child welfare advocates condemned the strip shows as a bad moral influence and a threat to the well-being of urban youth. Merchants often complained about burlesque theaters' tendency to drive away customers from nearby businesses. Landlords saw them as a blight on property values. Often at the behest of these groups, police periodically raided burlesque theaters, arrested the performers, and charged them with unlawful or immoral conduct.
--Burlesque Theaters, Jazz Age Chicago

Catherine Zeta-Jones: All that Jazz, Chicago

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Abba: The Winner Takes it All

2010-05-04T13:46:00.000-07:00

Swedish pop group ABBA was formed in Stockholm in 1972. Personnel includes Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog. The group consisted of two married couples who later divorced -Fältskog and Ulvaeus and Lyngstad and Andersson. Nevertheless, ABBA was a commercial success, in fact, one of the most successful groups in pop music history, topping charts all over the world from 1972 to 1982.

"The Winner Takes It All" --by both Björn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson --was origianlly entitled: The Story of My Life". The lyrics were believed to have mirrored the divorce of Ulvaeus and Faltskog in 1979 and it is similar to to the song 'When all is Said and Done' about the divorce of Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson. Members of the group deny this. It was Ulvaeus who said that the song was about the 'experience of divorce' but the story told in the lyrics is just fiction.

Abba: The Winner Takes it All

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Texas is a State of Mind

2010-04-28T03:18:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy

Never fear --"once Texas' 'gits inta ya', yew ain't gonna git it out!" I was born with a Texas accent but, like Eliza Doolittle, I was trained to speak with what broadcasters called a 'General American' accent which is most often associated with Chicago and the mid-western states. The Texas accent was, for a while, universally despised, like 'Cockney' was once despised by London's upper classes. Interestingly, the long 'A' is a diphthong in both Texas and Cockney ---'aaaaaeeeee' But even longer in Cockney.

'Kinky' Friedman published a book called 'Texas Etiquette' which includes things that you will NEVER hear a 'real' Texan say. My favorite is: 'The tars (tires) on that truck are tew big!'. Or --'Come to thank (think) of it, ah'll have a Heinecken'. The implication is that NO real Texan would be caught dead drinking anything but a 'long neck'. However, 'real Texans' have been known to drink a Dos Equis or a Carta Blanca. After all, Native Americans and Hispanics were in Texas 'first'. And no one dare say Freddie Fender wasn't all Texan!

Texas does have some colorful expressions. My favorite is 'Turd Floater' to describe a serious flood. 'Road Kill' is any animal unfortunate enough to have been run over by any vehicle on a highway. It is most often a prehistoric-looking beast called the 'Armadillo'. Because they are slow, they will become extinct, a victim of the Texas highway.

Some Texans are 'Existentialist' without realizing it. Jean-Paul Sartre's "A man is nothing else but what he makes of himself' would sound 'in character' coming from a Silver Screen 'cowboy' like John Wayne in 'True Grit' or Gary Cooper, the sheriff in 'High Noon'. While not a Texan nor a cowboy, fashion photographer Richard Avedon had his own version: "You can't expect another man to carry your shit!" I can imagine Eastwood mouthing that line in a Spaghetti western.

It is not uncommon for Americans --Texans included --to remember their roots more vividly abroad. Thomas Wolfe, abroad in 1926, was very nearly overcome by a flood of impressions and memories, some vivid, some only half recalled but felt. The glimpse of an iron railing summoned up a vivid memory of the boardwalk in Atlantic City; freshly mown grass the smell of Watermelon on the 'Fourth of July'. (See: The Story of a Novel, Thomas Wolfe, The Creative Process, Brewster Ghiselin)

If Europe is as appalled by American culture as it claims to be, then why does it insist upon importing the very worst that America has to offer? For example, I have yet to see a Ken Burns documentary on the BBC, though I had seen many BBC programs on American TV. Why are these programs not seen on European channels but every sleazy exploitation seems to be sought out and distributed.

I have no quarrel with European critiques of American culture. In fact, in most cases, I share them. I disdain Bush and his stupid, tragic war. But Bush is not, in fact, representative of American values. He is a perversion of them. The same is true for most of the GOP.

At last, there are philosophical Texans. One of them --J. Frank Dobie --was a guest lecturer at Cambridge University during World War II. His 'A Texan In England' recounts his experiences, his travels and the connection that he made with the English themselves. His students asked him: "Do we sound as strange to you as you do to us?"

James Frank Dobie (September 26, 1888–September 18, 1964) was an American folklorist, writer, and newspaper columnist best known for many books depicting the richness and traditions of life in rural Texas during the days of the open range. As a public figure, he was known in his lifetime for his outspoken liberal views against Texas state politics, and for his long personal war against what he saw as bragging Texans, religious prejudice, restraints on individual liberty, and the assault of the mechanized world on the human spirit. He was also instrumental in the saving of the Texas Longhorn breed of cattle from extinction.

J. Frank Dobie may have been the first Existentialist Cowboy. When I read Dobie today, I hear my father's voice reading from Coronado's Children (Dallas: The Southwest Press. 1930) by the light of a Kerosene lamp

Despite the fact that Dobie was of another generation, I share a certain "base" with him. Dobie wrote about an unspoiled Texas as it very nearly was when I was a child. His sweeping vistas were my sweeping vistas. Dobie wrote about outlaws, cowboys, desperate golddiggers in search of Maximilian's lost gold shipment. His stories of lost Spanish gold became my mythology and I often saw, in the distance across the dusty plain, the very sprawling mesas where Maximillian's Gold might have been buried.

Dobie is provincial, to be sure, but his writing is universal as is his wit, his wisdom, his empathy. And, unlike Connecticut Texans and drug-store cowboys, Dobie was a free-thinker, a liberal, a 'gentleman and a scholar'. Nevertheless, he will remain virtually unknown in Europe. Dobie learned as much or more than his Cambridge students. He said of them: "Three thousand young men, all of whom would rather lose a game than win it unfairly".

A Trip to Big Bend

Maximilian

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Gulliver's Travels

2010-04-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels was a hit upon its publication and remains popular to this day. Satirizing human nature, Gulliver is placed in a world of another scale, a world in which he is 'curiosity' just as his new environment is, in turn, a curiosity to him. As a literary/philosophical 'device', it works. We are forced to reconsider ourselves, indeed, 'normality' itself.

'Gulliver's Travels' serves up a satirical view of state governments and petty religious quarrels that characterize the nations of Europe and the world then as now. It is in this context that Swift's amazing adventure considers the question of whether or not mankind is 'inherently corrupt' or had become corrupted historically.

Gulliver's adventures become increasingly malignant as the story progresses. Gulliver is shipwrecked, abandoned, and attacked! He is genuinely surprised by Lilliputian viciousness politics and concludes that they are incapable of 'reason'.

Making the point that 'no form of government' is ideal, Gulliver's Travels depict simplistic Brobdingnagians enjoying public executions as was the case in Elizabethan England. Streets are infested with beggars, as is the case in almost every society in which the very, very rich own as much or more than about 90 percent of the rest of the population combined, a situation that is, in fact, the case in the United States today.

Good people, however, are where you find them and even in Lilliput, Gulliver finds friends and allies. Nevertheless, by story's end, Gulliver has changed: the 'cheery optimist' has become a misanthrope by the time he is returned to England with help from a Portugese Captain, Don Pedro.

Gulliver's Travels

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We're in the Money! Ginger Rogers Remembered

2010-04-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

by Len Hart

The current economic crisis has much in common with a booming US economy in the 1920s. By 1927, however, the nation had overproduced goods for which there was no market. Overproduction led to a slowdown in both manufacturing and agriculture. This is evidence --if not proof --that 'trickle down/supply side' economics is a deliberate right wing fraud. No amount of 'top-down' stimulus will create demand. Producers can produce until the cows come home but to no avail without buyers who have the cash with which to buy. Farmer's, for example, were short cash due to recent bad harvests, bad years.

Transferring monies to manufacturers that are over-produced is economic disaster. As a result of experience with the Great Depression, capitalists will simply not invest a tax cut or windfall unless there is measurable and 'monied' demand. Thus: wealth does not 'trickle down' but upward. Tax cuts, intended to stimulate an economy are, rather, transferred to tax heavens offshore. Bailouts for big banks are a mistake and have the effect of further reducing the supply of money in circulation --a 'contraction'. The so-called 'Great Depression' was, in fact, a great contraction in which those who might have spent monies were deprived of it. Goods were left unsold!

During the Great Depression and, later, Ronald Reagan's depression of about two years, millions lost their jobs. Earlier, in 1929, bankers and financiers continued to speculate on stocks, borrowing the money and buying stocks 'on margin'. More recently, 'short sellers' made fortunes that you can rest assured have already been transferred into offshore tax havens.

The wealth of a nation is not the money it prints, borrows or coins. The wealth of a nation is the productivity of its people and their industries. Both declined under Reagan and declined again under Bush and declined yet again under the other Bush!

One wonders why Reagan didn't just cut out the middle man. A more equitable tax cut or better a more progressive tax might have put more spendable income directly into the hands of consumers. Spent money circulates and drives an economy. That consumers spend money seems to be a fact lost on the likes of Reagan, Bush, and the nation's rich and callous elites.

Surely, there were knowledgeable advisers in Reagan's regime who knew better. The tax cut, therefore, was entirely political, a pay off to the rich for their support, or more precisely, their investment! Nothing has changed in the GOP. The Bush administration has made several such "payoffs" during his catastrophic and criminal regime.

The 'contraction' of an economy is typically called a 'depression'. The US economy is contracting due to 1) the transfer of wealth to but about one percent of the population; 2) this 'elite' has transferred most of its wealth offshore where it has absolutely no good effect on the domestic US economy. The current collapse of the US is the end result of a trend that was begun with the passage of Ronald Reagan's infamous tax cut for his rich, elite base. The year was 1982. Historians willl write of that date that it was the beginning of the end of the American empire.

It was Ginger Rogers (July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) who 'stole the show' when she sang "We're in the Money" in Gold Diggers of 1933. Goldiggers was a Warner Bros. musical choreographed by Busby Berkeley and starring Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Joan Blondell and, famously, Ginger Rogers.

It featured songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics: An original stage production ran for 282 performances on Broadway in 1919 and 1920. In 2003, Gold Diggers of 1933 was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

"We're in the Money" is memorable not only for its energy but for the charming performance of by Ginger Rogers, singing s verse in Pig Latin while accompanied by scantily-clad showgirls dancing with giant coins.

Ginger Rogers: We're in the Money, Goldiggers, 1933

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Color Me Barbra: March 27, 1966

2010-04-14T14:36:00.000-07:00

COLOR BARBRA VERY BRIGHT
by Rex Reed

New York Times, March 27, 1966

While Streisand sings, the world stops. She is only 23. yet her name is spoken around the home as often as Jello. The money she makes would put a dent in the national debt. Her first TV special was a milestone. Her second should have even greater impact. She turns records into gold, theaters and concert halls into mob scenes and on TV alone, during the next 10 years, she will make $5-million plus. To hear her sing is like getting the message from special delivery.

Her success, like most successes, brings pressures with it. For one thing, she hates being interviewed, distrusts all photographers and is as nervous about publicity as she is about her own performances. Reporters covering her second CBS-TV special, "Color Me Barbra." to be shown this Wednesday night, 9-10 P.M., even had running bets on just how late she would be for each interview. The answer was almost always: very.

The damp, gray hotel room in Philadelphia is charged with tension. The reporter's date was for one o'clock; it is nearly three. Somewhere, in a suite high above, Barbra is pasting sequins on her eyes. She wanted Pablo of Elizabeth Arden, but he takes too long. Barbra hates to sit still that long. In the corner, a kindly CBS press agent pours Scotch from a bottle sent up by room service. People come and go, telephones ring mysteriously. Everyone smiles nervously. The taping is scheduled to begin at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in two hours. "Barbra is very unpredictable; to tape songs for the show, we rented a studio from 7 to 10 last night; I got home at four A.M.," says the press agent wearily.

People drop by to give opinions. "She sings more subtly now," says her personal publicity girl, a pretty blonde with pierced ears. "She used to sing her guts out; at the end of 'Happy Days' she sounded like she was screaming. She'd never do that now. When she was in 'Wholesale' she used to beg the press agent to get her interviews so she could get a free meal. Reporters used to stare in horror at the table piling up with hors d'oeuvres, three appetizers, two soups, celery tonic, tomato juice, a main course, and four selections from the dessert tray. Now everything's going so smoothly she only worries about details, refinements. She knew her work so well in 'Funny Girl' she never worried about the singing, but about the dust on the plastic flowers or why the blue light failed on Cue 82. Her closing night she was still giving notes to the orchestra on what they were doing wrong."

Word comes, from on high, that the star is ready for her audience. Three-and-a-half hours late, she plods into the room, falls into a chair with her legs spread out, tears open a basket of fruit, bites into a green banana and says to the reporters, "Okay, you've got 20 minutes."

What's the new show like? "Like the old one. They're like book ends. The first one was great, ya know? So this one's gonna be close as it can be. What do I know from TV? I hire the best people in the business, then I let them do everything for me. I don't take chances. I'm paying the bill, it's my problem, right? I coulda got some big name stars to clown around just like everybody else does on their specials, but who needs it? I got complete creative control here, so I do it my way, right?"

How will the show differ from last year? "Instead of Bergdorfs, the first part's in a museum," she says, munching on a bunch of grapes. "I move around in front of the paintings and sometimes I turn into the paintings, get it? The costumes are mostly designed by me, borrowed, rented, or re-made from my old hock-shop wardrobes. The second part's in a circus, and I sing to all the animals. The last part's the concert. Just like last year's. Different songs, same feeling."

Eight people have moved into the room. All of them check their watches and make her very nervous. Some of them answer her questions for her. Barbra does not like the image that comes with being a glamorous star, volunteers one. "She doesn't like parties; she's afraid people ask her because she's a celebrity, not because they like her."

"Yeah, like this party for Princess Margaret, you know? Elliot, my husband, even wore a tuxedo. We were so miserable we cut out for a Ninth Avenue delicatessen, my favorite restaurant, where they still got great greasy french fries and the best rice pudding in town. No raisins, you know what I mean?

"Listen, all my life I wanted to be famous. I knew from nothing about music. I never had a Victrola 'til I was 18. I used to buy clothes in thrift shops. Now I don't go there anymore because people bother me. Besides they've gone up. I always dreamed of a penthouse, right? So now I'm a big star I got one and it's not much fun. I used to dream about terraces, now I gotta spend $500 just to convert mine from summer to winter. Let me tell you, it's just as dirty with soot up there on the 22nd floor as it is down there on the bottom."

At 5 P.M. the museum closes and the cameras are ready. An armada of armed guards line the doors with name tags for everyone official. Disgruntled reporters and unhappy photographers line up in a Renaissance hallway for clearance. "Barbra gets very upset if anyone who isn't official watches her, says a cameraman. Outside, the Philly branch other fan club peers through the beaded glass windows carrying a sign that reads. "Welcome Barb. Barbra even has a fan club in prison," offers the press agent.

OP-ART GOWN

At 7:30 Barbra emerges in a floor-length, op-art gown of hand-sewn sequins in 20 colors and six-inch triangle earrings with bolts of lightning through them like Captain Marvel emblems. Mondrian eyes sharpened with mascara and boyish hairdo slicked back behind her ears, she is ready for the first number. A 25-man production crew, a trained nurse, her personal staff and a few favored members of the press watch as bongo drums blare from portable speakers and Barbra shimmies past walls filled with Cezanne watercolors and Matisse still-lifes shaking on their brackets. The number is repeated a dozen times before choreographer Joe Layton bounces through in white tennis shoes and white turtle-neck sweater crying, "It's awful. It needs work."

By 9:30 the test pattern is adjusted and the color cameras are ready for the fourth tape of the first song. A cameraman crushes out a forbidden cigarette on a valuable piece of 100-year-old Rumanian oak while a guard isn't looking. "Let's go, Barb!" "I gotta get up?" cries the star. Hard looks from Joe Layton. Barbra gets up.

"She's not dumb," says a CBS official. "She heads two corporations — one packages her specials, pays her everything, then the profit she makes is the difference between her expenses and what CBS pays her. This includes her salary. It's a one-woman show, so it would be very weird if she was not the boss."

By 11:15 she comes out in a floor-length black satin maid's outfit with white over-apron, which she designed herself. Elliot Gould, her husband, arrives, wearing an official label so the guards will let him in. Barbra runs past 12 pillars and up 35 stone stairs singing "Yesterdays." Then she collapses in a corner eating hot pastrami, sour green tomatoes, kosher pickles and stuffed gefilte fish from paper containers. "My gums hurt," she cries.

The crew throws color cables over the balcony of the museum's Great Hall, missing by inches a valuable Alexander Calder mobile and a priceless 17th-century Flemish tapestry. A museum official screams.

Barbra's manager, Marty Erlichman, comes over. Marty is a friendly, bear-like fellow who discovered her at the Bon Soir fresh out of Erasmus High School, a smart, skinny, big-nosed girl who had a 93 average and a medal in Spanish. When he met Barbra he was a little-known talent agent working on Broadway. Now he heads his own company. "For nine months I tried to get her a job. Every record company in the business turned her down. 'Change the clothes, change the nose, stop singing the cockamamy songs.' Now it'll start all over when she hits Hollywood to make Funny Girl. They'll want to make her into Doris Day. But she sells the public Barbra, nothing else. She's never been bastardized or exploited. The main thing she's gotta learn is not to trust too much. The public is very fickle. Ten million people love you when you're an underdog on the way up, but nine and a half million of them hate you when you hit the top."

FANS APPEAR

At 2 A.M. a group of teenagers appeared at the museum with a kettle of hot chicken soup. "Just give it to her," they yell through the locked doors. "Could she just wave?" Barbra is busily chewing sour green apple gum (her current favorite) in a lavender and silver Marie Antoinette costume with lavender wig and purple ostrich plumes. "Get rid of them. They follow me everywhere. Sometimes they get my autograph three or four times in one night. Whatta ya think they do with all those autographs?"

The action continues through the next day, with no sleep. Barbra works very hard. Others stop to rest, but her extraordinary energy carries her through. Barbra playing a guillotine scene in the French Revolution. Barbra doing "something based on Nefertiti." Electricians and reporters curl up on tabletops and behind potted palms, catnapping "If the star gives up, everybody gives up. I gotta keep smiling," says Barbra.

Gradually, the bits and pieces, the long shots and closeups, the takes and retakes that make up a smooth-looking show are assembled.

Back in New York, part two was achieved through sheer tenacity. Barbra danced out onto a three-ring circus set. A baby elephant named Champagne roared so loudly that a baby llama nearby did a somersault. Barbra sang "Funny Face" in an orange ringmaster's costume. The horse reared, the penguins got sick under the hot lights and had to be carted off to a refrigerated area behind the set. The leopard refused to pose.

Barbra had to worry not about being trampled to death but when to come in on cue. The show was behind schedule and the overtime was costing the star money. Four electricians chased a pig across the set and damaged part of the backdrop. The only light moment came when Barbra sang to an anteater named Izzy. "He must be Jewish," she said, as they touched noses.

More than 30 hours were spent on the circus segment, which runs only a few minutes on screen. Barbra's temper exploded. "Too many people not connected with the show." "Too many people staring at me " The press was removed to the control room.

By week's end there was nothing left to tape but the concert portion of the show. Barbra came out in a pale creamy gown with pearl drop earrings and pale lipstick, standing on a white spiral staircase under blue-turning-lavender lights, switching on the charm for an audience of teased hair girls and screaming teen-age fans—clowning, joking, kibitzing with her little dog Sadie ("a hooked rug that barks"). The magic shone through. Barbra became the public figure-gamine, appealing.

By midnight some 200 hours of hard work were over. The grips packed up the set was struck. "Great show! She'll make millions on the re-runs," said a control-room engineer. "Give me Julie Andrews any day," said an electrician, wiping his forehead. In her dressing room, the star of the show was told she could finally go home to bed and for the first time that week, Barbra Streisand was on time.END

Barbra Streisand: It Had to be You

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