Jump! and Other Birthday Exhortations

This card, which inside reads “Drop everything…it’s party time!” was given to me by Jan, Richard, Jessica, and Christopher. I like to imagine that the frog jumpers shown here are none other than the children’s frogs that I fed while they were on vacation this summer.

Other exhortations were received via email, such as this one sent in to me by she who is Just Muttering By Myself

Live to the fullest extent possible.
Live to learn, and remember that you learn by living.
That is the path to happiness.

Surprise

Disappointed is not a word that could even begin to do justice to what I felt when she said “Panda Inn.” It was Friday evening and I had called my friends to find out where we were to meet for my special birthday dinner the next night. Originally, they were to have chaufeured, but now that my parents had flown in to join us, I needed to drive so I could pick them up at the hotel first. There is nothing wrong with Panda Inn, we go there all the time, but that fact was itself the problem to me: there is nothing at all special about the local Chinese eatery, a place that I feel fine frequenting when clad in jeans.

“Panda Inn?” I repeated. “Umm. Oh. What time?”

I’m sure she heard between the lines, and I kicked myself repeatedly over the next 24-hours for feeling so ungrateful. These were my best friends, friends who saw me through the cancer war, and my parents flew all the way from New York just for a weekend to celebrate my birthday. Wasn’t that special enough?!

When we walked into the restaurant I was trying hard to be upbeat, but I was getting annoyed all over again. It was a crowded Saturday night, and my girlfriend was waiting for us up front to say they had seated us in the back – my least favorite spot in the whole restaurant – and her husband was back there holding the table.

The back room is not huge, but as I scanned the tables I did not see her husband. I was about to ask her “where?” — and then I saw them all in the private room off to the right – more than two dozen of my best friends, neighbors, and even my cousins who live in San Jose. I couldn’t take it all in.

I was truly speechless, a fact which caused great glee for many of my friends who know me to be opinionated and seldom if ever at a loss for words. In addition to my four best girlfriends who had been in cahoots with my mother to pull this off, the Coolidge Avenue gang (a/k/a the neighborhood) was there in force. Others at the table included a longtime friend who I hadn’t seen much since she adopted three children, a friend who writes for the Los Angeles Times, and a couple who I would describe as my newest friends (he’s a contractor and she’s an actress – you’ll hear more about them in weeks to come as he’s the one who is about to refurbish our kitchen/family room).

The food was plentiful – first came the pot stickers and cup of soup, then a steady stream of entrées including honey-walnut shrimp (my personal favorite), Wok-Seared Scallops (or was it the Sizzling Scallops?), a chicken with asparagus dish, Asian Spiced Beef Short Ribs served with fat noodles, Crispy Fish Fillets (very spicy), Sautéed Mixed Vegetables, and more. The birthday cake (a lemon mouse cake) was brought in from my favorite bakery, Patticakes .

In addition to some wonderful gifts that included a to-die-for pearl and diamond necklace that my husband designed, an iPod nano given to me by a coalition of neighbors (I’m the number 2, or maybe number 3, tech guru on the street, but the only one heretofore without an ipod), an issue of Life magazine from 1955 (it cost only 20-cents back then), gift certificates, champagne and wine, and books, one of my friends had collected cards and greetings from friends who lived afar so that they could “be there” too. Well-wishers from afar included pianist Norman Simmons (my Libra brother who wanted to know what took me so long to make it to 50), my friends in Westchester who “adopted” me into their family when I was a moody teenager, and a neighbor of whom I am very fond and miss as she moved away after her husband died. A few of the cards made me teary, and several made me laugh. Most had messages or quotations that I will share with you over the coming days, and two people have promised to send me pictures, so perhaps I’ll post a few snaps on the blog later in the week.

It was truly a special evening.

One Day Left

Tomorrow I turn fifty, so what will I do today-the last-day-of-the-first-half? I thought about not working, not posting to the blog, not doing anything on demand…but that’s not my nature. Most of what I enjoy doing is, in some way, part of my work. My reading generally informs my work (except when I on rare occassion when I “escape” into trade trash novels), and surfing the web is usually for research or at least fodder for thought and possible blog posting. [Speaking of which, Mr. Teachout very serendipitously posted today a particularly pertinent reprise of his August 2004 Antepenultimate posting.] Even playing Free Cell on the computer is usually a trigger for loosening my brain enough to think more creatively about one project or another.

I have a stack of books to read about Duke Ellington, who was a huge influence on Luther Henderson and with whom he worked very closely — books are soon due back at the library, so I’d best get to them quickly. I’ve got a 3000-word article due soon, plans and calls to make in my new role as Minister of Education for the Jazz Journalists Association, and then there are the chores of a personal nature that, being chores, also qualify as work: picking up clothes at the cleaners, picking out a new sink and faucet for the soon-to-be renovated kitchen, and so on. Actually, one thing I have to do today that is not a chore at all is pick up my parents at the airport. They’re coming out for a weekend visit, a mother/daughter spa treatment, and a quiet birthday dinner for six (two friends are joining us) someplace nice, I’m told. By Sunday afternoon, though, I’ll be back at work as I have scheduled a phone interview with choreographer Hope Clark.

Have a nice weekend, see you on Monday.

Once Upon A Monday Night

One Monday night at the Village Vanguard, many years ago, during the third set in front of a packed house so quiet you could hear the proverbial pin drop, Roland Hanna began one of his long ostinato vamps, then slowly wandered his way into a solo selection of his choice. As he played on, intently listening band members were trying to figure out what tune he was playing. Jerry Dodgion nudged Jerome Richardson and whispered, “What is this?” Jerome looked up at the ceiling, listened some more, and finally shrugged. They both looked quizzically at Thad. Thad always knew what tune Roland was playing, no matter how far afield the improvisation. But not that night. That night Roland’s rendition of Body and Soul stumped them all. When the applause finally died down, Thad asked Roland to name that tune, and Roland was actually perturbed that they didn’t get it.

This story from the lore of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra was told to me a few nights ago by saxophonist Jerry Dodgion, and I should have mentioned Dodgion’s web site when I was pointing out musician sites the other day. Jerry’s leading a group called “The Joy of Sax” (five saxophones and rhythm section) and their first CD is Jerry Dodgion and the Joy of Sax featuring Frank Wess (LSM 101). It can be purchased though CD Baby, where you can also hear a few clips.

Overheard

“It’s becoming more and more less true.”

I heard someone say that on the radio a few days ago. Along the similar lines, Terry Teachout made mention today (here) of a book titled Slam Dunks and No-Brainers: Language in Your Life, the Media, Business, Politics, and, Like, Whatever. I think I’ll read it, too. Then maybe I’ll post the top ten words or phrases that bug me the most.

Lunch with Lainie

When I first moved to California in the late 1970s, I worked briefly for a screenwriter who had an office next door to Lainie’s office, so we first “met” back then. Several years later, when I was publicist for Joe Williams, our paths crossed again — though perhaps not in person — when Joe worked in Lainie’s Room and Lainie’s Room East, night spots in the Playboy Clubs in Los Angeles and New York, respectively. During those early publicity years I was also friends with another publicist who was a good friend of Lainie’s and talked about her a lot – still no person-to-person meetings. So here we are, twenty-five-plus years later, having a bite to eat and chatting away like old friends

Lainie Kazan is a multi-award winner in film, television and on stage, but she exhibits none of the kiss-kiss Hollywood bs. She’s warm, funny, and down to earth. It has been written (here) that she “began her career as Barbra Streisand’s understudy in the Broadway production of Funny Girl and soon thereafter became the “chanteuse” of her native New York, appearing in nightclubs and as a guest on virtually every top variety and talk show on television.” But she actually had two shows under her belt before Funny Girl. First she played Theodora in The Happiest Girl in the World at the Martin Beck Theatre (4/3/1961 – 6/24/1961), and almost a year later she appeared at the Broadhurst Theatre as La Contessa in Bravo Giovanni (5/19/1962 – 9/15/1962), which is where she first met Luther Henderson. Luther was the dance arranger collaborating with choreographer Carol Haney. I haven’t researched this yet, but I suspect that when Haney was hired to do Funny Girl (her credit for that show reads “Musical Staging by Carol Haney”) it was she who suggested (or perhaps insisted) on hiring Luther to do the dance arrangements.

For those of you under a certain age, you may remember Lainie better from the 1982 movie My Favorite Year starring Peter O’Toole who played a bad-boy movie star (the story was loosly based on Errol Flynn’s appearance on Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows). And if you’re too young to remember that, think Toula’s mom from the romantic comedy movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Or if you’re a tv buff, you may have seen Lainie on lots of programs including Will & Grace, Touched by an Angel, Veronica’s Closet, and The Nanny (she played the recurring role of Aunt Frieda).

I’ve been having a blast interviewing all kinds of people who worked with Luther in one capacity or another. So far everyone has been really nice, and each and every person seems to have adored Luther. Next I’m looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with Ken Page, one of the original actors in the Broadway musical Ain’t Misbehavin’. I’ll tell you more about Ken next week.

Musicians’ Web Sites

There are gazillions of musician web sites, too many for any one person to surf. So I thought I’d mention just a few that have come to my attention lately.

Either blue is cool, or blue is jazzy, or maybe blue = cool jazz. Two dynamic drummers both have deep blue home pages. Lewis Nash starts off in blue, but changes moods with each section tinged in a different palette.

Drummer/Poet Michael Stephans combines words and music. Click on Words to sample his poems and essays, and click on Media to hear some clips, including the most unusual rendition of Hava Nagilah I’ve ever heard from his as-yet-unreleased new recording.

Drummer Marty Morell (many remember him from his years with the Bill Evans Trio, 1968 -75) has a new quintet album with sound samples available on his new web site.

Also of interest are The Bill Evans Webpages

Guitarist Henry Johnson has a cool-looking new site, but several sections are still under construction…

It looks like the ArtistShare home site has been redesigned, sporting a lighter cool blue feel and tabbed sections. The current welcome message says:

Where the fans make it happen. ArtistShare is all about delivering the excitement of the creative process to the fan.

Some of my favorite people have Artistshare web sites including: Bob Brookmeyer, Billy Childs, Scott Colley, Jim Hall, and Maria Schneider

And last for today, but certainly not least, Sonny Rollins has a killer site – it is chock full of content with lots more to come, including some really interesting audio Reflections.

Lineup

I wonder what our television viewing habits say about us? I was blog browsing over the weekend and saw that a few folks (Reflections in D minor*, Jaquandor , and Tosy and Cosh ) have posted their tv viewing preferences for the new season [Drat! I forgot that West Wing has moved to Sunday evenings.] So I might as well Fall-in. (Sorry, pun intended.)

Sunday
I really like Cold Case and West Wing, now both on at 8 PM. Guess I’ll have to start taping (don’t have TiVo). Then Law & Order Criminal Intent followed by Grey’s Anatomy (unless Grey’s gets too stupid, in which case I’ll watch Crossing Jordon, otherwise I may watch Jordon during re-runs or taped).

Monday
Nothing really until Medium at 10 PM (I like this one a lot), but if I really really want to watch something earlier, Las Vegas can be amusing.

Tuesday
8 PM NCIS (but I’m gonna miss Agent Kate Todd a/k/a Sasha Alexander). 9 PM nothing!!!!!!!! Well, maybe Commander In Chief, if it lasts, but I don’t really care for Geena Davis; on the other hand, Donald Sutherland…. And 10 PM Boston Legal and Law & Order SVU (I’ll have to tape one).

Wednesday
Not much until Law & Order at 10 PM – and this is not my favorite of the franchise — I love Lt. Anita Van Buren/S. Epatha Merkerson, but can’t stand Det. Joe Fontana/Dennis Farina).

Thursday
CSI at 9 PM, followed by Without a Trace at 10 — both of which I can live without. ER lost me a few seasons ago.

Friday
8 PM Haven’t checked out Ghost Whisperer yet…so maybe. Nothing at 9 unless Dateline has a story of interest. Maybe Numbers at 10, but I’m not that big a fan.

Saturday
Looks like network movie night, and not likely to hold much appeal.

*Note: Reflections in D minor has changed its name and address to A Sweet, Familiar Dissonance. I should probably watch less television and read more blogs. Links to this and a few other recommended blogs can be found in the last box in the left sidebar.