Let
me start by sharing that I have never
been a fan of jazz.
Or
perhaps I should say, I thought I was
never a fan of jazz. This revelation
revealed itself recently while I was listening to a weekly radio show in Palm
Springs, California, on KJJZ Radio, “Jazz For Jazz Lovers,” hosted by radio
personality and jazz connoisseur, Jeff Barr - who, I should add, is also a
friend of mine. When he asked if I would
appear on his show to plug my just released CD, with my alternative rock band,
Old Sand Mill, I agreed of course, figuring that any and all exposure for our
new album is a good thing. And though I
am the songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist for the band, I still admittedly questioned
my relevance to Jeff’s program. After
all, this has been a range of music I generally shunned over the years – both
as a listener and as a musician. My
tastes have always run the gamut from Late 60’s to Contemporary Alternative Rock,
Folk, Reggae, R&B, Blues, Bluegrass, World, and Classical, and depending on
the occasion, “Heady” Music.
Barr
is one of two jazz DJ’s at KJJZ Radio I can call a friend, the other being
internationally renowned Smooth Jazz radio personality Jim “Fitz” Fitzgerald. Coincidently, two years ago, Fitz conducted a
live on-air telephone interview with me after he heard an advance track from
Old Sand Mill’s debut CD, “The World Is Getting Colder” (currently a
well-reviewed, popular CD on iTunes). Though
Fitz’s playlist features primarily Smooth Jazz and Fusion, he nevertheless,
premiered our song, “Too Much Sun” on his daily show. The jazz connection, apparently, was inspired
by one of the many famous guest musicians on our album, Darryl Jones - a
twenty-five year member of The Rolling Stones and bassist on two albums with Miles
Davis.
Thus,
on preparing for my upcoming appearance on Barr’s more purist jazz program, I searched
into my other possible connections over the years, to the world of Mainstream,
Modal, Avant-Garde, Cool, Improvisational, and Fusion Jazz. And the result was
a surprise, filled with direct jazz-like influences throughout my life that I
had simply not realized. As a great
writer once said, “The older I get, the better I used to be.”
For
me, it was all about growing up with an Irish mom who was a World War II Navy
WAV - nurse turned photographer - and eventually, a 30-year veteran of the
Paterson, NJ Police Department. Paterson
is the birthplace of many more artists and entertainers, including jazz artist
Bucky Pizzarelli, comedian Lou Costello, and iconic poets, Allen Ginsberg and
William Carlos Williams. After my father
died at 39 years old, widowing my mother at 38, she turned her passion to the music
of her era, big band and traditional jazz; her own tastes ranging from Dizzy
Gillepsie and Lionel Hampton, to Benny Goodman and Tony Bennett. She
became President of big band singer, Helen O’Connell’s National Fan Club, and
became very close friends with big band crooner, Bob Eberly, and the legendary Artie
Shaw.
As
a professional filmmaker, music video director, artist, and songwriter, my
world of music and film did not intersect much with the jazz universe. The earliest impressions of music that
affected me, was Elvis, Doo-Wop, traditional Kingston Trio/Pete Seeger-style
folk, the protest folk of Dylan, The Beatles and the British invasion, Progressive
Rock, Punk, and selected Disco. But now,
somehow, I seemed to have done more than flirt with jazz, I’ve actually been
more of a fan of it than I realized. And more importantly, it has
permeated my own creative work.
Following
is a list of icons and artists associated with jazz history, that have touched
my life and my own history, in no particular chronology:
-
Dave Brubeck – the first jazz
recording I truly dug. It taught me what being in a groove was. For
years, it was the only jazz artist I could cite and the only one I listened
to. How sweet that in 1980, I directed a television commercial for McCann
Erickson Advertising in NYC and Dave scored it. I got to spend weeks with
him. He was everything I hoped he would be. In fact, we begin our
own Old Sand Mill CD with an engineer saying “Take Five.”
-
Diahann Carroll – I directed her
live concert television special for PBS at the Annenberg Theater in Palm
Springs in 2011, as part of the PBS national pledge drive (It is still airs in
repeats). Diahann, of course, an Oscar,
EMMY, and Grammy Award winner, has vocalized, recorded, and jammed with the
greats, from Sinatra and Hampton to Armstrong and Les Paul.
-
Mel Torme – I was a scriptwriting
partner with his son Tracy Torme, and briefly dated his step-daughter, Melissa
Torme March in the early 80’s. Her
natural father was Hal March, host of the TV classic, “The $64,000
Question.” I visited at Mel’s home in
Beverly Hills quite often, where on several occasions, he spontaneously serenaded
us in his den, on the very piano he composed “Christmas Song” on. Experiencing this musical giant singing, “Chestnuts
roasting on an open fire…” in a live, personal performance, is an unforgettable
moment in my life. We shared many a
glass of vino together. I regret I was
on location in Hawaii, and could not attend his funeral tribute.
-
John Coltrane & Cab Calloway – As a published poet, I still
perform Spoken Word in the LA area, but when I resided in New York City in the 70’s
and early 80’s, I appeared weekly in cafes from Greenwich Village to South
Philly, where I often performed my original poems accompanied by guest
musicians. One special evening at The
Village Gate in Greenwich Village, in an hour-long Spoken Word concert, I was
joined on stage by John Coltrane himself;
Avant-Garde Jazz abstractionist, Jude
Quintere; and published Poet/Author, Louis Ginsberg (father of Beat Poet and
World Jazz lover, the legendary, Allen
Ginsberg).
Also
on stage that night was - Cab Calloway!
A decade later, I controlled the film rights
to Cab’s story and was attempting to get
it financed at a major studio, with Eddie Murphy attached to play
Calloway. As the attached director and screenwriter, I
got to work closely with Cab before he passed in ’94. What an honor.
-
Artie Shaw – a longtime friend of my
mom and her family. I knew Artie since I was a young teen, though I did
fall out of touch in the late ‘80’s, until he passed away in 2004. He attended my mom’s funeral when she passed
ten years earlier.
-
Chick Corea – In an earlier
incarnation as one-half of a popular acoustic duo, Reynolds and Miller, whom gained
popularity on the East Coast in the early 70’s, we opened for Corea many times,
including once when his guitarist had to
borrow my guitar because his was lost in baggage and hadn’t arrived in time for
the show.
-
Nina Simone - My first Personal
Manager in NYC, Nat Shapiro (also a noted author on music and discographies)
also managed Nina. I got to sit in the wings onstage at Carnegie Hall
during one of her concerts, and met her several times.
-
Thelonious Monk – I opened for him
in a music festival at Cornell State College in New York, with my Progressive
Rock band, Pomeroy. We all jammed together after the show. It was, to say the least, a fascinating
experience.
-
Oscar Peterson – I directed a
national commercial spot for J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency in NYC, and Oscar
scored the spot, as well as appeared in it.
The best part was that we shot on location in New Orleans. What a wonderful place to be working with a
jazz icon.
-
Keely Smith – I met Keely when I
moved to the Palm Springs area, and have enjoyed getting to know her
personally. We first met backstage at a
Chris Botti concert in 2006. She got a
big kick when I told her I had a mad crush on her when I was 12.
-
Pat Metheny – Met Pat backstage at
the Greek in LA, and had a chance to chat about music and the dying, changing
music biz.
-
Chris Botti – Met and spent time
with Chris Botti after his annual concert at the McCallum Theater in Palm
Desert. We connected over several mutual
friends, particularly Darryl Jones
(The Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, Madonna, etc.), who joined Chris recording and
touring with Sting on his world
tour.
-
Darryl Jones – Bass player for The Rolling Stones for over thirty
years, Darryl replaced original Stones bassist, Bill Wyman. But before his long stint with The Stones, Jones
played with Sting, Eric Clapton, Peter
Gabriel, and Madonna. But his pride and joy memories come from
his playing bass with his hero, Miles
Davis. In the mid-80’s, he appeared
on the Davis albums, “Decoy,” and “You’re Under Arrest.” Darryl appears
on our Old Sand Mill 2012 debut CD,
“The World Is Getting Colder,” playing his remarkable bass on several tracks,
including our first single, “Too Much Sun,” to be released in September 2012,
and already a hit on iTunes. In
addition, Darryl, Old Sand Mill, and I, all share the same Personal Management
team.
- Les
Paul - The jazz legend who
got me fired from my job. One Summer in the mid-70's, I worked as a
graphic and mechanical paste-up artist for a small ad agency in Mahwah, NJ,
located about a half mile from Paul's sprawling ranch and estate. One
day, I chanced to come across him while I was taking a lunchtime Stroll.
He was a gentle and friendly fellow, who ended up inviting me to see his
guitar collection and studio. I was blown away and spent the afternoon with
him, completely forgetting about my job. Needless to say, my boss was
quite unhappy and let me go on the spot. So, thank you Mister Paul, for
an unforgettable afternoon and for getting me out of that horrible job.
Two months ater, I was working as an Art Director on Madison Avenue,
followed a few years later by co-founding my own successful ad agency, American
Media Advertising. I sold the company to move to LA in 1982 to become a
full-fledged filmmaker and writer. My motto is "Les is
more."
-
Bucky Pizzerelli and sons John and Martin – Hailing from my hometown of Paterson, NJ, I met and worked
with Bucky many times and even shared a stage with him and his sons at a Bergen
County, NJ open air music festival, where I performed my stand-up comedy act at
the time.
-
Clint Eastwood – Besides his ultimate
jazz-themed film, “Bird” in 1988 about Charlie
“Bird” Parker, which I actually worked on, I have since gotten to know
Clint quite well, including developing an original western script with his
production company, Malpasso Films, along with longtime friend, actor Liam
Neeson. When Clint broke up with his
longtime girlfriend, actress Sondra Locke, I was her rebound love interest for
a few months. I have had the honor of attending several of Clint’s film
premieres, and now ironically, dine often at his restaurant, Hogsbreath Inn, in
Old Town La Quinta, located within walking distance to my film and video
production company, Desert C.A.M. Studios.
Clint, as most folks know, is a “pure” jazz lover from way, way back.
- Herbie Hancock – I Co-Produced two
of his music videos in the 90’s.
-
Gerald Albright & Jeff Golub – Got to know them both
quite well when I directed a recent multi-camera concert video for DVD that
they headlined at the annual KJJZ
Radio’s “Guitars & Saxes” Smooth Jazz Festival, hosted and produced by my
friend, Jim “Fitz” Fitzpatrick.
.
- Paul Simon – not exactly the
first person one thinks of when one is talking jazz greats, whether new or old
school players, but Simon has employed the best of them for his many wonderful
solo albums over the years. And recently he made a foray into jazz at
Lincoln Center where he performed with The
Jazz and Wynton Marsalis.
My relationship with Paul goes back to 1973, when he was brought in to produce what
was supposed to be my debut album as one half of the acoustic folk duo, Reynolds and Miller. We had
already toured and opened for Simon and even did a few early shows with Simon
& Garfunkel as well. In the late 70’s, Simon was a guest artist on
several songs I was recording at the time with my folk rock band Pomeroy,
adding both guest vocals and guitar.
-
Brian Wilson – Known more for his extensive
and legendary pop discography, Brian recently released a solo album of jazz and
American Songbook classics. As a composer, many of his chord progressions
follow the fusion jazz structure. Brian also appears as a guest vocalist
on Old Sand Mill’s CD. Two years ago, I
directed his “Live Pet Sounds” multi-camera concert comeback at UCLA’s Royce
Hall, that featured another ex-Beach Boy, Al Jardine..
- Jack Jones – I met Jack and his wife
in 2011, and had the opportunity to sing along with him at a private party,
where he serenaded guests with his hits and jazzy classics. Hearing him do “Love Boat” solo at a piano,
was truly priceless.
-
Gino Vanelli – A still touring
international 70’s singing star, who flirted with smooth jazz on pretty much
all of his many top ten hits. Gino and I
became friends when I decided to cast him in a supporting role in a small indie
film I was set to direct in NYC, that was to star James Caan, Alison Eastwood
(Clint’s daughter), and Dean Cain.
Unfortunately, the film was scheduled to shoot on September 15th, 2001. Needless to say, history altered our plans.
To compound matters, my dear friend and producing associate, Carolyn
Mayer-Beug, was aboard Flight 11 that struck the North Tower of the World Trade
Center. A sad year for all. But Gino and I nevertheless remain in touch
and hope to work with each other on a future music or film project.
-
Allen Ginsberg – the great legendary
beat poet and I performed many times together. I opened for him as a
spoken word performance artist throughout the NYC area in the early 70’s.
Allen was also born in my hometown, Paterson, NJ. Allen experimented with
jazz in almost all his writings and performances, working on stage with John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Charlie “Bird” Parker.
- Bernie Williams – a former NY
Yankee great and Hall of Fame slugger with a gazillion World Series
rings. It seems, that all this time, he was also a great jazz and smooth
jazz guitarist. After retiring from the
Yanks, he released several solo albums and all to favorable reviews, and has
now played with a who’s who of smooth jazz greats and guitar legends, like Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin, and Pat Metheny, and Will Lee and Paul Schaefer
from The David Letterman Band. As of
this writing, PBS Television is preparing a huge marketing campaign to promote
their September 2012 Pledge Drive Special live concert. The show was all shot
on location in Puerto Rico, and features a host of international musical
artists, including Marc Anthony, pianist Arthur Hanlon, Laura Pausini, Ana Isabel,
Cheyo Feliciano, Natalia Jimenez, and Bernie Williams. I directed, co-produced, and edited this
exciting upcoming television special.
- Jake Shimabukuro – a world famous
ukulele master who dives deep into jazz in his performance songbook. I
discovered him in 2000 while I was directing a movie in Hawaii. He was
part of a band called Colon, a top
folk rock band on Oahu, winning two HOKU Awards that year (Hawaii’s Grammy
Awards). After the band split up, Jake
went solo and I represented him for a year on the Mainland. Since 2004, Jake’s career and status, has gone
through the roof, performing for world leaders, opening for major artists, and
gaining the respect of other great musicians.
He has appeared on all the major circuit shows: Leno, Letterman,
O’Brien, Ferguson, Kimmel, and Daly’s, as well as at all the major jazz and
music festivals around the world. Called
The Clapton of the Ukulele, Jake and I remain good friends and hope to work
together in the near future.
-
Pat Rizzo - Since residing in the Palm Springs area, I
have become good friends with sax great and orchestra leader, recording artist Rizzo, who was also an original member
of Sly & The Family Stone and War.
Pat is currently recording his version of an original track from our
Old Sand Mill CD, “The World Is Getting Colder.” His Tony Bennett meets Earth, Wind & Fire
mix of “River, River” is due for release in late 2012.
-
Frankie Randall - I have also gotten
to know on a very personal basis, recording artist and singer/pianist Frankie
Randall, who not only accompanied Frank
Sinatra as a pianist, but had a close personal relationship to Old Blue
Eyes, and even inherited his original sheet music as a gift from Sinatra. At his 2011 annual Christmas show at the Bob
Hope Theater, I was invited to be on stage with his other guests, Jack Jones, Peter Marshall, Rich Little,
Steve Rossi, Ariana Savalas (Telly’s singer/dancer daughter), and Pia Zadora.
-
Pia Zadora – Pia and I became
friends after I directed her comeback concert video DVD in 2012. Before she voluntarily retired for 15 years
to tend to her children, she played Las Vegas alongside Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Sammy Davis, Jr., Count Basie, and Tony Bennett. She is currently touring
successfully and in mid-2013, we will be taping her show again, but this time
as part of a Public Television special concert and documentary about Jewish
Jazz greats and songwriters.
I
think that pretty much drains my memory banks in my quest to tie my art and my
life to jazz. In retrospect, it appears
that the many genres of jazz have been more influential and far more impactful
to my world than I possibly could have imagined. So let me finish by repeating, I thought I was never a fan of jazz. Well,
don't give me that jazz anymore!
Below are original illustrations and drawings inspired by Jazz, including a portrait of an aged John Cage.
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