Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was a ground-breaking American jazz composer, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. 
    One of his most famous compositions is "Spain," from 1971, an instrumental jazz fusion piece. Corea introduced "Spain" on his album Light As a Feather. The simple and haunting melody heard at the beginning of the song is from Concierto de Aranjuez, a guitar concerto by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. Corea and his band were nominated for Grammys for this song.
    At one point Al Jarreau added original lyrics to the song. Jarreau featured this version, known as Spain (I Can Recall), on his 1980 album This Time.

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Jamie and I actually "met" Chick Corea around 1975 or so. While in high school, we went to see the late, great trumpet player Maynard Ferguson and his big band at a club somewhere in the Boston area. Maynard (as usual) was blowing out his kishkes hitting insanely high notes. 
     At one point in the show Maynard acknowledged that Chick Corea was in the audience... "Where are you Chick?" That's when a guy at the table right next to us raised his hand and waved. That was pretty cool. We had a really great conversation with Chick (no, that part's not true). Oh well. Still, pretty neat to sit so close to genius. Jamie, I am not talking about you. Well, maybe a little.

After I heard the McFerrin version, they had to pick me up off of the floor. 

That's all for now, jazz fans! Until next time...

Legendary singer Al Jarreau passed away a couple of years ago at the age of 76. His vocal versatility and infectious energy led to huge commercial success in the 1970s and 1980s.

I've been rediscovering Jarreau. He was a musical hero to me. I remember attending one of his concerts in Hartford, CT, while in college, and being just blown away by his unique voice. The New York Times noted:

One of Jarreau's hits was a cover of Paul Desmond's Take Five, written for the Dave Brubeck Quartet - and famous for its bright sound and infectious 5/4 time. Brubeck's wife Iola wrote lyrics for the tune, and Al Jarreau recorded his scat version of it for a live concert in 1975. 

Here's my homage to Al's plea to the woman of his dreams to... take a little time out with him... just Take Five:

A long year behind us. Light at the end of the tunnel? Here's hopin'.
Meanwhile, keep washing your hands, wearing a mask, and do whatever it is you gotta do to stay sane.

Sometimes, a nice ballad and a belt of whiskey does the trick.

Sammy Davis, Jr. in "A Man Called Adam," (1966), directed by Leo Penn. Music by Benny Carter. 
Featuring Cicely Tyson in her first film role, Louis Armstong, Ossie Davis, Frank Sinatra, Jr.,  and (not shown here) Mel Torme and Peter Lawford. 

I watched "A Man Called Adam" for the very first time in 2020 on TCM during Black History Month. This rarely shown film is notable for its amazing cast of talented artists, and for its stark, unsparing portrayal of racism in America. And though the film is bleak and its hero deeply troubled, there are some wonderful musical treasures to be found in it as well.

THE SET-UP

Adam Johnson (Sammy Davis, Jr.) is a gifted jazz trumpet player, plagued by ill health, racism, alcoholism and a short temper, as well as guilt over the deaths years before of his wife and child. Driving drunk after a confrontation with a White police officer, Adam caused the accident that killed his family.

The result is a caustic personality that wears even on those who care the most about him, such as his best friend Nelson (Ossie Davis), Vincent (Frank Sinatra, Jr.), a young White trumpeter whom Adam mentors, Adam's older musician friend Willie (Louis Armstrong) and Willie's granddaughter Claudia (Cicely Tyson), a prominent Civil Rights Movement worker. After a rough start in which Adam makes a drunken pass at Claudia, a romance with Claudia slowly begins. She cautions Adam that from that point on, she will not allow him to be any less than he is. Nelson warns Claudia against a relationship, saying that although he understands what she sees in Adam, he will still ultimately only hurt her. But she is not dissuaded, saying she is determined not to let Adam destroy himself. Full plot summary on Wikipedia. 

THE MUSIC
It is nothing less than extraordinary. Here are some clips featuring original tunes written for the film by saxophonist/composer Benny Carter (Sammy's trumpet part is actually played by Nat Adderley).

And here's Mel Torme, playing himself entertaining at a private party.

INSPIRATION FOR ME
The first time I heard "Whisper to One" in the movie, I was transfixed -- and motivated to take a swing at it myself! Here it is, accompanied by guitarist friend Rick Keena. I fill in Sammy's "trumpet" with a scat approach.

January 20, 2021, Inauguration Day, marked a historic moment -- of new beginnings, of healing words and songs. We heard from Garth and Gaga and JLo. And the amazing young poet Amanda Gorman.
    Look back to 1946, when a triumphant and battle-weary America was just beginning to recover from fighting a long, existential war against hatred, intolerance, and totalitarianism across the globe. America was home to a young, hugely popular singing star who had teenage girls everywhere swooning (including my Mom!). Frank Sinatra had something that he really wanted to sing about. 
     It's a song called "The House I Live In" in a short film of the same name. It was created to help battle anti-Semitism, and intolerance of all minorities, here at home in America. Sinatra was no stranger to intolerance. He grew up poor in Hoboken, NJ, and was the target of anti-Italian bigotry. He became an early champion of equal rights, insisting on equal pay and treatment for the Black artists who toured with him. 

     The action is set at a recording studio where Sinatra has been putting down tracks. The first 2 minutes, 45 seconds are skippable -- it's kind of a lousy, unmemorable ballad. Finished with the first song,  he pops out to the alley for a smoke break, and something happens that sparks a different song. For their efforts on "The House I Live In,"  the filmmakers were honored with a special Academy Award. Skip to 2:45.

Juel and I chose this song by George and Ira Gershwin for the first dance at our wedding. It probably is a first dance at a lot of weddings— or at least it used to be. There’s an awfully good reason why.

The recent outpouring of interest in Peter Falk's lost music album "And one more thing... Merry Christmas" has led to a flurry of activity in search of more of this ancient treasure.
  Yesterday afternoon I received an exuberant email from a paleontologist at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. While poking around in a tar pit with fellow paleontologists, this excellent explorer of the extinct came upon a strange, hard object stuck in the goopy, sticky tar of site #13.
  At first the scientists thought it was a partial clavicle from a triceratops. On further inspection, they determined it to be a plastic cylinder filled with old recording tapes. One of these tapes proved to be a long lost recording of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

Unknown to many, the two entertainers stayed in touch in spite of their very public break-up in the late 1950's. A lucky tourist with a keen eye might spy them on a Tuesday afternoon in a darkened booth in the back corner of Musso's, enjoying a late lunch, or shopping for antiques in Topanga.

CUT TO: a hot Sunday morning in 1973. At the request of mutual pal Peter Falk, Dean and Jerry arrive at Falk's Malibu beach house. There, in the garage next to the Bentley, they set up microphones and recorded this classic holiday chestnut.

​You can tell it's at the beach. If you listen very carefully, you can just barely hear the sound of seagulls in the distance.