I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in "Cheers & Jeers".
OK, you've been warned - here is this week's tomfoolery material that I posted.
CHEERS to Bill and Michael in PWM, our Laramie, Wyoming-based friend Irish Patti and ...... well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend .... and week ahead.
ART NOTES— a retrospective of the late (Toronto-born) Chinese-Canadian artist in an exhibition entitled Matthew Wong: Blue View— from a series showcasing that color — will be at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto until April 18th.
YOUR WEEKEND READ #1 is this story on the rise and fall of long-distance Amtrak dining cars— and (quite possibly) its rise yet again.
GOVERNMENTAL NOTES— the Caribbean nation of Barbados is nearly complete in its process of becoming a republic — ending its colonial past under Britain — and will have a female prime minister as well as president.
THURSDAY's CHILD is named Lova the Cat— who won a Happy Cats contest (despite the face in this photo) in Istanbul, Turkey.
DOCUMENTARY FILM NOTES #1 — Becoming Cousteau uses archival footage and diary entries to chart the Frenchman’s journey from naval officer to famed explorer and documentarian.
YOUR WEEKEND READ #2 & #3 is this Op-Ed by a former NY Times and Wall Street Journal reporter Jackie Calmes— on the plague of ‘both-siderism’ — in the LA Times. A nice critique of it here is by the former WaPo reporter Dan Froomkin.
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Bucky the Cat— an English kitteh who was in a shelter for eight months … until a shelter employee wrote a poem about Bucky being so sad seeing all the other (much younger) cats going off to their forever homes before him … and now he finally has a forever home.
DOCUMENTARY FILM NOTES #2 — Sadie Frost directs a film on the life of the iconic 1960’s British fashion designer Mary Quant— still alive at age ninety-one — with interviews from some you might expect (Kate Moss and Vivienne Westwood) and some you might not (musicians Dave Davies and Pete Townshend).
THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at some varied topics:
BRAIN TEASER— try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC ...… and the usually easier, less UK-centered New York Times quiz (one common subject, that will not help with the questions).
FATHER-SON?— three-time Oscar nominee/producer Mark Ruffalo and Disney Channel star Noah Centineo.
...... and finally, for two songs of the week ...........................… both of which are among my favorite instrumental works of the second half of the 20th Century. And the first: just got a new-lease-on-life.
Although he died in 1967, the tenor saxophonist John Coltrane had two albums of unreleased material in the past four years: Both Directions at Once (recorded in the studio in 1963, release in 2018) and the following year, Blue World (recorded in 1964 to be used in a Québec film release). Now add to that a third new release: a live recording of his magnum opus, A Love Supreme. This was recorded in 1965 at The Penthouse— a defunct jazz club in the Pioneer Square district in Seattle, Washington by the leader of its house band, Joe Brazil.
Earlier in his career, Coltrane had been a heavy drinker and heroin user — and it is believed that it ultimately led to the liver cancer that took his life at only age forty — yet by the late 1950’s, he gotten clean and devoted his music to spirituality.
The religion he embraced was ecumenical: an eclectic mixture of Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sufi Islam—“I believe in all religions,” he said.
A Love Supreme was his 1964 studio recording ode to God in four movements: “Acknowledgement”, “Resolution”, “Pursuance” and “Psalm” — only the last of which had printed lyrics on the studio recording (yet was never sung on any Coltrane album or concert). Heretofore, the only known live recording was done in the summer of 1965 in Antibes, France.
Like the two recent releases, this was discovered in an attic after years of sitting idle, and it features not only the “classic” John Coltrane Quartet (with McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass and Elvin Jones on drums) .. but also the recent addition of saxophonist Ferrell “Pharoah” Sanders (age eighty-one today) and also guests Carlos Ward (alto saxophone) and bassist Rafael Garrett.
The entire recording is seventy-five minutes long: the fourth movement “Psalm” is just over six. This is modern jazz moving to free jazz — not for everyone — yet at least worth a quick listen.
If that was too intense … a short, more accessible tune that I also love.
He worked firstly as a staff writer on the Smothers Brothers variety show of the late 1960’s, yet also was a composer: writing the theme jingle, and also (he estimates) 250 songs, including 75 instrumentals). He helped to write skits for the Paul Paulsen for President campaign — and he also has also garnered acclaim for his artistic ventures (an 11' x 37' photographic poster of a Greyhound bus is on permanent display at New York's Museum of Modern Art), plus has written and published several books of prose and poetry.
But Mason Williams will always be remembered for his music: writing the Smothers Brothers theme song, and also this Texas native's own magnum opus.
Classical Gas won several Grammy Awards (including for instrumental theme and instrumental performance) and remains a landmark composition — he contrasts it with most pop songs (containing four segments) with this work having twelve. He credited producer Mike Post with suggesting the horn part, which he felt set the tune apart from others. In 1998, he received an award (from the performing rights organization BMI) for over five million airplays for the song (now over six million).
Alas, at age eighty-three: reveals he has not been able to play the classical guitar in years due to having contracted Dupuytren’s contracture — the hand disability one sees talked about on the TV commercials by former NFL quarterback John Elway — and thus is long retired.
You can hear a solo guitar version by Lukas Nelson — Willie’s son — at this link.
And below is a version he played on the Smothers Brothers reunion show of 1988.