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 and ...... well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend .... and week ahead.
ART NOTES— an exhibition entitled The Dance of Life: Figure and Imagination in American Art, 1876–1917— with more than one hundred works commissioned for civic institutions (including pencil sketches, sensuous pastels, dynamic bronzes, and virtuosic oil studies) — is at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut to January 5th.
YOUR WEEKEND READ #1 is this essay in Salon by Amanda Marcotte — who posits that one reason 45 appointed Pete Hegseth is that he looks good on TV (central casting masculinity) — but is actually cubic zirconia manhood.
THURSDAY's CHILD is named Marley the Cat - a Colorado kitteh able to return home (after going missing 2-1/2 years) due to his microchip.
YOUR WEEKEND READ #2 is this essay in The American Prospect by Harold Meyerson, positing that the Mar-a-Lago man hearkens back not to Der Führer … but instead, “Uncle” Joe Stalin.
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Beans the Cat— a Scottish kitteh who went missing … then was found 300 miles away in Coventry, due to his microchip … and even had a nice reunion with the family’s other cat, Missy.
BRAIN TEASER— try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC ...… and the usually easier, less UK-centered New York Times quiz.
THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at a golden wedding anniversary surprise dinner last weekend that I feared going to (after the election) … but was not only wonderful: it took me away from a weekend of second-guessing (and carnival barker pundits).
SEPARATED at BIRTH— the new AG nominee …………...
...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… this week saw the passing of two greats from the jazz world as they were nearing the century mark. And thus, have a strong legacy.
Alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson hailed from Alto, North Carolina and was an early disciple of Charlie Parker on that horn. He was a traditionalist (though not averse to innovating) of jazz-blues and jazz-funk, which made him a perfect fit for the legendary Blue Note label, often working with organists (most notably Lonnie Smith) in a blues.
He was also quite opinionated: “If you don't play the blues, you lose”.
He also had reservations about jazz-rock fusion, “smooth” jazz and hip-hop:
No fusion, no confusion.
No 50 Cent, who's not worth a quarter.
Which did not stop hip-hop producers from sampling funky records that Lou Donaldson made, such as this 1967 cover version of Bobbie Gentry’s Ode to Billy Joe (notably used by Kanye West).
He was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2013, and did not retire until 2017 (at the age of 90). Lou Donaldson died on November 9th at the age of ninety-eight.
This 1967 soul-jazz tune is his most famous, with George Benson on guitar.
Drummer Roy Haynes was born in the Roxbury section of Boston, with parents who had emigrated from Barbados. He described his neighbors as a mixture of French-Canadian, Jewish, Irish and Black families from the South. Early in his career, he performed with Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Stan Getz and other bands … yet also worked with the vocalist Sarah Vaughn.
Later in his career, he worked with younger upcoming musicians (Pat Metheny, Chick Corea) and for a while was the drummer in one of Gary Burton’s pioneering jazz-rock bands.
His drumming style was nicknamed Snap Crackle — for his snare drum precision — as well as bringing cymbals to the forefront. One reason why he turned down a chance to play in Duke Ellington’s band was that he felt his style would be too disruptive for the older musicians in the band. He had a wide range of music (contrasted with Lou Donaldson) and could fit in anywhere: believing that “people chose him because they knew he would deliver, and that they would therefore let him get on with his own way of doing things”.
This photo was taken at the Open Door club in NYC in 1953… seventy-one years ago.
In his later years, he was the leader of various Fountain of Youth band incarnations, trying to serve as a mentor to upcoming musicians.
He won two Grammy Awards— one for his part on the Blues for Coltrane tribute album (1989) and another for Like Minds (2000), an album with Burton, Corea, Metheny and bassist Dave Holland.
He was known as a stylish dresser (cited by Esquire magazine), a sports car enthusiast (among the select owners of the gull-wing Bricklin SV-1 model) and attributed his long career (in part) to never becoming a substance abuser (seeing how it affected many of his peers).
Roy Haynes died on November 12th at the age of ninety-nine: four months shy of age one hundred.
Here is a video of him in 2009 playing a rather complex Thelonious Monk tune.