In decades of curating film shows, found myself and audiences fascinated with the 1920's short subjects made by the ingenious artist, filmmaker, photographer, illustrator and American in Paris Man Ray (August 27, 1890 - November 18, 1976).
Can't explain exactly why Man Ray's films are fascinating, why the visuals are so compelling, why after watching Emak Bakia or Le Retour A La Raison, one immediately wants to watch it again.
Whenever, in presenting DIY 16mm film shows, this blogger screened Man Ray's films, whether in 1990 or 2020, the audience was enthralled. Man Ray's photos and paintings enthrall this writer as well.
Tranisitioning less than deftly from the world of Dada and Surrealism to the sonic milieu of saxophones, big bands and swing, the man known as the President and among the greatest innovators in jazz and 20th century music history was saxophonist and clarinetist Lester Willis Young, cornerstone of the mighty Count Basie Orchestra, born on August 27, 1909.
Along with fellow jazz greats Marlowe Morris, Jo Jones, Barney Kessel, Illinois Jacquet and Red Callendar, he's part of the all-star group that starred in Gjon Mili's outstanding 1944 musical short subject Jammin' The Blues.
There are not many film clips of Pres, who passed in 1959, but here are a few in which he is featured with several excellent ensembles jam-packed with virtuosos. He sounds great, as usual.
Here's an enjoyable yin/yang from the Art Ford's Jazz Party TV program featuring Lester Young with fellow tenor saxophonist, King Of Swing and stylistic opposite Coleman "Body & Soul" Hawkins.
Author, jazz historian, bandleader and saxophonist Loren Schoenberg penned one of the very best pieces this music fan has read about Lester Young and has posted Pres clips on his You Tube channel. The following Lester Young albums - studio recordings on Verve volume 1, volume 2 and volume 3 - are musts for the swing and music fan's collection.
Tough to pick just one Pres performance of the many. This 1956 Birdland All-Stars concert of Miles Davis, backed by The René Urtreger Trio and featuring special guests Lester Young and (piano virtuoso) Bud Powell, is particularly amazing listening.
Now, to paraphase an old friend of mine, shifting gears from music to comedy, it is indeed August 27, so that means the gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog pays tribute to comedian Al Ritz, born Albert "Al" Joachim on August 27, 1901 and part of a zany trifecta with brothers Harry and Jimmy.
Any mention of Al or his brothers Harry and Jimmy brings to mind the question of just how does a comedy fan or classic movie buff explain The Ritz Brothers.
None other than the great Mel Brooks gives that very explanation a try in this interview with Conan O' Brien.
Gifted physical comedian Soupy Sales agrees.
Here, animated Ritz Brothers tangle with none other than Donald Duck in The Autograph Hound. Excellent work as usual, Disney artists!
Who influenced Sid Caesar and the gang from Your Show Of Shows and Caesar's Hour? The one, the only, the legendary rubber-faced alpha goofball Harry Ritz (in the act, albeit not in the following photo, "the guy in the middle").
While the Ritzes, compared even to the Marx Brothers and The Three Stooges, remain emphatically a characterization-free zone, their genius is in their ultra-wacky dancing, patter and singing.
As is the case with musical comedy stars Ray Bolger and Donald O'Connor, the humor is in how they move.
This production number from the Alice Faye musical On The Avenue presents one answer to the question, "just what did people find funny about The Ritz Brothers?" There's Harry's bravura vocal and indescribably funny dance moves by the trio. LOVE the bit where they mimic penguins!
Besides the He Ain't Got Rhythm number, the best example of Harry, Jimmy and Al Ritz remains the episode of The All Star Revue they hosted on May 17, 1952. The key to the Ritzes is that, as was the case with Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, they shined as a live act and were emphatically toned down for feature films. Harry is THE ad-lib king and his improvisations are seldom in the team's feature film appearances for Fox and Universal.
This All Star Revue show presents a valuable record of their act, as The Colgate Comedy Hour shows did for many comics (Martin & Lewis and Abbott & Costello as well as the Ritz Brothers, whose Feb. 22, 1953 episode of the series does not exist) - and is also the reason this blogger has been known to utter the phrase "DON'T HOLLA - PLEASE DON'T HOLLA" for no apparent reason. The Ritzes' anarchic spirit and musical comedy mojo reigns supreme throughout.
The gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog sincerely hopes that kinescopes of the Ritz Brothers' second episode of All-Star Revue, which aired on November 22, 1952 as part of the Four Star Revue series, and the aforementioned 2-22-1953 Colgate Comedy Hour show turn up.
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