For Our Pals In Chicago. . .

The one word that comes to mind on October 11, 2025 is. . . YIPES!





On our minds: the great city of Chicago!



Yes, Chicago, home of Second City a.k.a. the First Family of Comedy, the Chicago Cubs (at this writing still hanging on in the MLB playoffs, unlike my injury-riddled San Francisco Giants), Sam Cooke and Chess Records.

















Pre-eminent among Chess Records' many ambassadors to the world: bandleader-bassist-songwriter-vocalist Willie Dixon.

One of this writer's all-time favorite albums was recorded at Chicago's North Park Hotel. Chicago music titan Gene Ammons, tenor saxophonist and son of boogie-woogie piano king Albert Ammons, is in top form!




Speaking of Gene Ammons, he is arguably our favorite among the numerous greats who waxed albums and singles for Chess Records. Ammons had the first of two records released by Leonard Chess on the newly-formed Chess Records label in 1950, titled "My Foolish Heart" (Chess 1425); the second release was "Rolling Stone" by Muddy Waters (Chess 1426). Gene recorded the excellent Soulful Saxophone album for Chess. His epic Live! In Chicago album, recorded at The DJ Lounge in Chicago for the Argo label, is a must for any music fan.



Other musical masterpieces from Chess Records include

• Chuck Berry - The Great Twenty-Eight
• Etta James - At Last!
• The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions
• Soundtrack to Rock, Rock, Rock

• Go Bo Diddley (1958)
• The Best of Little Walter
• The Real Folk Blues - Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker
• The Best of Muddy Waters
• Down And Out Blues - Sonny Boy Williamson
• Willie Mabon - I'm Mad
• John Lee Hooker - The House Of The Blues

For more, watch The Chess Records Story.

While listening to The Complete Miles Davis Quintet At The Plugged Nickel, must note that Ted Bogosian has produced and directed a terrific documentary about one of the venues (like The Plugged Nickel) that presented jazz, blues, cabaret artists and stand-up comedy in the Windy City, Mister Kelly's.





Albums, many outstanding, by Muddy Waters, Sarah Vaughn, Anita O' Day, Mort Sahl, Richard Pryor, The Smothers Brothers, Barbra Streisand, Cass Elliot, Dale Hawkins, Bill Cosby, Freddie Prinze and Ella Fitzgerald were recorded there.



On this October day in appalling 2025 at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog, we tip our borrowed Chicago Cubs caps, hopefully previously owned by Mike Krukow, to Mister Kelly's and the city of Chicago, where Chess Records and Curtis Mayfield's Curtom Records waxed incredible music and a portion of East 36th Street near Cottage Grove Avenue is Sam Cooke Way. Kudos, bravos, huzzahs, good luck and countless inflatable animal costumes (along with documentary filmmakers) to the Windy City!

In Mourning on a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

With apologies to author Judith Viorst for stealing her phrase, it has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad stretch of days in an what has been an unrelentingly godawful year thus far. Just when a momentary respite from the unending horrid, vile, appalling, sickening, disgusting, horrifying current events is desperately needed, there's the news that Sly Stone and Brian Wilson, two GIANTS, innovative composer/arranger/performer/bandeaders gifted in leading one's heart, soul and consciousness to a better place, passed within the same 48 hours. . . WHAT? THAT CAN'T BE!





At least Sly lived long enough to finish his memoirs and receive rousing recognition from music fans and prominent musicians in the last decade of his life.



Sly Stone, a brilliant musician and arranger who's on the funk Mount Rushmore with James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, George Clinton and Prince (wonder if Prince met Sly), sure made the rounds in his heydey. His importance cannot be overstated. Must buy this release of a set Sly and his first version of The Family Stone performed in my old stomping grounds, Redwood City, CA. Sly was already a bonafide Bay Area celebrity from his successful stints as a deejay on KSOL and KDIA.



Sly & The Family Stone, featuring Larry Graham (electric bass), Cynthia Robinson (trumpet), Rose Stone (keyboards, vocals), Freddie Stone (electric guitar), Greg Arrico (drums) and Jerry Martini (saxophones), were a devastating powerhouse band from the git-go.



Here's Sly with Dick Cavett.



And David Letterman. . .



Sly & The Family Stone were inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1993 at long last - and that was overdue. Sly makes an appearance at the end of the clip, following his bandmates, including the outstanding vocalist-bandleader-songwriter-bassist Larry Graham.



Can't wait until Questlove's documentary Sly Lives! aka The Burden Of Black Genius is available on Blu-ray.



As all who have seen the fantastic Summer Of Soul can attest, Questlove is a superlative documentary filmmaker.



This music aficionado's favorite Sly record? The 1973 album FRESH, which presents a stripped-down yet ingenious version of the essential sound, minimalistic and beautiful.





Another composer/pianist/arranger/bandleader of astounding abilities was Brian Wilson, the master of symphonic pop.

While I knew he was seriously ill and that Brian's wife Melinda passed last year, this still came as a shock.



Indeed, when heard on headphones, the "pocket symphonies" on the original SMILE sessions can be quite astonishing.



After The Beach Boys hit a lengthy stretch of creative stagnation following the departure of Carl Wilson and the untimely, tragic passing of Dennis Wilson, Brian quite fortunately got to enjoy an extended comeback in the 1990's and oughts, backed by The Wondermints (Darian Sahanaja, Mike D'Amico, Probyn Gregory and the late Nick Walusko), percussionist Nelson Bragg, multi-instrumentalist Paul von Mertens and the late, great Beach Boys tours veteran Geoffrey Foskett.



In this clip, Brian's pal Sir Paul McCartney inducted him into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.



Brian worked with his fellow composer Burt Bacharach.



Much enjoy this tune Brian and Burt wrote together.



Here's a documentary, Pet Stories, about the making of Pet Sounds, which, along with the 1966-1967 Smile sessions, remains this music fan's favorite Brian Wilson/Beach Boys album.



Pet Stories could only be equalled by Brian Wilson & The Story Of Smile, David Leaf's documentary.



AND, of course, Smile itself, as performed by Brian and The Wondermints. Saw this group three times!



ALL collaborations between Brian and songwriter/arranger Van Dyke Parks, The Smile Sessions, Brian Wilson Presents Smile and Brian's appearances on Van Dyke's albums such as Orange Crate Art are must-listening!

Much enjoy the interviews in which Brian talks music!



In closing, this blogger got a chance to meet Brian and his bandmate and the aforementioned "CEO of falsetto" Geoff Foskett at a record signing in San Francisco, made sure to tell him that his music got me through tough times. Brian's response: a smile and "thanks, man!"

Unfortunately, I never got to see Sly Stone in concert - he retired right before I started seeing tons of live music performances - or meet him. Sly did occasionally do interviews, but one would imagine that due to the many bad things that happened to him and individuals who did him wrong over the decades, perhaps he'd be a tad reticent. Thankfully, Sly's three children did a great deal to assist him.

All the thanks in the universe to all the master musicians noted in this post!

Documentary on Claymation and Will Vinton

Portland Tribune/Pamplin Media Group


A documentary about the career of clay animation guru Will Vinton, which made its premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, is now making its way to college screenings and indie theaters.



Released last weekend and now playing in NYC, L.A. and Portland, this film by Marq Evans covers the 30 year clay-cinematic career, the rise and fall of the stop-motion innovator, best known for The California Raisins.



The successors to the often wonderful 1950’s clay animation of Art Clokey and the predecessors of our favorites, the stop-motion mastery of Nick Park, Peter Lord and others at Aardman Animations - the claymation films were tremendously popular.



By the mid-1970's, Will Vinton Productions proved quite ubiquitous in the 16mm animation programs sought out by aficionados of the art form. There were documentaries on claymation produced as early as the late 1970's.





Many of us who started schlepping 16mm projectors around to university screening rooms, tiny art-house/repertory cinema spaces, as well as the homes of our fellow animation and stop-motion enthusiast friends back in the 1970's pre-VHS days to watch MOVIES ON FILM remember the Will Vinton Studio’s work fondly. The film that introduced this writer and many other film buffs to clay-mation was CLOSED MONDAYS by Will Vinton and fellow stop-motion animator (as well as the inventor of the clay-mation technique), Bob Gardiner.



CLOSED MONDAYS won the Oscar for best short subject in 1975.



Vinton and Gardiner followed this one with MOUNTAIN MUSIC, which makes one wonder if one animator at the studio was playing acoustic folk music at work, while the other was listening to Black Sabbath.



The 1980 Will Vinton Productions film DINOSAUR recalls the stop-motion coolness of Willis O' Brien, Ray Harryhausen and prehistoric Gumby adventures, such as THE EGGS AND TRIXIE.

Favorite Will Vinton production? Hands-down, it's Super Seinfeld!



The Will Vinton Studio made so many noteworthy films from the 1970's through the mid-1990's, it's tough to know where to start or stop.



The documentary's Claydream press release elaborates: Structured around interviews with this charismatic pioneer and his close collaborators, the film charts the rise and fall of the Oscar® and Emmy® winning Will Vinton Studios. It’s an astonishing journey, rich with nostalgia and anchored by a treasure trove of clips from Vinton’s life’s work.



Documentarian Marq Evans (The Glamour and the Squalor, 2016) brings to life the battle between art and commerce, while inviting us to fall in love with his subject, making this an affectionate, insightful portrait of an artist who put so much of himself into his craft."



We at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog were actually not aware that Laika, the production company which produced Coraline and other stop-motion films we like a great deal, actually was the former Will Vinton Studio, lost after prolonged legal battles to the owners of Nike, the Knights.



There have been several comprehensive pieces about Marq Evans' documentary on clay-mation. From Variety, ‘ClayDream’ Review: A Lively Look at Stop-Motion Maestro Will Vinton for Vintage Toon Geeks by Peter Debruge, Documentary Explores Will Vinton's Claymation Heydey and two pieces from The Oregonian: Claydream Tells The Story of Portland Animator, and (from a few years ago), Squabble in Toon Town: How Vinton Lost His Animation Studio To Nike's Phil Knight.



Will Vinton passed in 2018, but not without leaving behind a memorable 4-decade legacy in short films, features, television shows - and some of the best animated commercials!



Have not seen Claydream yet, but look forward to at least two viewings, start-to-finish, soon.

Producer-writer-satirist-voice actor Bill Scott gets his due in new documentary

Jay Ward Productions, as well as the incredible work of comedians and animation voice actors in general, is on our minds here at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog.

We were thrilled and delighted to see the rough cut of a new documentary about the life, times and career of the great Jay Ward Productions producer, head writer and voice actor Bill Scott.

Bill Scott: The Portrait of a Moose is now up on YouTube. The film was put together by Amber Jones, the ultimate Jay Ward Productions aficionado, with assistance from Kamden Spies of the Termite Terrace headlines website and The Spies Report on Cartoon Research. Amber and Kamden have produced something special here.



I loved it and especially love seeing all these great people from animation - from Mark Evanier to Mark Kausler to Keith Scott to Frank Welker to Will Ryan, Corey Burton, Frank Welker, Billy West, June Foray, Daws Butler, Jay Ward, Skip Craig, Jymn Magon, Brian Cummings and more - who have made the world a better place.

Hope this will be merely the first of many documentaries produced and written by Amber Jones, a very talented filmmaker, researcher, historian, narrator and voice over artist from northwest England who has been posting splendid interviews with animation voice actors on her You Tube channel.

Invariably, Jay Ward cartoons will get the writer of this blog ROFL, only every time.



Looks like the Rocket J. Squirrel lovin' rapscallions at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog are not the only ones thinking frequently of Bill, Bullwinkle and legendary cartoon voice artists these days.



There's an amazing, beautifully written and exhaustively researched article on the celebrated Rocky and Bullwinkle statue on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood by journalist Harry McCracken.



Mark Evanier noted it on his excellent News From Me website.

In The Moose and the Showgirl: The life and times of the Bullwinkle statue, 1961-2021, Harry has turned up tons of information I was not aware of.







Not to be outdone, Keith Scott, radio and cartoon voices expert, impressionist, Jay Ward Productions historian and author of The Moose That Roared: The Story of Jay Ward, Bill Scott, a Flying Squirrel, and a Talking Moose, has penned an outstanding article about voice actors who worked on the cartoons of the Walter Lantz Studio.



Keith has a new book in the works on voice actors in radio and animated cartoons. Since he is the expert on that topic, we can't wait to read it.













The Jay Ward fans at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog recommend Maurino Amoruso's film Of Moose and Men: The Rocky & Bullwinkle Story, which begins with clips from the devastatingly funny "Moosylvania" story.



For more info, in addition to Keith Scott's book, we also highly recommend The Art Of Jay Ward Productions blog, especially the post on the Campaign for Moosylvania; unfortunately, the accompanying book is now out-of-print, so check your local used book stores for a copy.

Here's the one, the only June Foray at Larry Edmunds Bookshop with the author of said book and blog, animator and director Darrell Van Citters.



We respectfully tip a top hat worn by Bullwinkle J. Moose to Bill Scott and the multi-talented artists and actors involved in the Jay Ward shows: June Foray, Paul Frees, Bill Conrad, Daws Butler, Edward Everett Horton, Hans Conried, Charlie Ruggles, Walter Tetley, Hal Smith and Chris Allen.

We'll follow that respectful hat tip by watching a DVD of Fractured Flickers, a creative and HIGHLY irreverent use of public domain "found footage."

Fractured Flickers was hosted by an ever-incredulous Hans Conried and at one point included a 1918 clip in which Tarzan goes out for pizza.



Indeed, it is no great surprise that Lon Chaney Jr. did not see any humor whatsoever in seeing clips of his father's bravura, epic, unbeatable performance in The Hunchback Of Notre Dame entirely recast and featuring the tortured Quasimodo as "Dinky Dunstan, Boy Cheerleader" on Fractured Flickers.

Thanks for the laughs, Bill Scott and the ace writers at Jay Ward Productions: Lloyd Turner, Allen Burns, Chris Hayward, Chris Jenkyns, Jim Critchfield and George Atkins! And thanks for your superb documentary, Amber Jones and Kamden Spies!

Labor Day Weekend Entertainment

Before COVID-19, Labor Day was an excuse to share brews and BBQ with family and friends - or attend such annual events as the Telluride Film Festival or Cinecon. In 2020, nobody's working, everyone's staying home and on a tight budget, so we'll hit the over-used comfy couch and watch movies.



In this blogger's deep past, Labor Day Weekend meant a trip down to Hollywood for the Cinecon, four days of vintage movies. WAY back, many who contributed to classic silent and early sound movies in front of and behind the cameras were still living among us and turned out to be the Cinecon Classic Film Festival's special guests!

This year there will be a online version of the festival, presented via Zoom. Alas, we're late for the opening, which was last night, but there shall be plenty of classic movie programming on Friday and Saturday, starting at 6:00 p.m. EST, 3:00 p.m. PST. Especially look forward to the SATURDAY NITRATE FEVER program, beginning at 7:54 EST - nitrate prints of Leon Errol in Autobuyography (1934) and Speed In The Gay Nineties (1932) starring Andy Clyde. For more info, go to Cinecon.org.

After Cineconline's cornucopia of classic film rarities, we at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog shall, after enjoying episode 24 of The Silent Comedy Watch Party (featuring the great Harold Lloyd and a special guest - his grand-daughter Suzanne), not watch the 1978 labor drama Norma Rae, but instead opt for SCTV's wonderfully brutal sendup of it. Andrea Martin, one of the greatest comediennes of her (or any) generation, spoofs everything in sight, including well-meaning and ambitious but cheesy and dated 1970's movies. The then-trendy feature films An Unmarried Woman, Norma Rae, The China Syndrome and Kramer Vs. Kramer get skewered, deservedly, in the same sketch.



With the full understanding that strife-filled Labor Day themed movies covering the complex web spun between labor, management, business and American society must be on the bill, we shall revisit documentaries about labor by Barbara Kopple. In the process of producing/directing Harlan County U.S.A. and American Dream, the activist-turned-filmmaker risked her life by embedding her camera into real life labor-management donnybrooks. She scrounged up the shoestring budget for Harlan County U.S.A. by hook and by crook.



A prolific filmmaker and television series director (Homicide: Life On The Streets and Oz), Barbara Kopple brought the cinéma vérité observational approach, inspired by D.A. Pennebaker, Frederic Wiseman and the Maysles brothers, to a slew of documentaries on varied topics. Kopple's camera has a way of revealing the souls of her subjects.



And now for something completely different, but not that different, we think of Sylvester Stallone, who, while riding high with the success of his Rocky series, also starred in a drama patterned on the story of the beginnings of the labor movement - Jimmy Hoffa and the United Auto Workers - in the 1930's.



That would be the Norman Jewison - Sylvester Stallone - Joe Esterhas labor strife epic F.I.S.T. (acronym for Federation of Inter State Truckers).



While as ambitious and over-the-top as those 1970's movies that got the big time razz in the SCTV My Factory My Self sketch were, this nonetheless offers a "more substance (somewhat) less camp" version of Stallone within its enjoyable Hollywood-ized take on 20th century history.



Watching the larger-than-life 2 1/2 hours long Stallone vehicle on Labor Day Weekend invariably leads, the following night, to a viewing of the equally over-the-top Jack Nicholson as Hoffa. Tough to take your eyes of the screen when Nicholson's in command, supported enthusiastically by Armand Assante, J. T. Walsh, John C. Reilly, Robert Prosky, Kevin Anderson and director Danny DeVito. Over-the-top? Who cares!



One indie filmmaker/screenwriter who produced and directed terrific movies, several about historical events - including one, Eight Men Out, beloved by baseball fans such as this writer - is the novelist and jack of all cinematic trades John Sayles, whose 1987 opus about the coal miners' strike in 1920 in the West Virginia hills that would be known as the Battle of Matewan remains most gripping.



Matewan is distinguished by its strict attention to period detail and a refusal to sugar-coat and/or sanitize the subject matter. Sayles, an original presence in filmmaking (Baby It's You, Lone Star, ‎The Secret of Roan Inish, ‎The Brother from Another Planet, Passion Fish), has frequently spoken about the movie, which, unlike many efforts to blend cinema and history, avoids a simplistic "good guys vs baddies" approach.



Alas, we will NOT finish up the Labor Day Weekend entertainment with a ritual screening of the ultimate Labor Day movie, On The Waterfront, either (although Robert Osborne's TCM interview with Eva Marie Saint might be on the bill).



Instead, the gang at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog, always comedy-centric, shall finish the Labor Day weekend with SCTV's On The Waterfront Again sketch.

Gilda, The Boys and The Kopykats

Thankfully, during lousy 21st century times, 20th century comedy heroes are, at long last, getting some love in several recently released (or soon to be released) movies. The Great Buster: A Celebration, on the festival circuit now, was covered in last weekend's post.



A movie about Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy's 1940's touring years will be out in January. Love, Gilda, remembering the most endearing of comediennes, Gilda Radner, was released last weekend.


© Magnolia Pictures 2018




Love, Gilda profiles the life and times of the actress-comedienne-singer and stalwart activist on behalf of those suffering with cancer. For more about Love, Gilda, listen to Alan Zweibel, her friend and frequent writing partner on Saturday Night Live, discussing the film on a memorable and highly recommended episode of Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast.



It is unfortunate that Gilda's husband Gene Wilder, who passed in 2016, did not live to see this film.



Tough to pick a single favorite Gilda sketch (for this writer, that would be The Judy Miller Show). There are lots of very funny sketches both from her five SNL seasons and in the Gilda Live show from 1980.





Another memorable appearance was one of her last, on Late Night With David Letterman in 1986. Gilda's megawatt personality and impromptu musical comedy mojo light up the proceedings - and she brings her neighbors from Connecticut there to Studio 8H to share in the fun.




To be shown at the British Film Institute in October and to be released by Entertainment One UK across the pond in January, Stan & Ollie, about the post-moviemaking touring days of Laurel & Hardy. Film historian Trav S.D. has penned a post about the film, The Buzz on Stan & Ollie.



John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan star as the comedy team of comedy teams. Here's the trailer.



While Laurel & Hardy fans and dyed-in-the-wool classic comedy buffs are not thrilled with the bit in the trailer regarding Zenobia, which is totally inaccurate, the scuttlebutt from those who have seen Stan & Ollie remains that, for the most part, the film is historically on point. L&H and Hal Roach Studio experts Richard L. Bann and Randy Skredtvedt were consulted in the making of the film. We'll see Stan & Ollie, hopefully on the big screen, when it gets an official theatrical release in the states.

In Stan & Ollie, the leads clearly do their best to get beyond impersonation and into the hearts, minds and souls of two iconic actors of a previous generation. This, and the recent passing of comedian-actor Will Jordan, got the pop culture vultures at Way Too Damn Lazy To Write A Blog thinking about professional mimics and impressionists, many of whom were hilarious.



Those who are soon approaching retirement age in 2018 will remember seeing impressionists and stand up comics regularly on such programs as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Hollywood Palace and The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson. Impressionists were all over TV in the halcyon 20th century days of olde, as were WB cartoons featuring Hollywood caricatures!

Mimicry is rapidly becoming a lost art, due to such 21st century realities as a conspicuous lack of larger-than-life movie stars - Humphrey Bogart, Mae West, W.C. Fields, Jack Benny, Greta Garbo, Edward G. Robinson, Peter Lorre, Jimmy Cagney, Groucho Marx, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Robert Mitchum - as were found from the 1930's into the 1960's. Now those who remember these 20th century entertainment icons are dwindling in numbers - unless they watch Turner Classic Movies and/or have a strong interest in movies, music and books created before their birth.

One of the best mimics, Will Jordan, known for, among dozens of impressions, his very funny take on the not larger-than-life Ed Sullivan. Alas, his routines were so good that other comedians were known to "borrow" material from Will, as noted in Kliph Nesteroff's book The Comedians. As much of Jordan's living was made performing his act for sales meetings and corporate events, there's not that much footage of his impressions, other than Ed Sullivan.



Another one of the greatest of impressionists - when he wasn't singing, dancing, acting, playing the piano, drums and vibes - was entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr.




Also in the old school showbiz universe, Bobby Darin, who used the Sinatra concert staple One For My Baby and One For The Road as a framework for his movie star impressions. His Clark Gable is tops, even better than George Clooney's Gable-inspired performance in Brother Where Art Thou.



At one point, those who did dead-on impersonations got their own TV show, The Kopykats. Beginning as an offshoot of Kraft Music Hall, the impressionist-packed variety program ran from 1970 through 1972 and featured a rotating cast of extremely talented mimics.



Among the last impressionists standing would be John Byner and (Jay Ward Productions historian) Keith Scott, who keep coming up with new celebs and politicians to impersonate, and are as funny as ever.

A Documentary - At Long Last - On Trumpet Virtuoso Clifford Brown

"The record companies owe it to the future of jazz to make every possible fragment of the beautiful musical gifts Clifford gave the world with unbounded love."Quincy Jones

"I thought I was a fairly good chess player until I met Clifford." Max Roach





Today, in an era typified by handsomely produced but too frequently shallow and vacuous entertainment, a musician whose warmth reaches down to the soul is pretty much unheard of. . . or merely difficult to find among a sea of drek. Just such a musician was the pride of Wilmington, Delaware - trumpet genius Clifford Brown.



Clifford Brown enjoyed a brief but meteoric career that ended with his untimely passing in an automobile accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on June 26, 1956.

Horace Silver (barely visible on left), Clifford Brown, Curly Russell, Lou Donaldson and (on right behind drum kit) Art Blakey - Birdland, February 24, 1954


Clifford shook up the music world, co-leading the groundbreaking Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet at a time when several mighty modern jazz trumpeter/bandleaders - Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Chet Baker, to name just three - were at the peak of their powers.



This music lover is eagerly awaiting his copy of Don Glanden's Brownie Speaks: A Video Documentary - The Life, Music & Legacy of Clifford Brown, which can be ordered on DVD here. Have not seen Bruce Speigel's 2016 documentary about Bill Evans yet, but that is on the cue as well.

Six years in the making, Brownie Speaks features extensive interviews, recordings, photos and archival footage of the music great.



Much looking forward to seeing this, as apparently the filmmakers have unearthed some heretofore unseen footage of Clifford, who was an accomplished pianist and composer as well as the best of the best on trumpet.



The footage of Clifford this writer knows of is the following television appearance on a show hosted by comedian and music lover Soupy Sales (note: two of Soupy's sons were bandmates of pop music innovator David Bowie).



There were two interviews with Clifford, one conducted by Willis Conover for the Voice of America radio program.



Clifford's co-bandleader, drummer Max Roach, thought the world of him.



As did the late great writer and activist Nat Hentoff, the other journalist who interviewed Clifford (for Down Beat, in its April 7, 1954 issue).



Clifford's family has carried on the torch. His widow LaRue established The Clifford Brown Jazz Foundation to promote music education in his honor, while his son has been responsible for steadfast efforts to keep his father's legacy alive, as well as produce and host stellar jazz programming for KCSM Jazz 91. In an outtake from the documentary, he reminisces about when the full impact of his father's importance in the world of music became quite apparent to him.



While, unfortunately, a fair number of Clifford Brown's more spectacular musical scenarios were not recorded - at one case he did dueling trumpets at Philadelphia's Mercantile Hall with another brass genius, Theodore "Fats" Navarro - at least his few years as a leader and sideman (with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, The Tadd Dameron Orchestra, The Swedish All-Stars and vocalists Sarah Vaughn and Dinah Washington) on the Blue Note and Emarcy Records labels were nothing if not prolific.



So dear readers, just in case you have not listened to the music of Clifford Brown before, here are a slew of his albums, including concerts, with which to acquaint yourselves. Enjoy!











For more info, check out the Brownie! website and read Nick Catalano's book Clifford Brown: The Life and Art of the Legendary Jazz Trumpeter.

Shout, Sister, Shout! "Close Harmony" Documentary Spotlights The Boswell Sisters

Wrote about The Boswell Sisters, three gals linked in sweet harmony, back in 2011 upon hearing about a documentary covering their illustrious career. To some degree, nobody has quite accomplished what the vocal trio did before or since - although many have tried!



High on the long list of New Orleans' finest musical talent, the fabulous Boswell Sisters, Martha (1905 - 1958), Connee (1907 - 1976) and Vet (1911 - 1988) were a truly groundbreaking act.



With Glenn Miller charts and the skilled backing of New York session musicians Benny Goodman, Bunny Berigan, Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, Carl Kress, Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti, The Boswell Sisters recorded numerous sprightly tunes for Okeh and Brunswick.



They waxed great song after great song, as did their early 1930's contemporaries - Satchmo, Duke, Fats Waller, Cab Calloway, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Coleman Hawkins, Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra and Don Redman.



They were certainly among the advance guard in their early career on radio and recordings, possibly were the first vocalists to tackle the songs of Duke Ellington.






Back to the documentary, the Kickstarter fundraiser for Close Harmony was successful and recent rumblings indicate that production is on a roll. It's highly likely to include at least one clip of the Bozzies singing Rock And Roll!



From the Facebook page by the documentary filmmakers, Joshua Tree Productions: "It's been too long since we've updated anyone here, but we've been very busy and are progressing steadily, even rapidly now."



"There's a lot of exciting things happening, some of which we can't yet talk about in a public forum yet. But, today we were making a presentation to a group of fans at the Historic New Orleans Collection as a part of the "Boswell Sisters, Their Music Goes Round and Round" symposium. We will now be spending the next two days recording material HNOC has graciously allowed us to use. It's a huge accomplishment for us, and we are enormously grateful to them."



We wish the filmmakers well and thank them for the following still of Bing and the Bozzies, posted on their website.





Music fans around the world await the completed film. Here's "The Boswell Sisters: Close Harmony" trailer on Vimeo.



For more info on The Bozzies, check out:

The Boswell Legacy: The Story of the Boswell Sisters of New Orleans and the New Music They Gave to the World by Kyla Titus and Chica Boswell Minnerly. Introduction by David W. McCain

A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers by Will Friedwald

Jazz Singing: America's Great Voices From Bessie Smith To Bebop And Beyond by Will Friedwald



And, last but certainly not least, The Historic New Orleans Collection, 533 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 (phone - 504-523-4662).



Think there's a good bet material on other New Orleans greats - Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Henry "Red" Allen, Irma Thomas, Fats Domino, Guitar Slim, Dr. John, James Booker, Professor Longhair, Harry Connick Jr., all variations on The Meters, Radiators and The Wild Tchoupitoulas, Allen Toussaint, Ed Blackwell, The Marsalis Family, The Batistes, The Nevilles, Donald Harrison, Terence Blanchard and Nicolas Payton, to name a few - will be found there.