The 12 Days Of Ernie Kovacs, Day 5

The Nairobi Trio, circa 1961
Uploaded by DickGreenleaf

The 12 Days Of Ernie Kovacs, Day 4

Sentimental Journey, from The Ernie Kovacs Show (1961) gives the old standard tune a treatment a la Esquivel-Martin Denny-"bachelor pad sounds for lovers". It's performed by a most enthusiastic ensemble consisting of. . . office furniture. An indescribably funny musical piece that could only come from the wondrously twisted mind of Ernie Kovacs. Uploaded by NilbogLAND

The 12 Days Of Ernie Kovacs, Day 3

The gag-filled closing credits to an episode of The Ernie Kovacs Show from 1961. . . Love that theme song.

The 12 Days Of Ernie Kovacs, Day 2

1812 OVERTURE - The Ernie Kovacs Show
Uploaded by NilbogLAND

The 12 Days Of Ernie Kovacs, Day 1

Today, January 23, is the birthday of Ernie Kovacs, a television and radio comedy innovator only rivalled by the Goons and the Pythons. At this blog, we like Ernie so much that, well, one day just isn't enough. So this is day 1 of The Twelve Days Of Ernie.

And Edie, Tony award winner, wife and artistic collaborator of Ernie, Kovacs archivist (and the comedianne with the best Marilyn imitation) - are you out there on Blogger? MySpace? We'd love to hear from you.

Burt Bacharach Day

While I'm hard pressed to find something quite as wonderful as Mr. Bungle performing "What The World Needs Now" - well, at least until the Noir City 5 film festival opens at the Castro Theatre in a few days - this month's Burt Bacharach day tribute comes pretty darn close: Holland's grande diva of jazz, Greetje Kauffeld, accompanied by guitarist Maarten van der Grinten, sings my favorite Burt and Hal tune, "Alfie".

Miracle In Milano: Miles Davis Quintet, October 11, 1964

Miles, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams - in transition from the blistering up-tempo hard bop of the 1963-4 tours into sensual impressionistic ambient textural soundscapes - wax poetic on the skeletal structures of an old chestnut, My Funny Valentine. Miles and Tony, we miss you. Uploaded by Yedi

The remarkable Alice Coltrane departs the earthly dimension

No doubt Alice is doing a lot better with the reality of her leaving this realm than a lot of us are here. With the news of the passings of both Mrs. Coltrane and saxophonist Michael Brecker last weekend, there is big-time mourning in the world of jazz.

I attended her last public performance at San Francisco's Masonic Auditorium on November 4, 2006 - as well as her June 1975 Keystone Korner appearance - and was overjoyed, overwhelmed and transported by the emotional and spiritual power of her music.

Here's the best clip I could find, but a few moments of Alice conjuring amazing sounds from the magic keyboard, in a duo with percussionist Jeff "Tain" Waits at The House Of Blues in L.A., November 2005.

Remembering Trumpet Legends Lee Morgan And Clifford Brown

Lee Morgan (1938-1972) with Art Blakey's Jazz Messingers - I Remember Clifford
Uploaded by soulpatrol

More January Jazz

Gorgeous, expansive and poetic late-night variations on My Foolish Heart by saxophonist George Coleman and The Ahmad Jamal Trio. Thanks a million, MrDrive, for uploading this.

Jazz For The New Year: Horace Silver

Horace Silver Quintet-Nutville-1969
Uploaded by redhotjazz

Charles Addams

Born on this date, January 7: the hilarious yet macabre comic genius, Charles Addams (1912-1988).

The Oscar Levant Show

Oscar Levant (1906-1972), composer, virtuoso pianist, radio star, author, music historian, actor, wit, talk show host and "the irreligious Billy Graham of Los Angeles", is one of my artistic heroes. His amazing wife, June, is equally a heroine and should have been granted sainthood.



Enjoy the only remaining footage left from The Oscar Levant Show, featuring special guest star Fred Astaire.
While the picture and sound quality really leave something to be desired, it's all we have. Hey, Oscar plays and offers his usual bon mots, Fred sings, June is there for the fun - it's a treasure.







The innovative live television programs of the 1950's were taped over to save money. Essentially, they met the same fate as thousands of historic silent movies on nitrate film, which subsequently spontaneously combusted. In my view, the loss of Oscar Levant's shows and Ernie Kovacs' 1954 Dumont Network late-night shows - just to name two series - is the equivalent of wiping one's bloated rear with the Dead Sea Scrolls. We can thank De Good Lawd, repeatedly, for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, who made the shrewd (but then unheard of) choice in 1951 to film their shows!



Had Oscar only written his three splendid memoirs, A Smattering Of Ignorance, Memoirs of an Amnesiac and The Unimportance Of Being Oscar, it would have been enough. Had he only appeared as his wonderful dyspeptic self in the outstanding MGM musicals The Band Wagon, An American In Paris and The Barkleys Of Broadway, his place in the pantheon would be unquestionable. Had he only spent those many Manhattan late-nights jamming on pianos with George Gershwin and Kay Swift, Oscar made the world a better place.

Happy New Year

Compelled to take a little time off from this "I blog, therefore I am" business, but will return somewhat faithfully in '07.

While I feel unbelievably lucky to have living family members, as well as various roofs over my head and doubly thankful to have not suffered a death in the family in 2006, there's no getting around it - the end of the year can be a difficult time. So make it a double, triple (mixed drink or Belgian strong ale) or, if you must, a Shirley Temple (or the Shirley Temple with a few slugs of Johnnie Walker's Black Label, a.k.a. Shirley Temple Black), toast the fact that you're still livin' and say Happy New Year! Go get, in the immortal words of Louis Jordan, "obnosticated" - and, please, designate a driver.

Just Call This The R.I.P. Blog - This Time, Farewell To The Godfather Of Soul

James Brown - Sex Machine (live)
Uploaded by Van_Lock.

Think of any popular music from the last 50 years, any genre: James Brown, bandleader, singer, arranger, visionary, show-stopping performer, got there first. His career was so long, beginning back in the heydey of such classic gospel-based 50's rhythm and blues artists as Jackie Wilson, The Five Royales and Sam Cooke, and extending into the 21st century, that it comes as a surprise that he was only 73 years old at the time of his passing at 1:45 a.m. on December 25.

No James Brown, no r&b, no funk, no crunk, no hip-hop, no rap, nada. Here's a great clip of The Godfather Of Soul, backed by one of his customary razor-sharp precision bands.

Nat King Cole - Christmas Song

Merry Christmas, Peace On Earth, Good Will To Men - And Women - With The Incomparable Nat "King" Cole!

My Favorite Christmas Special

Ever-bawdy lounge singer-comedienne Dusty Towne (Catherine O'Hara) hosts her Sexy Holiday Special, featuring guest star Divine (John Candy) on SCTV. Originally broadcast December 1981.

Remembering Joseph Barbera

The Night Before Christmas
Uploaded by thadk

Burt Bacharach Day

Commemorating this month's Burt Bacharach Day, Mr. Bungle performs "What The World Needs Now Is Love" live at the Sno-Core mini-festival on January 18, 2000.

Adieu, And (Again) Thanks For All The Fun And Laughs, Joe Barbera (1911-2006)

(left, with Bill Hanna)

Boy, do I get sick and tired of writing these R.I.P. postings for my blog (didn't even get to the wonderful Betty Comden and the eternally swingin' Anita O'Day, sorry about that); however, the great artists from the 20th century are departing this earth, one by one. Another one, Joe Barbera, passed away at 95 yesterday (December 18). With the passings of gifted artists Bernie Wolf and Ed Benedict earlier this year, we are getting very close to "last man standing" when it comes to veterans of the "Golden Age" of Hollywood and New York studio animation.

Amid Amidi has contributed an excellent post - with links aplenty - on Mr. Barbera at Cartoon Brew.

This ties in to my recent postings in one respect. . . the young Joe Barbera was at one point a gagman for. . . the Van Beuren studio, producers of Piano Tooners and other wacky early 30's gems.

I will reflect further on Joe Barbera's contributions to animation in a later post. And check your local public library for his book My Life In Toons, or order it (think you can still procure a copy online) if you have the requisite do-re-me. . . before, like all film history books, it becomes impossible to find.