Remembering an iconic announcer: Jim Lange

You know an announcer has become an icon when you appear as yourself on TV shows and movies.
That was JIM LANGE, who died this week age 81.
A Minnesota native, Lange emerged into the national spotlight while hosting a radio show on the legendary San Francisco station KSFO -- famous breeding ground for indelible voices.
He moved to Los Angeles and hosted numerous game shows on TV, including "The Dating Game" and "Name That Tune."
He portrayed himself during guest appearances on sitcoms such as "Bewitched" and "Laverne & Shirley."
Lange was a classic announcer, who eventually returned to radio.
Today's generation of Carson Daly, Ryan Seacrest and the like might not realize the debt they owe to Lange.
Trust me, it's huge.

Can the fiery Blakey percussion beat this enduring chill? Here's hoping!

We can't seem to escape the icy grip of WINTER.
It's only supposed to "warm" to 10 degrees Fahrenheit today, and tonight the bottom falls out and temperatures plunge as winds increase: The forecast calls for a low of minus-12 and wind chill values as low as minus-30.
My reaction (besides complaining) is to bundle up and listen to the fiery JAZZ of ART BLAKEY & THE JAZZ MESSENGERS.
Blakey was the hard-bop drummer whose rotating cast of players read like a who's who of modern jazz: Lee Morgan, Bobby Timmons, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Cedar Walton, Chuck Mangione, Chick Corea and Wynton Marsalis, to list just a few.
Behind these fabulous players was Blakey's remarkable percussion.
Critic Ralph Gleason wrote:
"Blakey is like a man on fire. When he drums, every inch of his body is involved in it. He can get a greater variety of counter rhythms going at any time than any drummer I have ever heard."
As a result, no piece of Blakey music can ever be called "dull," because there is always something interesting to hear.
I need something fiery to hear today. Anything to try to beat this enduring chill.

Vizzini brought shadowy subject into the light

It's difficult reading the NED VIZZINI novel, "IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY," after the events of Dec. 19, 2013.
That's the day the author committed suicide, after producing works of fiction that featured struggles with MENTAL ILLNESS.
"It's Kind of a Funny Story" is a first-person account of those struggles, told by New York teenager Craig Gilner.
Gilner's matter-of-fact account of depression are memorable:
"Some days I woke up and got out of bed and brushed my teeth like any normal human being; some days I woke up and lay in bed and looked at the ceiling and wondered what the hell the point was of getting out of bed and brushing my teeth like any normal human being."
Most people have someone in their lives who have dealt with mental illness. It's a subject veiled by stigma, however, so it's an illness that usually festers in the shadows.
Vizzini's great achievement was bringing the subject into the light of the modern young adult novel -- hopefully, the awareness he raised prevented others from following his suicidal lead.

I've just completed a wonderful musical journey

I've finished reading RICHARD COOK'S "IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME: MILES DAVIS ON AND OFF RECORD," and with it a couple of weeks of immersing myself in the ever-progressing work of MILES DAVIS.
We have amassed a notable collection of Davis albums over the past decade or so, and I enjoyed listening to them in order during the course of the book, a biographical discography.
There was "BIRTH OF THE COOL," the nonet sessions that featured unique arrangements and helped launch the "cool jazz" movement.
There was "WALKIN'" and its relaunch of Davis after a period of drug-induced, limited activity.
The remarkable quintet recordings follow soon after, as Davis gathered John Coltrane and "The Rhythm Section" of Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones.
The Gil Evans orchestral collaborations that began with "MILES AHEAD" remain some of the most beautiful musical pieces I have ever heard, and ever expect to hear.
"MILESTONES" and the modal style of "KIND OF BLUE" will forever remain musical landmarks, too.
I've always been a real musical geek, and I probably get more excited than I should for the George Coleman-era Davis group, the one inaugurated by "SEVEN STEPS TO HEAVEN."
The fabulous Wayne Shorter era follows and included the superb piano contributions of Herbie Hancock.
I've taken longer to warm to the "Electric Miles" period, but "A TRIBUTE TO JACK JOHNSON" is a powerful and fun listening experience. I can appreciate the other albums of that era as well.
We only have a handful of tracks from Davis' final period of music making, when he added his fabled trumpet sound to pop-jazz songs. I love his version of "Human Nature."
It's hard for me to believe, but we have 31 Miles Davis albums, not counting compilations featuring his work.
I enjoy them all for different reasons, and I'm thankful I've become so acquainted with them.

Shedding light on Miles' electric period

If you have had trouble figuring out what MILES DAVIS was doing during his polarizing "electric period," I suggest watching the 2004 MURRAY LERNER documentary "MILES ELECTRIC: A DIFFERENT KIND OF BLUE."
I watched the 87-minute film last night.
The film features musicians who worked with Davis during that turbulent time of musical change. The now-greying jazzmen recall a brave journey into new musical directions -- with critic Stanley Crouch on hand to continue to accuse Davis of "selling out."
Carlos Santana and Joni Mitchell are among other musicians who speak about Davis' influence, before the film wraps up with a 38-minute set the Davis band performed at the 1970 ISLE OF WIGHT music festival.
The gig is extraordinary, as the band shift moods during a marathon medley.
I also found the 2003 interviews with the participants fascinating, as Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, Chick Corea and others discuss the musical excitement of the time, and the thrill of discovery they shared with Davis.
I highly recommend the film.

Complicated jazz... My late father would have loved it

DAVE HOLLAND/SAM RIVERS is so deceptively simple.
One album... two players... two songs... DAVE HOLLAND plays bass throughout... SAM RIVERS plays soprano saxophone on one side... he plays tenor saxophone on the other.
Simple, right?
Not really. The 1976 release is an album of avant-garde JAZZ that repays close listening -- it's bursting with ideas and intricate melodic lines.
I'm listening closely today and thinking about my late, jazz-loving FATHER, who would have been 87 today (he died in 1992).
The skies are grey and the rest of the family is out. Perfect time for headphones, closed eyes and complicated jazz.

But you've heard of Genesis before, though, right?

These kids today.
Try telling them PETER GABRIEL and PHIL COLLINS were once in a band together...
... and they won't believe ya.

Time to investigate 'Bitches Brew'

"BITCHES BREW" has always been about 10 years ahead of my time.
I thrive on the music MILES DAVIS made about a decade or so before this revolutionary JAZZ-ROCK hybrid, so although I own the 1969 album, I haven't really spent much time fully investigating it and the myriad sounds it contains.
I've reached the chapter on "Bitches Brew" in RICHARD COOK'S comprehensive biographical discography "IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME: MILES DAVIS ON AND OFF RECORD," so I am going to closely listen to the album the next couple of days.
Davis knew he would leave some of his old fans behind when he radically changed his approach to music.
I want to find out what I missed he left me standing.

Whisked away by 'A Hard Day's Night'

Today marks the 50th anniversary of THE BEATLES' inaugural appearance on the ED SULLIVAN SHOW, a watershed moment for television and pop music in the United States.
Last night, I prepared for the occasion by watching the 1964 RICHARD LESTER film, "A HARD DAY'S NIGHT."
I have enjoyed watching the film many times before. Last night, I was struck by how propulsive the film seemed -- it seemed to rush headlong across the screen.
This effect was Lester's great touch, with quick cuts between scrambling legs and screaming girls' faces, shots of the band descending a fire escape  as viewed from the bottom and the marvelous use of a helicopter to show The Beatles scampering around the field.
When set to the band's uptempo rock, the scenes seem to whisk past, sweeping the viewer with them.
It really is a breathtaking film experience.

Seriously weary of this endless winter

I've become seriously weary of this WINTER.
Another 2 inches of SNOW are coming our way later today, which will give us 40 inches for the season -- our winter average is 45, so we're nearly there with most of February and all of March still to come.
The real story has been the cold.
DUBUQUE just endured its coldest January since 1979 and 11th coldest in 141 years of weather record keeping.
We've had no thaws -- no string of days when the high temperature bounces along above freezing, melting some of the snow and ice.Instead, one random 33-degree day is followed by another plunge below zero.
It's putting a chill on my psyche.

Joy of ABBA reveals songwriting, recording legacy

"THE JOY OF ABBA" does more than trace the ascent of AGNETHA FÄLTSKOG, BJÖRN ULVAEUS, BENNY ANDERSSON and ANNI-FRID LYNGSTAD as pop superstars.
The BBC Four documentary also chronicles how the Swedish pop combo ABBA overcame critical scorn to create a songwriting and recording legacy that even influenced punk iconoclasts such as the Sex Pistols.
I watched last night and laughed at footage of scathing critical reviews of ABBA that degraded their efforts as "easy" music to make. Perhaps it wasn't appreciated at the time (except by the musicians ABBA influenced), but the band produced from 1974-82 are towering, majestic examples of perfect song construction.
"The Joy of ABBA" does a fine job of bringing ABBA's true worth to light, as musicians, producers and journalists gush about the impeccable songbook.
My only gripe about the fine documentary is that Ulvaeus is the only member interviewed. In a quartet where personal relationships -- and their deterioration -- played such a leading role in song material, it would have been nice to hear from more of the principal agents.

French victorious in thrilling start to 6 Nations

I watched on TV as FRANCE defeated ENGLAND, 26-24, today in a thrilling start to this year's SIX NATIONS TOURNAMENT in Paris.
Teenage substitute Gael Fickou's late try lifted XV de France to the victory after the hosts had given up 18 unanswered points to the visitors after leading, 16-3.
It was a memorable RUGBY UNION encounter -- one that reminded me about the greatness of the sport.

San Francisco isn't Bulls country anymore

The magnetic schedule on my refrigerator shows games through the beginning of April, but the SAN FRANCISCO BULLS won't be playing any of them.
The ECHL team announced it was ceasing operations  yesterday.
Coach Pat Curcio said in a statement:
"The team was hoping to secure new ownership, however the terms of an updated deal were unable to be finalized, cancelling the remainder of the season."
The team served as an affiliate of the SAN JOSE SHARKS, which was good, but played home games in the decrepit COW PALACE, which was decidedly bad. The arena is a relic from the 1970s, not a venue for a 21st sports team, and the negative attributes of the Cow Palace certainly contributed to the financial losses that drove the Bulls into extinction.
I watched a game last month, during a regular visit back home. It never dawned on me the team would cease to exist before I got around to visiting the Bay Area again.

Miles Davis overcame limitations to revolutionize jazz

I'm reading RICHARD COOK'S biographical discography (or discographical biography) "IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME: MILES DAVIS ON AND OFF RECORD" again for the first time in several years.
Early in his career, Davis played in the revolutionary BEBOP idiom of JAZZ, but Cook writes that the trumpeter and his sublime, middle-register style never really fit comfortably among his contemporaries.
Cook explains how the rigors of playing bebop delineated jazz players of the late 1940s:
"The musical language and style of bebop was, from the beginning, bitterly demanding on a musician's technique: That was part of its nature, devised by its principal architects -- Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke -- to keep lesser players in the shadows, and leave the stage to the real champions. When Charlie Parker came along, the idiom gained its most particular voice, a virtuoso whose musical grasp and intensity of delivery personified bop itself. Young musicians such as Davis were dazed and spellbound."
In his book, "KIND OF BLUE: THE MAKINGS OF THE MILES DAVIS MASTERPIECE," ASHLEY KAHN explains how Davis overcame his technical limitations on the trumpet to launch his own particular, influential sound:
"Miles could not launch into the virtuosic high-register fury of a Dizzy Gillespie, but he could plumb the emotional depths of a melody with economy and intensity."
Able to so fully explore melody with emotion, Davis was poised to begin his seemingly continual reinvention of jazz once bebop's initial popularity had waned by the mid-1950s.

Can't seem to quit listening to "Collectors' Items"

I can't seem to quit listening to "COLLECTORS' ITEMS."
The 1956 studio album by MILES DAVIS features music produced at a pair of recording sessions, including one that paired saxophone legends SONNY ROLLINS and CHARLIE PARKER.
The album marks the only occasion Rollins and Parker recorded together and only the second time Bird (playing under the name "Charlie Chan," because of contractual obligations) was recorded playing tenor sax, instead of alto.
Rollins and Parker contribute to two takes of a tune called "The Serpent's Tooth," as well as versions of "Compulsion" and "'Round About Midnight." Along with leader Davis, the pair were joined by pianist Walter Bishop, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Philly Joe Jones, but I always focus on the saxophone playing. It sounds great while driving around in my car.
Critic Scott Yanow calls the music on "Collectors' Items" "classic, if often overlooked."
I imagine it's overlooked because Davis would assemble his classic Quintet -- with John Coltrane -- a couple of years later. That ensemble is considered among the greatest in JAZZ history.
I really enjoy "Collectors' Items." I must. I can't seem to quit listening to it the past couple of days.

I should have tallied all these murders from the beginning

I'm more than halfway through JIM THOMPSON'S 1958 crime novel "THE GETAWAY" and I am wishing I had tallied the murders from the beginning.
There are so many folks knocked off in this yarn I'm beginning to lose count.
I'm a huge fan of Thompson, the crime fiction master nicknamed "The Dimestore Dostoevsky" for the literary elements he brought to the genre.
Thompson populates his tales with odd plot structures, unreliable narration and themes reminiscent of Greek tragedies.
"The Getaway" fits into that latter category.
Doc McCoy is a veteran crook who is so self-assured that nothing bothers him -- not even the two aspects of his seemingly perfect bank heist that should have served as red flags.
1. Doc's accomplice Rudy the Pieface is an untrustworthy psychopath.
2. Doc's wife Carol doesn't really seem cut out for the criminal's life on the lam -- she was a librarian before she met Doc.
Thompson takes the reader along for the wild ride following the bank robbery -- including the many murders.
I should have kept a tally. I think I am beyond just counting them on the fingers of both hands!

Swept up by the unhinged but holy sounds of Brother Claude Ely

Nothing I had read prepared me for the first time I heard BROTHER CLAUDE ELY.
Reviews of the PENTACOSTAL HOLINESS GOSPEL SINGER'S recordings had described his style as "raw."
More like "feverishly feral." His songs are unhinged.
Infused by THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD and backed by his own acoustic guitar and another's occasional mandolin, Ely produces gospel music as reconstructed by a 1960s garage-rock punk band. His versions of "I'm Crying Holy Unto the Lord," "You've Got to Move," "There's a Leak in this Old Building" and other songs sometimes seem on the verge of falling apart, but Ely always powers his way toward the end.
I listened to "SATAN GET BACK," a collection of his King Records output of the 1950s-60s yesterday in the car.
The collection includes portions of Ely's revivalist sermons between songs, and it's easy to get swept up in his fervor.
I can imagine the power these recordings had on Bible Belt residents of the mid-20th century. In retrospect, I can also imagine the resonance these powerful songs had on the earliest rock-n-rollers.

The eyes have it, except when they don't

I endured the most comprehensive, invasive EYE EXAMINATION of my life on Friday.
I need a stronger prescription for my reading glasses (damn you, aging process!) and unbeknownst to me, a small hole had appeared near the retina of my right eye (damn you, small hole near the retina of my right eye).
The result meant an examination that went beyond a basic dilation of the pupils to also include much pushing and prodding.
When I arrived home, I couldn't see properly for hours and my eyes were sore.
I couldn't read, it hurt to attempt to watch TV.
I could listen, though, so I grabbed my IPOD.
I don't know what I would have done without that -- even though I couldn't actually read the names of the playlists I was dialing up.

Police pursuit as entertainment in the modern world

There might not be a POLICE PURSUIT every Friday in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, but it sure seems like it.
I watched today's edition of cops vs. eluding driver live on KTLA-TV online.
A pickup truck driver led officers down freeways and surface streets from Orange County to the San Fernando Valley, the pursuit both fast and slow, depending upon the amount of degradation caused to the vehicle's tires.
I picked up the televised pursuit in its final half hour and watched its denouement -- the truck doing "donuts" on the freeway, wheel rims smoking since the tires had been shredded away.
It struck me as a thoroughly modern entertainment. Reading about the pursuit later, on LOS ANGELES news websites, I had no sense of the mesmerizing hold the chase held for me as I watched live on television.
Is there something in the modern mind that feeds off such an episode? That certainly seemed the case for me, this morning.

Chronological Chet Baker... is it really so crazy?

The girls offered to get me professional help last night as I struggled to put the songs of my CHET BAKER playlist into chronological order.
Seriously though, do people really want to hear the live version of "Isn't it Romantic" *before* the studio version of "Moonlight Becomes You?"
Now *THAT* would be crazy!