Month: December 2016

Week in Review – December 4, 2016

A welcome quiet week at home with no travel, concerts or any major events.

I was sad to learn of the passing, at age 86, of Andrew Sachs who played Manuel in Fawlty Towers, the British comedy written by and starring John Cleese and Connie Booth.  Manuel is a waiter from Barcelona working in the Fawlty Towers hotel in Torquay in the “English Riviera”.  There are only 12 episodes of this classic British comedy and they are all hilarious.  The highlights are often the interactions between Basil Fawlty (John Cleese as hotel proprietor) and Manuel who struggles with English.  Here’s one of my favorites.

boxesOn Friday we loaded up these boxes for the Salvation Army into Mike Mead’s behemoth of a Tahoe and drove them to Willow Bend mall for drop off.  Hopefully the car seats, toy piano, headphones and other goodies will help make Christmas merry for some needy families.

After unloading we enjoyed a late lunch of oysters for Diana and crawfish bisque for Keith at Pappadeaux’s.

The high school band kids had auditions for the all-region band on Saturday morning and we were treated to some excerpts from a few of Alicia’s friends on Friday night.  Flutes, clarinet, and bassoons.

clarinet bassoon

Saturday started with an overdue workout.  Then I made one of mtartinesy favorite Blue Apron meals yet – smoked trout tartines.  Flaked smoked trout mixed with stewed scallions, creme fraiche, mayonnaise, dill and celery on a toasted baguette.  A yummy lunch.

In the afternoon we went to see the movie “Manchester By The Sea” at the Angelika theater.  The movie stars Casey Afleck and Michelle Williams and is not a light-hearted, up-lifting movie by any stretch.  However, the acting from both the leads is superb and the story is very realistic.  The ability of the writer and director,  Kenneth Lonergan, to interject humor that works into such heavy subject matter is a testament to his skill.  I predict several Oscar nominations and wins for this film.

After the movie we had a relaxing drink and snack at Del Frisco’s Grille and then headed home for some quiet reading time.  I’m working my way through “The Nix” by Nathan Hill and am really enjoying it.  I’m currently in a section set against the backdrop of the riots at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago.  I was shuffling through some music on Spotify while reading and stopped on this excellent vintage Genesis song from the 1976 album “Wind and Wuthering”.  I have a biography of Peter Gabriel (Genesis lead singer in the early days) in my stack of books waiting to be read.  It seems very detailed and was recommended by a musician gentleman sitting next to Diana on our summer flight from Paris to Glasgow.

I’m typing this while enjoying watching the Steelers beating the Giants – good result for the Cowboys (if it stands) who play the Giants next Sunday night.  Here’s a great play from the Thursday night Cowboys victory (to advance to 11-1) over the Vikings.

 

 

Music Discovery – Luke Winslow King

I was first introduced to Luke Winslow King at the New Orleans jazz gregfestival a couple of years ago on a recommendation from Greg Luzianne (in his new Saints suit on the left).  We saw him play in the paddock and I remember it being an enjoyable but not overly memorable set.

His new album “I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always” is thoroughly memorable.  The 2 songs that booked the album are my favorites – the opener “On My Way” and the closer “No More Crying Today”.  Both have all my favorite elements – great slide guitar, well constructed and great sounding guitar solos, good songwriting and an interesting rhythm.

Luke is originally from Cadillac, Michigan and formed the Winslow-King Blues Band at the age of 16.  He earned a diploma from the renowned Interlochen Arts Acadmey, where he majored in jazz guitar.

He first visited New Orleans at age 19 and stayed because of an unfortunate situation – his car was stolen from Ursuline Street in the Treme while parked overnight.  It was completely full of the band’s instruments.  While recovering from the theft Luke fell in love with the city and now calls it home.  Here’s a video of him playing music while riding around the French Quarter in a carriage – part of a great series of local musicians playing music on Sunday afternoons.

After recording his first self-titled debut album in 2007, he continued paying his dues, busking on Royal Street during the day and working in the clubs on Frenchman Street at night.

In 2008, Luke recorded ‘Old New Baby’ mostly live at Preservation Hall in New Orleans. He learned gospel and jazz standards accompanying John Boutté, picked up bottleneck slide guitar watching blues maestro Roberto Luti, performed in John Sinclair’s Blues Scholars, and immersed himself in the trad. jazz songbook while playing with Ben Polcer and The Loose Marbles Jazz Band. During this time he was also a member of Meschiya Lake’s Little Big Horns and is featured on her album Lucky Devil.

Some deep trivia:  Luke was an extra in Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day movie as a child.

 

Music Discovery – Cameroon

A couple of musicians from Cameroon caught my interest lately.  The first was “Soul Makossa” by Manu Dibango.

Emmanuel “Manu” N’Djoké Dibango  is a Cameroonian musician and song-writer who plays saxophone and vibraphone. He developed a musical style fusing jazz, funk, and traditional Cameroonian music.  The song “Soul Makossa” on the record of the same name contains the lyrics “makossa”, which means “(I) dance” in his native tongue, the Cameroonian language Duala. It has influenced several popular music hits, including Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'”, as well as his re-recording of that song with Akon, the Fugees’ “Cowboys”, and Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music”.

Manu has collaborated with many other musicians, including Fania All Stars, Fela Kuti, Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, Bernie Worrell, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, King Sunny Adé, Don Cherry, and Sly and Robbie. In 1998, he recorded the album CubAfrica with Cuban artist Eliades Ochoa.

The Lafayette Afro Rock Band does a great cover of “Soul Makossa” on their excellent 1973 album “Afro Funk Explosion”.  Thanks to the outstanding jukebox at the Twilite Lounge in Deep Ellum, Dallas for introducing me to this band.

The second Cameroonian musician I heard is Etienne Mbappe.  I first thought he was Jaco Pastorius since he sounds so much like him on electric bass.  Etienne is based in France now and plays with several jazz superstars including John McLaughlin (Mahavishnu Orchestra).  He played with the late Joe Zawinul (Weather Report with Jaco) and on Ray Charles’ last album in 2001.

Etienne is one of the few string playing musicians who likes to play with gloves.  Here’s an interesting interview.

Maybe I’ll have a chance to see him live in New York sometime soon.  Checking tour dates I see him at Ronny Scott’s club in London with McLaughlin but nothing easy for me to get to in the near future.