"Capitalized Words" - April 24, 2020

[Patty]

Got it! Just as Isaac was tiring of my company - I've been aboard for several weeks.

Love reading about first concerts - mine was Bob Seger in the 70's.

[ccmac]

On shore after many weeks on the boat!

[Jazzvibist]

I wonder how many Muggles will identify with this post. My first memorable live concert was taking a date in the mid-1950s to see and hear Dizzy Gillespie’s quintet at the long-defunct Blue Note in Chicago.

Do clubs count as concerts? I saw Dizzy at the Village Gate (downstairs). Years later saw Bill Evans there (upstairs); he let Jeremy Steig sit in. Chick Corea was also in the room, and Evans had him take over the piano (probably, I realized years later, so that he [Evans] could go shoot up). My first jazz concert was Newport the year before the riot, a year after Jazz on a Summer's Day. Stan Getz with Scott LeFaro, and I thought: can you really play a bass like that? The Messengers (I still remember that arrangement of "Paper Moon"). Can't remember the others.

I don’t know whether clubs should count as concerts but you certainly shook up my memory with your question! Before seeing Dizzy’s quintet at the Blue Note, I attended a jazz concert in a much larger venue, which is where I first saw him play. It was the 1956 edition of Norman Granz’ Jazz at the Philharmonic at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House. In addition to Dizzy, I thank that Lester Young, Flip Phillips, Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown and Illinois Jacquet, among others, were on that bill. Ella Fitzgerald may have performed that night too but at that stage of my life my attention was focused on musicians rather than singers.

The “Jazz on a Summer’s Day” concert at Newport which you attended was the one which featured Anita O’Day singing Tea for Two. I was fortunate to have worked with her on piano during an engagement at the Quiet Knight in Chicago.

[Bird Lives]

The “Jazz on a Summer’s Day” concert at Newport which you attended was the one which featured Anita O’Day singing Tea for Two. I was fortunate to have worked with her on piano during an engagement at the Quiet Knight in Chicago.

The NJF I attended was the year after the one that appeared in the film. I've heard that Anita thought she was going to be on in the evening and so was not prepared when they told her she'd be on in the afternoon. In the film, she's probably durnk or maybe high.

Are you familiar with Dave Frishberg's memoir? Here's what he has to say about her

"For me, she was a total drag to play music with. Her tortured phrasing and abominable scatting were terrible turnoffs, and she went out of her way to be difficult and unpredictable, and always in front of an audience so that she could chide the musicians and get laughs. When she sang ad lib and out of tempo with just piano or guitar she would insert extra words and trip up the accompanist. I knew several musicians who refused to play for here. Twenty-five years later in New York, one musician walked off the bandstand at the Half Note when she was asked to sit in. I witnessed it. I was playing piano.

"The only time in my life I ever left the piano in the middle of a song was with her, at the Riverboat Room in the Empire State Building She was singing with piano “On a Clear Day” out of tempo, and it was so horrible that I got up from the piano and walked right off the stage and out the door. Maurice Mark, the drummer, ran after me and grabbed me by the arm. “I don’t blame you, Davey,” he said, and hen he ran back to his drums. I went home. (I did walk off once at Donte’s while Jack Sheldon sang “Fuck You Very Much,” an unfunny song that begins with the punch line. But I didn’t go home; I just sat at the bar until he was finished.)"

[Carla]

On shore!

[Jeanrosz]

I submitted my answer but I think I’m on the right shore..not completely confident. We’ll see!
For Al Sisti, I went to IU in late 60’s. John cougar played at many Kappa Sig keggers ( he’s from Seymour, not far from Bloomington). What a blast! First concert Grass roots, I think...

[MajordomoTom]

second concert, sometime in the early 80s at the Checkerdome here in St. Louis (which has long since been torn down) ...

Foghat opened.
Blue Oyster Cult - with a giant Godzilla with laser eyes that rose up from behind the stage.

and remember, DON'T FEAR THE REAPER.

https://youtu.be/cVsQLlk-T0s

[Jazzvibist]

The “Jazz on a Summer’s Day” concert at Newport which you attended was the one which featured Anita O’Day singing Tea for Two. I was fortunate to have worked with her on piano during an engagement at the Quiet Knight in Chicago.

The NJF I attended was the year after the one that appeared in the film. I've heard that Anita thought she was going to be on in the evening and so was not prepared when they told her she'd be on in the afternoon. In the film, she's probably durnk or maybe high.

Are you familiar with Dave Frishberg's memoir? Here's what he has to say about her

"For me, she was a total drag to play music with. Her tortured phrasing and abominable scatting were terrible turnoffs, and she went out of her way to be difficult and unpredictable, and always in front of an audience so that she could chide the musicians and get laughs. When she sang ad lib and out of tempo with just piano or guitar she would insert extra words and trip up the accompanist. I knew several musicians who refused to play for here. Twenty-five years later in New York, one musician walked off the bandstand at the Half Note when she was asked to sit in. I witnessed it. I was playing piano.

I lopped off the second part of the Frishberg quote because the first paragraph says it all. My experience was similar but also dissimilar. When Anita came in for the engagement (which I think was for Thursday through Sunday), my dear friend, the late, great Chicago bebop pianist Willie Pickens, was hired to work with her. After two nights, he called me up and begged me to sub for him for the rest of the week. Of course, I asked him why. He told me that he couldn’t stand working for her, for many of the same reasons given by Dave. I decided to take a chance and agree to finish the last two nights, if nothing else just for the experience of working with so famous a jazz performer. When I showed up, she immediately started acting like an enraged diva. I quickly responded by saying something to the effect of “Trust me - this will be fun for you.” It must have done the trick because she reluctantly agreed to try it out without any opportunity to rehearse anything. I had previously decided (but didn’t mention it to Anita) that I was going to accompany her as though she were a trumpet or saxophone player rather than a vocalist. Fortunately she loved it! She even commented about it gleefully on mic. So, from my perspective, both nights were on balance musically very enjoyable and without incident - except for the one described in the next paragraph.

It happened on Sunday night. There was a very small dressing room backstage reserved for Anita. John Poole, her long-time drummer, came up to me between sets and told me that Anita wanted me to go to her dressing room before the last set so she and I could put together a list of songs she wanted to do for the final set of the engagement. I did as she asked and Anita and I spent about 10 or 15 minutes in that dressing room setting up a song list, which would have been a non-event if she hadn’t been in-between changes of outfit and doing all of this without wearing anything on top other than a brassiere.

[LittleGood]

Currently at sea and extremely addlepated (even more than usual).

[pookie]

Ah, DAVE FRISHBERG. " I even call my girlfriend, "Man" 'cause I'm hip.
Played and sang his tunes like "I'm Hip","Wheelers and Dealers" etc. in clubs. Sorrow to say, not many listeners "got" his songs.
My favorite was one he wrote with Johnny Mandel, "You are there".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo

[diplomatt]

On the beach easily!

[SewYoung]

My first concert was Elvis Presley in the mid-seventies in Birmingham, AL. I was 14 or 15. My father got me tickets for my birthday and took my best friend and me. I don't remember whether he dropped us off or came in with us. I think he just dropped us off. Now I do wardrobe (read "laundry and ironing") for the local performing arts center so I sometimes get to meet the stars, Their road crews and sometimes the stars themselves hang out a little bit and eat supper with us in the green room. Sometimes I only deal with their road managers and never see the stars until they are on stage.
My husband gets more personal interaction, as he drives them to and from the hotel and runs errands for them if needed. The theater belongs to MS State University where he is a professor. I am not allowed to drive the van because I am not a university employee, just a backstage volunteer .

[Al Sisti]

Ah, DAVE FRISHBERG. " I even call my girlfriend, "Man" 'cause I'm hip.
Played and sang his tunes like "I'm Hip","Wheelers and Dealers" etc. in clubs. Sorrow to say, not many listeners "got" his songs.
My favorite was one he wrote with Johnny Mandel, "You are there".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo

What a pretty song... I can't believe I'd never heard it. And here's another way to look at it; particularly pertinent in these times of quarantine. "You're There": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcPeqCHE5yY

[SusieG]

You all have some fun concert stories! I was too young for Woodstock (unless my parents would’ve brought me) and grew up in a very rural area. I’m not sure I even thought about concerts until college. Bruce Springsteen was my first concert, before he started playing stadiums. Most concerts I attended were disappointing after experiencing that!

[pookie]

Ah, DAVE FRISHBERG. " I even call my girlfriend, "Man" 'cause I'm hip.
Played and sang his tunes like "I'm Hip","Wheelers and Dealers" etc. in clubs. Sorrow to say, not many listeners "got" his songs.
My favorite was one he wrote with Johnny Mandel, "You are there".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo

What a pretty song... I can't believe I'd never heard it. And here's another way to look at it; particularly pertinent in these times of quarantine. "You're There": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcPeqCHE5yY

OK you got me. First thought it was his girl... then booze...then the obvious. You're there! AGAIN.
Thanks for the guffaw.

[Rad26]

Late to the party. Sorry. On shore. Cute puzzle.

Concert stuff is great. I think my first was Peter, Paul
& Mary at Yale Bowl maybe 1964. Saw them again in Carnegie Hall December 2008 with NY Choral Society for a holiday concert just before Mary died. Have had thrill of many concerts over 50+ years but most impactful was seeing Aaron Copland conduct his own music with Chicago Symphony in Grant Park in the summer of 1972. Most fun: Billy Joel MSG 12/31/99. Y2K concert that went over four hours.

[Commodore]

Early shows I may have seen or just imagined:
*The Who’s Tommy rock opera by the Canadian Grand Ballet (Montréal)
*Various southern rock bands + the annual jazzfest (SPAC)
*Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys (Delaware Water Gap)
*Jerry Jeff Walker (Schenectady)
*Steppenwolf (Toronto)
*YES (Madison Sq Garden, NYC)
*NRBQ (Skidmore College lawn - a coed threw a pie in my face! Ahh, fun times.)

Quarantine watching:
*Better Call Saul
*Longmire
*The Money Heist
*Ozarks

Very entertaining board this week. Fun discussions. Rock on, Muggledom!

[Bob cruise director]

Good evening muggles.

We close the books with 169 on shore. As with other records, I will revise that number to include anyone reaching the shore between now and midnight.

Getting to shore since noon are
Annabelle
DaveWa
bigmel
Patty
ccmac
JeanRosz
Carla
diplomat
Rad26

Good luck to all winning the mug. My guess is that there will be a lot of WSJ submissions. Maybe a record there also.

[Bird Lives]

Ah, DAVE FRISHBERG. " I even call my girlfriend, "Man" 'cause I'm hip.
Played and sang his tunes like "I'm Hip","Wheelers and Dealers" etc. in clubs. Sorrow to say, not many listeners "got" his songs.
My favorite was one he wrote with Johnny Mandel, "You are there".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo

But did you ever play and sing his best-known song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFroMQlKiag ?
Maybe your kids did.
(The vocal is by Jack Sheldon, who Frishberg, in his memoir, mentions with justified distaste.)

My favorite line from "I'm Hip" is "When it was hip to hep I was hep."

[JoeS]

Whew! Ashore under the wire. Did the grid Thursday eve then set it aside as I figured it had to be easy, having been 16 at the time. But spent all weekend prepping my garage floor for epoxy_coat. After dinner Sunday, grabbed a rijoa and sat in my fav chair and it hit me over the head. I was going to submit the right answer for the wrong reason, but now I am 100%, and yeah, it was kind of easy. I love these musical Metas. And I love these constructs that get you thinking about relationships and not just acrobatics with the grid letters.