Bob Sheppard at Vitello's - A Sense of Community

I scooped up the lovely Carol Bach - y - Rita last night and  we headed over the hill to Vitello's where reed man Bob Sheppard was having a CD release party for his new disc, "Close Your Eyes".  We decided to cut over to the Valley from Hollywood via Outpost.  When we hit Mulholland we were enveloped in a cloud of fog and we gingerly made our way down to Barham as sheets of water from the unrelenting rainstorms slid across the roadway. It was a good night to stay in with a book and a cup of tea.

In all honesty I can't rave about the food or the esthetics at Upstairs at Vitello's.  Its a plain jane kind of space, but what it lacks in beauty it more than makes up for in good sight lines, good sound and an intimate atmosphere.  April Williams has booked the room with care and intelligence, and has turned it into a serious jazz hang.  In spite of the foul weather, the room was packed for the first set.  Joining Sheppard onstage was a trio of musicians from the CD - Alan Pasqua on piano, Larry Koonse on guitar, and Gabe Noel on bass.  Antonio Sanchez on drums and Walter Rodriguez on percussion were absent, replaced by the outstanding drummer Steve Hass. 


Sheppard opened the set with the title piece "Close Your Eyes".  Its an edgy arrangement of the smooth standard, and the group last night meshed perfectly.  Sheppard's originals, "Brain Fog" and "Surface Tension" followed.  I am always amazed at the ability of great composers to conceptualize emotion in sound.  Sheppard is a master at this.  "Brain Fog" has an almost out of kilter, dangerous and angular quality, and would have been the perfect accompaniment to our slightly treacherous trip down Mullholland Drive in the rain storm.  On "Surface Tension" Sheppard's taut sax line skates over the surface, and just below the drums, bass and piano provide murky support.  On Kenny Barron's composition "Phantoms" Gabe Noel provided an extended bowed introduction that perfectly set up the piece.  Joe Henderson's "Gazelle" was performed with a graceful,  headlong tempo, powered by Noel and Hass's sure footed support and featuring superb solos by Sheppard, Pasqua, and Koonse.  Sheppard added the classic "Estate" to the set, a beautiful, sensitive and evocative reading.  His tone on flute was particularly gorgeous, soft and warm like a tropical breeze.

After the set Steve Hass confessed to me that he had been a little nervous about the gig.  Having just returned from being out on the road with The Manhattan Transfer, he was worried that he didn't have enough time to prepare for the ambitious program.  He needn't have been concerned.

It was a completely satisfying performance by world class musicians in an intimate setting on a rainy Los Angeles night.  Perfection!  Adding another element to the evening was the respectful attenition the music recieved from the audience.  Looking around the room, I was so proud to be a part of the amazing aggregation of musicians who live and work in LA.  Drummer Peter Erskine, singers Cheryl Bentyne, Julie Kelly, and Judy Wexler were in the house, as was vocal jazz Grammy nominee for 2010, Denise Donatelli. The sense of community was palpable and warm, as was the affection and admiration for the man himself - Bob Sheppard.

A couple of flickers about working

I watched both "Metropolis" (1927) and "From the Terrace" (1960) this weekend, thinking that there might be some sort of parallel lines between the two - they both center around the stories of the sons of captains of industry.  But that is pretty much where the comparison ends.  Fritz Lang's influential "Metropolis" was UFA's most expensive silent picture, and has been called one of the most important works in the history of cinema.  It was a financial failure, shown only four months in its original form.  Censored in Germany and cut drastically as part of a distribution deal with Paramount and Metro, it was quickly shelved, and the excised footage was destroyed.  It has always been the object of intense interest by film buffs and historians, and has been studied, screened and re-released on numerous occasions, including Giorgio Moroder's colorized version with its pop rock sound track in 1984.  In 2008 an additional 25 minutes of previously lost footage was discovered in the Museo del Cine in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  In 1926 a distributor from Argentina had seen a screening before the cuts were made, bought it and took it back to Argentina with him, where it ended up in a private collection that eventually made its way to the Museo del  Cine.  The most recently restored "Metropolis" is out now on DVD and is the closest that it will probably ever be to Fritz Lang's original version.  It is amazing to look at. The image of Maria the Robot is one of the iconic images in all of cinema history. 

Reportedly Lang's vision for the film was inspired in part by the New York City skyline when he first arrived via ocean liner in 1924. The still below reminds me of the 10, 210 and 110  freeway interchanges south of downtown Los Angeles.

This new DVD has the beautiful original score by Gottfried Huppertz, performed by the Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra, Berlin, and conducted by Frank Strobel.  "Metropolis" is an intense examination of class warfare, profoundly visual, prophetic, and still relevant nearly a century after it was made.

On the other hand, "From the Terrace" is a light weight period piece - a pre sexual revolution 1960's era soaper.  It is the story of the son of a wealthy industrialist played by Paul Newman, who weds a socialite played by Joanne Woodward at her deliciously ash blond best.  It was a serious film at its time based on John O'Hara's novel of the same name, and centers around the sexual and political machinations of the rich, as Newman tries to shake the influence of his overbearing father and strike out on his own after serving in World War II.   Like the character Freder in "Metropolis", Newman's Alfred Eaton rejects all that his father stood for.  Unlike Freder, who literally goes underground to become an anarchist, Eaton stays in the game.  Of course its really not fair to compare the two films.  "Metropolis" remains an influential classic, and "From the Terrace" has weathered into camp.  ("The Best Years of Our Lives" it never was.) Still, "Terrace" is a fun compliment to the uber serious "Metropolis" - like a little dish of raspberry jello after a complex gourmet meal.  In "Terrace" we get to see Paul Newman at his blue eyed dreamiest.  We get to see Myrna Loy play a soused spouse.  We get to see Barbara Eden in only her third big screen appearance do a party cameo as a flirt named Clemmy Shreve.  We get to see Woodward as the spoiled, shallow socialite Mary St. John wearing a lot of great outfits.  We get to see the opulent interiors and exteriors of rich people's houses.  We get to see Elizabeth Allen (who looks very much like my friend the jazz singer Gina Saputo) play a character named Sage Rimmington who, when interrupted making out with Alfred Eaton's best friend Lex Porter on the couch, exits saying, "I think I'll go slip into something more comfortable - like my husband."

I suggest watching "On The Terrace" with a martini and a couple of gay friends.

Maverick's Flat is once again Where It's At....we hope!

Dining with Louie Cruz Beltran and Anastasia Mann tonight, we started talking about our upcoming gig at Maverick's Flat.  I was kinda proud of myself for doing a bit of digging around on the world wide interweb and "discovering" that Maverick's had quite the history.  When Central Avenue started dwindling down as a center for music in the 1960s, the changing nightclub scene moved West. The Crenshaw/ Adams area became the focal point for a vibrant new soul and R&B scene.  Clubs like John Daniel's Maverick's Flat, Wilt Chamberlain's Basin Street West, the Hippodrome, and Redd Foxx's Jazz Go-Go were some of the hot spots.  Turns out that Louie was mentored by John Daniels and toured Europe with one of Daniel's bands at one point.  The resourceful Mr. Daniels also had an interesting acting career, appearing in some awesome blacksploitation films. He played Mr. Jonathan the hairdresser in the racy and silly cult classic "Black Shampoo".  ("This stud is no dud!").  Also appearing in that movie was Skip E. Lowe - but that is a whole different post. I digress.

So Maverick's is re-opening.  We know that they have been fighting the good fight to get the place back up on its feet, and we are booked for Saturday night, December 18th.

Window Dressings

      She seems to be in a festive yet reflective mood.  (Art gallery on the corner of

Melrose and Robertson).

The skull of the ancient Pianosaurus serves as a wreath holder at the entrance

to the Steinway store on  Robertson.

The Pacific Design Center at night.

Tonight I went to Chaya Brasserie to pick up a deposit check for the band I have booked in for their New Year's Eve party.  Instead of cranking up the Honda and driving three minutes over to Robertson and Alden, I decided to walk.  It's about a 20 minute walk. On my way over and back, there were several windows that caught my eye.

Douglas gets in touch...

Last Sunday during a quiet afternoon at home I decided to change my profile picture on Facebook.  I am one of "those" people - a Facebook enthusiast.  I use it for business, to stay in touch with musicians and their gigs.  It has also brought me contact with distant cousins, lost high school chums, and an entire cast of people I have welcomed back into my consciousness.  Like it or not, Facebook can be very powerful, and I like it. 

So I was casting about for a different kind of profile picture when I remembered a lovely color pencil drawing by an old aquaintance.  I found it stashed away, scanned and uploaded it.  It is a still life, seen above, of exceptional delicacy and skill.  It was drawn by Douglas Robinson.  Douglas worked in television as an actor and writer, appearing on "All In The Family", (in this clip from "Border Patrol" he is the cowboy in the white hat and blue coat) and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show".  In the mid 1980s Douglas had a recurring role in 13 episodes of "Alice", playing "Doug", a loveable, witty and acerbic lush.  It must be said, and Doug has always been the first to admit it, that by the time I met him at a certain bistro up the street he was playing that character in real life.  And he played it to perfection.  He was one of the funniest and most charming individuals I ever had the pleasure to meet.  By the early 1990s Doug had achieved legendary status as a local character in West Hollywood.  That, my friends, is no easy feat.

My favorite exchanges with Doug usually went something like this:

Me:  Have a nice day, Douglas.
Douglas:  Oh, no thanks, I've made other plans.

He once said about an elderly actress:  "She has lovely skin.  It drapes so well."

So I uploaded one of the lovely drawings Doug occasionally gave to friends, and wondered how he was doing.  I hadn't seen him for quite some time.

Later that evening my friend Betty and I took an early supper at the above mentioned bistro.  It has been a favorite hang of mine for many years.  Betty never met Doug, so in the course of our conversation I showed her Doug's drawing on my phone, and began telling her about my friend, about how he would hold court at the very place where we were eating.  We talked about him at length, then after our appetizers came, Betty looked over my shoulder and said, "Oh, look at those beautiful hydrangeas."  I turned around and there, sitting at the end of the bar where Doug usually sat, was a vivid pink spray of hydrangeas.  Taped to the front of the bar below the flowers was a handwritten note:  "In Loving Memory, Douglas Robinson".  He had passed away just two days before.

Why, having no idea that Douglas had even been ill, let alone died, had I chosen that day to upload his beautiful drawing onto my Facebook page?  And why had Betty and I chosen that particular cafe for dinner?  Who knows...I'm a skeptic about such things, usually.  And yet, this was a profound series of coincidences.  So, rest in peace Douglas.  Thanks for getting in touch.

Notes from the culture wars...

According to Dogfriendly.com's National Travel Guide, they do indeed allow dogs on the National Mall.  Clearly this picture on the cover of Joe Maguire's book "Brainless - the Lies and Lunacy of Ann Coulter" was not intended to be flattering, but it has always puzzled me.  Now, before you think I am calling Ann Coulter a dog (she is reasonably attractive, and even more so in person), the reference to dogs on the mall comes from my wondering how Ann could sit, in her ubiquitous black cocktail dress, on grass that has certainly liberally (pun intended) been used as a water closet by any number of canines.  We know that Ann has lots of wealthy gay friends.  We've seen them dining en masse in fancy West Hollywood restaurants.   She could have used a couple of them with her on this photo shoot.

Looking North toward the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel

Hollywood Rainbow

Sid's spires from behind

Looking East down Hollywood Blvd....

A visit from the Muse.

Interesting how dreams can be so vivid at times.  The one I had this morning made no sense, really, and yet it made complete sense.  In the dream I was teaching school at a music academy (?) attached to an old theatre in a rundown part of a nameless city. I was sitting at a desk in an office I shared with somebody.  An attractive young woman came into the office to talk with that other person, and as she was leaving, I blurted out to her, "I want to write a column!"  She stopped, and we had a brief conversation which I now can't remember.  Before she left she said to me, "I think we can work something out."  As a result of that vague but at the same time vivid dream, here I sit at 6:00 AM working on a blog I set up a few months ago then forgot about. 

So, I guess in some weird way, I just gave myself permission to blog.  So here it is - I asked for it!  I will be posting stuff about my life (of course, its all about me) as a music booker in big bad Los Angeles. I am also a part time host at one of LA's trendiest restaurants, an ex professional actor/singer (who moved well), a former career waiter who escaped that profession thanks to a prominent Los Angeles business woman, an aspiring jazz pianist and modestly accomplished jazz vocalist, and now, along with several billion people, a blogger - with opinions.  Uh oh....that's the worst kind.

The pictures above were taken at an event we booked the band for at Madame Tussaud's rooftop on Hollywood Blvd.  It was a weird weather day in Los Angeles...weird weather days are all too common everywhere, and this one was downright tropical - LA meets Miami (a dangerous combination). The clouds were very dramatic and the sunset was spectacular.  It was as good a time as any to be on the rooftop of a wax museum.  By the way, I don't get wax museums...they creep me out and I find them a little depressing.