Saturday, July 26, 2014

Jazz in the Rainforest



The Beast ran into our friend Mr. Bennie Maupin yesterday and he told us about a special screening this Sunday of his new documentary-in-the-making Jazz in the Rainforest. Directed by Paul Sabu Rogers, the film documents Maupin and his ensemble's trip to Manaus, Brazil as cultural ambassadors and features their performance at the 8th Annual Amazonas Jazz Festival. The film will be shown at 2pm tomorrow (Sunday, July 27) at the Pasadena Central Library's Donald R. Wright Auditorium. For tickets to this event, go here.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

"If I Was Blogtrollin', Would You Blogtroll Too?"

First off, HAPPY 80TH BIRTHDAY TO MR. BOBBY BRADFORD!
Wondering Sound's Kevin Whitehead Has a profile of the L.A. free jazz master here. The Beast also heard that the maestro will be playing a concert at Culver City's Mayme Clayton Library in November. Reportedly, Bobby has an awesome band, including the keyboardist for the original lineup of his Mo'tet, ex-Mother of Invention Don Preston.


The Beast has two new articles up on the Los Angeles Magazine site, one about The Go-Go's and one about the late Charlie Haden, who just passed away on July 11. If this isn't a testimony to the diversity of L.A. music, we don't know what is.


Here are some more Haden-related remembrances, plus some other interesting stuff from around the Web:

(NPR)

(Dangerous Minds)

(MetalJazz)

(Do the Math)

(Portside)

(The Daily Beast)

(Gary Fukushima)


(URB)
(Search & Restore)
(American Songwriter)

(Tiny Mix Tapes)

(The Jake Feinberg Show)

(Chicago Reader)
(Pitchfork Media)

(NY Times)
(Digg)

(SPIN)

(Salon)

(Washington Post)

(FactMag)
(Billboard)

(Rolling Stone)

(Pitchfork Media)

(Straight)

(Open Culture)

(Something Else!)

(The Quietus)

(Behold)

(Electric Fling)

(NPR's Tiny Desk)

Saturday, July 12, 2014

REST IN TEMPO

The Haden Family Band, circa 1939
(Little Charlie is sitting on piano)

CARL HADEN: Honey, say good morning to all the little boys and girls. Say hello, all you little boys and girls.

"LITTLE COWBOY CHARLIE" HADEN: (2 years old) Hi.

CARL HADEN: Say "I'm just fine."

LITTLE COWBOY CHARLIE: I'm just fine.

CARL HADEN: Just fine, and say "I've got a brand new song to sing for you this morning."

LITTLE COWBOY CHARLIE: I've got a brand new song to sing.

CARL HADEN: "This morning."

LITTLE COWBOY CHARLIE: This morning.

CARL HADEN: There you are. All right. Little Charlie has had so many many requests to sing that dandy little song, "Row Us Over the Tide," and then Momma's going to take him out and get his big bottle of soda pop. So you sing real loud and nice here and a nice yodel. Allright.

LITTLE COWBOY CHARLIE: (Singing) 'Row us over the tide. Row us over the tide. Row us over the tide.'

CARL HADEN: Yodel round.

LITTLE COWBOY CHARLIE: (Yodeling) 'Olay-yeee-ooo, olay-yeee-ooo-eee'

[From 1939 Haden Family Radio Broadcast]



"In California, it's very difficult to get in tune because of the climate. When I was two years old and singing on the radio with my family, my dad kept a switch on the wall. He never used it, but he always told me, 'Charlie, don't ever go flat or go sharp.'"