Taking The Day Off

I grew up under those mountains: The San Gabriels, and that’s Mt Baldy and the San Antonio Dam, and my drinking buddy Cary Adams who I’ve known since 7th grade ----- Those are the lemon groves ----- citrus was everywhere in those days ----- January 1980 Upland, California ----------- see the Gerry Mulligan Lp in the foreground (I don’t know why we had it up on the roof with us? Maybe we had some speakers up there, too?) – photo by Mark Weber

I grew up under those mountains: The San Gabriels, and that’s Mt Baldy and the San Antonio Dam, and my drinking buddy Cary Adams who I’ve known since 7th grade —– Those are the lemon groves —– citrus was everywhere in those days —– January 1980 Upland, California ———– see the Gerry Mulligan Lp in the foreground (I don’t know why we had it up on the roof with us? Maybe we had some speakers up there, too?) – photo by Mark Weber

February 21, 2o19 Jazz @ Noon every Thursday (starts at 12:07 after the satellite news) Host MARK WEBER KUNM Albuquerque, USA 89.9 FM (Mountain Standard Time) also streaming on the web KUNM.org Current time zone offset: UTC*/GMT -6 hours (*Coordinated Universal Time)/Greenwich Mean Time)

TAKING THE DAY OFF

Some of this stuff I don’t even remember
Come as it did out of the blue, unannounced,
Like the discharge of a blunderbuss, scatter-shot,
Memory in a thousand pieces
The peal of a freight train so far away
Fairy dust
The foam of the receding wave at the beach
And the little bubbles in the sand
Remembrance like seaweed
Wrapped around the pilings, sixteen
Fishermen on the pier in raincoats
Taking the day off, as is the Dao,
A soft bottle passing around, and
Another memory: the distributor
And the timing gear used to ride
On top of the drive shaft, does
It still? It occurs to me that
Our presidents should know
A few more things about basics
Than they do: How to make a table, for instance

Art Pepper at Donte’s ---- January 1979 ---- photo by Mark Weber

Art Pepper at Donte’s —- January 1979 —- photo by Mark Weber

Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra under direction of Horace Tapscott ---- January 30, 1977 @ I.U.C.C., Los Angeles --- I see David Bryant(bass), Adele Sebastian(flute), Jesse Sharps(with macramé weaving dangling from soprano saxophone), Steve Smith(trpt), Arthur Wells(alto), Michael Sessions(alto) ------ photo by Mark Weber

Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra under direction of Horace Tapscott —- January 30, 1977 @ I.U.C.C., Los Angeles — I see David Bryant (bass), Adele Sebastian (flute), Jesse Sharps (with macramé weaving dangling from soprano saxophone), Steve Smith (trpt), Arthur Wells (alto), Michael Sessions (alto) —— photo by Mark Weber

Eddie Cleanhead Vinson ---- November 16, 1976 backed by Jack Wilson(piano), Larry Gales(bass), Bruno Carr(drums) – photo by Mark Weber @ the Beverly Cavern, 4289 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles

Eddie Cleanhead Vinson —- November 16, 1976 backed by Jack Wilson (piano), Larry Gales (bass), Bruno Carr (drums) – photo by Mark Weber @ the Beverly Cavern, 4289 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles

That’s my Nels Cline Picasso Blue Guitar -------------- July 16, 1978 ------------------- photo by Mark Weber

That’s my Nels Cline Picasso Blue Guitar ————– July 16, 1978 ——————- photo by Mark Weber

Danilo Perez Trio on their first visit to Albuquerque, standing outside the old Outpost Performance Space: John Benitez(bass), Danilo Perez(piano), Jeff Ballard(drums) ---- September 23, 1997 ---- photo by Mark Weber

Danilo Perez Trio on their first visit to Albuquerque, standing outside the old Outpost Performance Space: John Benitez (bass), Danilo Perez (piano), Jeff Ballard (drums) —- September 23, 1997 —- photo by Mark Weber

Doug Lawrence jam session in Hell’s Kitchen: The Savoy Bar, 9th Ave & 41st Street NYC ---- June 28, 1997 --- We’d just got off the plane and jumped down here for this late-night jam ---- Valerie Ponomarev(trumpet), Dick Griffin(trombone), Doug(tenor) ----photo by Mark Weber

Doug Lawrence jam session in Hell’s Kitchen: The Savoy Bar, 9th Ave & 41st Street NYC —- June 28, 1997 — We’d just got off the plane and jumped down here for this late-night jam —- Valerie Ponomarev(trumpet), Dick Griffin(trombone), Doug(tenor) —-photo by Mark Weber

Gerald Wilson ---- December 4, 2003 ---- photo by Mark Weber

Gerald Wilson —- December 4, 2003 —- photo by Mark Weber

Joe Maneri Trio with his son Matt on electric six string violin and Randy Peterson, drumset, at Biblios, a bookstore on SoHo, NYC – June 28, 1997 ----- photo by Mark Weber

Joe Maneri Trio with his son Matt on electric six string violin and Randy Peterson, drumset, at Biblios, a bookstore on SoHo, NYC – June 28, 1997 —– photo by Mark Weber

Mississippi Smokey Wilson at his Pioneer Club – 1978 – photo by Mark Weber

Mississippi Smokey Wilson at his Pioneer Club – 1978 – photo by Mark Weber

9 Comments

  1. Marty Krystall

    Now I’ll tell my missing orange grove story… So, I got a call for a session on EWI and woodwinds for the movie The Two Jakes. This was a few weeks after we scored that picture with Lennie Niehaus. Van Dyke Parks called me and told me the sessions we did for Lennie were dumped because Jack Nicholson (his first and last director gig) recut the picture. Rather than hire an orchestra, they first wanted to see if the new music Van Dyke composed worked with the new edits. So I show up and it’s just Van Dyke, Jack and myself. I overdubbed all of the woodwinds, and overdubbed the brass and strings on EWI (electronic wind instrument). Jack didn’t say much, but he told me the story of the missing orange grove: His location scouts found an orange grove in Orange County, one of the last one’s left there and they made a deal and sent the crew and equipment there a few days later, only to find the entire grove had been bulldozed. He was really pissed. I can’t imagine how much money he lost. Later they found another grove and finished the picture and hired an orchestra, and we finally finished The Two Jakes.

    • Greg Cohen

      Great story. Simi Valley had the nice orange groves when I was growing up in the 60s. Pity…. how so much great music was lost on the cutting room floor, and how many oranges were lost to new toxic office buildings in so. cal.
      Marty- thanks for sharing this one! GC

  2. Mark Weber

    Marty——————- t’aint no more citrus groves out where I grew up (other side of Kellogg Hill from LA on the 10 frwy——all gone————-

  3. Mark Weber

    Greg, I have it in my memory that you grew up in Brentwood —- neighbors with your namesake Gregor Piatigorsky (cello)——not way out there hell N gone in Simi Valley? AND now you live in Berlin, Germany?

  4. Mark Weber

    and Greg, we love that soundtrack for JOE GOULD’S SECRET (1999) that you played on —- we put it on the stereo not infrequently

  5. Martin Krystall

    Yo Greg! Did you play with Billy Elgart over there? The only citrus orchards I’ve seen recently are in Coachella.

    • Greg Cohen

      Hey Marty and Mark! Crystal clear, baby. I grew up in Hollywood. Born in Sherman Oaks, next door to Edgar Lustgarten. That was the Piatigorsky connection. Then moved out to Woodland Hills for the high school years.
      Simi was close by, so I used to drive my ’59 Studebaker out there. I don’t think I ever played with Billy Elgart.
      Yeah, Joe Gould! That was the date I got young Ted Nash on. None of those guys could believe the kind of sax he was playing! I knew Ted from LA, and used to play over at his dads (Dick) in Tarzana. Keep the stories coming!
      and – yes! Coachella grapefruits are smoking! Just saw Amazing Grace at the Berlinale film festival. See it, if you can!

  6. Carol

    Great poem Mark. It awakens the senses – makes them our memories too! I dig the photos too.

  7. Mark Weber

    ————————————-playlist————————-
    The Doodlin’ Jazz Radio Show
    KUNM Albuquerque
    February 21, 2o19
    Host MARK WEBER
    1. Theme: w/ Cal Haines (drums) & voices: Beverly Hill, Janet Simon, Ali Liddel, MW
    2. Gregor Huebner “Equinox”(John Coltrane) 2019 cd LOS SONADORES EL VIOLIN LATINO Vol. 3 – w/ Gregor (violin), Klaus Mueller (piano), John Benitez (bass), Louie Bauzo (congas), Jerome Goldschmidt (congas & perc), Ludwig Afonso (drums) —- an ensemble based in Harlem NYC — new to me, fabulous stuff
    3. John LaPorta Quartet “Darn that Dream” w/ John (alto), Jack Reilly (piano), Dick Carter (bass), Charles Perry (drums) –1958 cd THE MOST MINOR (Fresh Sound)
    4. Ray Bryant solo piano “Me & the Blues” – 19dec58 cd ALONE WITH THE BLUES (New Jazz/Prestige/Fantasy)
    5. Dave Brubeck Quartet “Like Someone in Love” – live in Copenhagen 5march58
    6. Nels Cline in trio “Moth Song” from cd THE INKLING (Cryptogramophone) w/Mark Dresser (bass), Billy Mintz (drums), Nels (guitar) –May 1999 NYC
    7. Buddy DeFranco & Dave McKenna & Joe Cohn “You and the Night and the Music” clarinet – piano – guitar trio – July 1998 cd DO NOTHING TILL YOU HEAR FROM US (Concord)
    8. Hudson & Landry “Ajax Liquor” early 70s LA radio comedians
    9. Ray Charles Orchestra w/ David Fathead Newman(tenor solo) on one of Horace Silver’s masterpieces: “Doodlin’” Lp THE GREAT RAY CHARLES (Atlantic) –26nov56
    10. Woody & Boomer “All Blues” Michael Anthony (guitar) & David Parlato (bass) –13feb2o19 recorded at Studio 725 (my living room)
    11. Soundtrack to movie JOE GOULD’S SECRET –1999 — “Goings on about town” tentette w/ Greg Cohen(bass), Evan Lurie (piano), Ted Nash (alto), Douglas Wieselman (clarinet)
    12. Betty Carter “East of the Sun” w/ Mark Shim (tenor solo) cd I’M YOURS, YOU’RE MINE (Verve) – January 1996
    13. Herbie Mann Sextet “Let Me Tell You” —- 1957 cd SULTRY SERENDADE (Riverside) w/ Jack Nimitz (bari), Herbie (flute), Joe Puma (guitar), Oscar Pettiford (bass), Charlie Smith (drums), Urbie Green (trombone)
    14. Rene Urtreger Trio “Monsieur de …” 16may54 Paris when Rene was 20 years old! Smokin’ new cd EARLY TRIOS (Fresh Sound)
    15. Guy LaFitte Quartet “Three Little Words” 1956 Paris w/ Guy on tenor languidly following Lester Young on this, fabulous new cd QUARTET & SEXTET SESSIONS (Fresh Sound)
    16. “le Conte” as previous
    17. Rene Urtreger “Goofy the Cat” ibid.
    18. Theo Saunders ensemble “Afro Blue” – 15july2o18 Los Angeles – cd TRANE STORIES w/ Henry Franklin (bass), Dwight Trible (vocals), Teodross Avery (soprano sax), Theo (piano), Marvin Smitty Smith (drums), Azar Lawrence (tenor)

Leave a Reply to Mark WeberCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

© 2024 Mark Weber

Theme by Anders Noren adapted for M.etropolis by RavanHUp ↑