Be on the lookout. . .

As much as I like Late Night With David Letterman---which is a whole bunch---if I learned that deli owner Rupert Jee had been unceremoniously dumped from the "family" (as seemingly as co-regular "Stephanie Brickett" has also been), I could probably never watch the show with as much pleasure ever again. There's been nary hide nor hair seen of him in the past couple of months.

I've always felt that Rupert was---as the great Frank Tashlin once described Tony Randall---"a comedy machine." Nearly every movement of Rupert's body, almost every facial expression and utterance had me spitting out my liver with laughter. The ultimate in being funny without even seeming to try. Ever so much funnier than the overdone, and now long gone and unlamented Late Show Bear (my least favorite Letterman bit everrrrr).

It's as if a bomb went off and destroyed nearly everyone who dwelt in "Allen's Alley" (vide Fred Allen). Or a fictional bus took the entire population of a soap opera town and drove them off a cliff, which IS actually what happened one time on a certain daytime soaper that was dropping in the ratings.

DAVE, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH RUPERT?

Kurt Reichenbach alert

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Page Cavanaugh alert

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SSJ Records

Bev Kelly "Live at the Jazz Safari." Another new SSJ Records (Japan)

On this this previously un-issued seventies date by singer Bev Kelly, she is backed by the wonderful likes of Al Williams, Dwight Dickerson, Leroy Vinnegar and others. It's been a -- what else can I say? --total blast, in the capacity of "release producer," working with Bev on the forthcoming issue of this terrific session.

Perched atop a rapidly escalating career in the early 1960s, nonetheless Kelly could espie the wave of rock and roll fast approaching to eventually wash away almost everything non-big beat in its path. Thus, she had the good sense to get a "day job." Make that "Dr. Bev Kelly, PHD," for she attended university, received her degree and has been practicing as a psychologist ever since. But she has continued to sing, notably on her 2002 CD Portrait of Nine Dreams. And, as she explains in the liner notes for her "new" CD:

"I started working with [drummer] Al Williams and his quintet in 1976. We often had conversations about how we would love to have jazz clubs of our own. In late 1977, an opportunity was presented to Al to fulfill his longtime dream, and the Jazz Safari was conceived."

Bev made a financial investment in the operation, began working there when it opened, and in the Spring of '79 cut an album at the Safari. Some of the tracks are: "Lonesome Road," "New York State of Mind," "Drinking Again," "Bein' Green," and "Alice in Wonderland." Until now, however, the results of those two nights of recording have gone unreleased. Now, nearly three decades later, this fine recording is finally seeing the light of day on SSJ Records (to be released July 2007).

Tomorrow: Dick Haymes: Look at Me Now!

Man bites dog. . .so to speak

And to think. . .I didn't even know about the new CD by the wonderful opera baritone Thomas Quasthoff until a couple of hours ago and already I have an instant opinion! After reading about it on the net, I downloaded his "The Jazz Album" from Napster.

It's odd that there has been so little Lady-Highbrow-lets-down-her-hair type of publicity about this recent album, especially taking into account Grammy-winning Quasthoff's popularity. When opera star Eileen Farrell effected a similar stylistic turnabout a near-half-century ago---in the "before time"---it was practically front page news.

I have some minor quibbles after an initial listening. A couple of the songs are questionable choices, i.e, "There's a Boat. . .," "Ac-cent-Tchu-ate. . .." And occasionally the German Quasthoff's pronunciation of English verges on the daft. But what a joy it is to hear an entire program of Great American Songbook entries rendered entirely devoid of intonation problems. Plus, he assiduously avoids even a hint of creeping Jim Nabors-Robert Gouletisms. Not too butch, not too femme, but just right! And, mercifully, he doesn't scat even once on the album, though he does in the youtube clip promoting it.

Some will phyrrically argue ad infinitum as to whether this is a jazz album or not, But I can only pre-emptively observe that with the participation throughout of arranger-trumpeter Till Bronner and pianist Alan Broadbent et al, it sure ain't polka. And he sure do swing. I think this is a terrific album.

My Day "Job"

I've been almost entirely neglectful about posting here in recent days.The distraction has come about as a result of the work I do for the Japanese label, SSJ Records. Helping to release what amounts to only a couple of CDs a month doesn't seem like a lot of work, but -- trust me -- it is! And it's not only these releases I've been working on, but issues well into 2008. However, we've just about put the July releases to bed and so... now it can be told. Especially since word about the quintet of issues is already all over the place in cyber commerce-land. The brains behind the outfit is SSJ's owner, Mister Yasuo Sangu, formerly of the Concord Fujitsu Jazz Festival. I am but a mere minion. (beat) Over the next few days I'll write about what SSJ has coming out next:

Frances Lynne -- Remember. This is a fairly recent, and for all intents and purposes, previously-unreleased recording by Gene Krupa's last (1950) "girl singer." The album is produced and arranged by Mike Abene and spotlights the playing of such as the late Johnny Coles, Herbie Steward, John Handy, and Lynne's husband John Coppola. I was introduced to the Coppolas (AND this recording) when I was doing research on my SSJ release of Krupa singer, Bill Black.

Frances Lynne holds the dubious distinction of being the last female singer in the great Krupa band, which she joined for the last few months of its existence in 1949-50 season. Lynne was quite young at the time, but already was a seasoned professional having begun singing at age six on the radio in her hometown of Austin, Texas. She recalls, "My mentors wanted me to go in the direction of Deanna Durbin. I had this 'beautiful' voice that was very high and sweet. But then I fell in love with popular music and jazz."

During WWII Lynne was a vocalist in 156th Army Band, and also toured with the USO. Arriving in San Francisco, California in 1946 after the war, her first serious affiliation was with a small group, The Three D's," whose pianist was none other than Dave Brubeck. Their musical "home" was the now-legendary Geary Cellar in SF. When Paul Desmond joined the group, it became even more popular. "We worked jobs all up and down the peninsula," says Lynne. Next stop for the singer was the Charlie Barnet band. Following that, Lynne went with Jerry Wald and then, finally, Krupa, where she sang alongside Bill Black, whose Down in the Depths was one of SSJ's first releases, in 2005.

It was in the late 40s that Lynne met her husband, trumpet star with Woody Herman, John Coppola. They married in 1952. After that, she began to wind down her music career, although she still continued to work occasionally, including singing with Alvino Rey's orchestra. But homelife and marriage finally took precedence over music and Lynne more or less retired.

But in the early 90s, Lynne felt she still had more songs to sing (such as th rarified likes of "The Touch of Your Hand," "Blue Prelude," and "Can I Forget You?"). And with the terrific Mike Abene arranging and producing, and a band of who's-who musicians behind her, including John Coppola, Herb Steward, John Handy, and Johnny Coles, Lynne recorded Remember, the liner notes for which were co-written by her band mate of nearly fifty years earlier, Dave Brubeck. Remember had only very limited distribution. It is a testament to the vision (and ears) of Sangu San, that this is finally being released to gain the wider exposure it so clearly deserves. He heard the recording initially when I played a couple of tracks from it at a meeting of the Tokyo Vocal Jazz Appreciation Society last December. His first words to me when I had finished my presentation were: "I want to release that." A far cry from the apathy shown by U.S. labels when they were approached to issue the album in the early 1990s.

Tomorrow: Bev Kelly: Live at the Jazz Safari