Only two things to report this morning:
On Friday I got to hear a Washington DC original. Chuck Brown, The Godfather of Go-go. I have heard Chuck play pretty many times now, although not enough to keep up with all the call and response singing that goes on among the real hardcore fans. One thing that always surprises me is how deep his jazz roots go. Also how good a guitarist he is. He was playing a PRS rather than the Gibson 335 that I associate with him on Friday. The show was an outdoor show at the Ronald Reagan building. I know, I know… anyone who has ever been near that building can attest to what a soul-killing architectural nightmare it is. It is truly the worst of the bureaucratic DC cityscape. But Chuck’s music is more powerful than any bland building vibe. He was great. He always is. And had the crowd dancing right away. His band was spot on. Brad Clemmens and Greg Boyer on Trumpet and trombone were wonderful. I don’t know his drummer’s name – or the conga player (indispensable to the go-go beat), but they were as solid as it gets.
Here is something I love about him: One of his standards is his special go-go version of “Moody’s Mood.” It is worth looking at the lineage of this song. “Moody’s Mood” comes from a tenor sax solo the great James Moody took over the changes of “I’m In the Mood For Love” on a recording he made in the ’50’s. (That cut was still called “I’m in the Mood For Love”) That solo was transcribed by one of the great jazz vocalists of all time, King Pleasure, who put words to it and sang it on his own record – calling it “Moody’s Mood.” That was probably in the early sixties???? Here – 50 years later Chuck Brown has the crowd dancing and singing along to “There I go, there I go, there I go again… Pretty Baby you are the soul that rocks my control.” All of his regular fans, many of whom have been listening to him steadily for 40 years, know all those lyrics by heart. I’m not sure I have point here, other than Chuck Brown more than deserves his status as DC legend. And perhaps that I am comforted by how deep his roots go into the jazz heart of Washington DC.
Redskins just lost to Detroit.
The Dick Kaufmann concert at the Atlas theater was a huge success. Dick sang well and the audience LOVED it. Some thoughts on this:
Ever since our interview with Liane Hansen on NPR, our CD sales have skyrocketed. Well… FOR US… they have skyrocketed. Still, it is pretty cool to have CDbaby request literally hundreds of CDs. Of both CDs: The Early Years and Second Hand Smoke. The other thing that has happened is that a few people have requested the sheet music for our songs. I think that I am going to post lead-sheets for our songs on the CL site. I know that if I was digging around for the music for a song I liked I would LOVE to find an accurate lead-sheet in the right key. Every time I try and buy music online – it turns out to be so difficult I end up going to Dale music and buying a book.
Tonight, Chaise Lounge (plus a few fellow travelers) is backing up Dick Kaufmann at the Atlas Theater here in Washington DC. He will be doing three duets with Marilyn. I will be playing an entire evening at the piano. I am a much better pianist than a guitarist anyway. On board are Dan Hovey on guitar, Tom Williams on trumpet and flugel, Bob Spates on violin, and David Lonkevich on flute. There was a dress rehearsal on Sunday that lasted six hours. The show hits tonight at 8 PM. We are all looking forward to it.
Started work this week on two film projects. One is the theme for a show that the Newseum is producing. Paul Sparrow is in charge. Susan Brooks Kelly is editing. It is a short piece of music but has to be… just so…
Also a film for Susan Koch. More about that as I get into it. It is a terrific film.
I found a batch of used Manhasset music stands on Ebay and bought them today. At some point others will love me for putting all my junky wire stands in the car for emergencies and having a house full of sturdy workman-like music stands.
Chaise Lounge • Photo by Elliot Berlin
I almost forgot to listen to this this morning. Luckily I got to tune in to “Weekend Edition” in time to hear Marilyn be absolutely charming with Leane Hansen. Of course I knew this was going to air this morning. What I didn’t know was how nicely they would edit out all our “ums” and “ahs,” making us sound so comfortable and smooth. And Leane has a way of making one feel comfortable and smart, and yes, smooth. As Mo pointed out, the only thing missing was our best line. When Leane asked us if we thought we were on track for “fame and fortune,” I answered that we were just hoping to become “known and solvent.” It was a great experience. Take a listen on the NPR site.
The Last Days of Cleopatra
Here it is Wednesday. Sept 16th: I am home.
We: the cast, crew and producers put on two readings of The Last Days of Cleopatra on Monday and Tuesday. I am so happy with everyone’s performance. I cannot imagine that you could see this and not have some sense that it is a viable commercial and artistic piece of work. There were moments of absolute bliss. If you are reading this and you were not there, I can only say that you should never ever miss an opportunity like this again.
Even the after-party was wonderful. Dick Kaufmann treated us all to drinks across the street at Tredeci. I think the only one of our cast who wasn’t able to come was Laura Marie Duncan who had to toddle off to play Nelly Forbush at Lincoln Center. So she had her own enchanted evening. The rest of us stayed to drink and hang on to the Cleo experience as long as possible.
While this was going on I was missing the DC premier of “Coal Country” , Phylis Geller and Mari-Lynn Evans’ stunning documentary. I was truly sorry to miss this. Apparently the crowd was great and the response wonderful. This is the second film by these two talented women that I have scored. The New York premier is on October 20th at Town Hall!!!! whoa. The film will be shown along with a concert by Kathy Mattea, Justin Townes Earle, and others who were featured in the film’s soundtrack. I won’t miss this.
The premier airdate is Oct 24th on Discovery Green.
Last night I met Reggie Marshal at Sweet Rhythm. This old jazz club is in its last week of existence. Sonny Fortune is recording a live cd there for the next few nights. Knowing Reggie allowed me to hang with Sonny for an hour befor the show. What a trip he is! He played wit Elvin, Miles, Cannonball, you name it. And he has the stories. I could have listened to him talk all night. His set- the one I heard- was intense. And I’m pretty sure he was just warming up. His drummer Steve Johns is terrific. Steve has a 13 yr old son named Daryl who has played bass with Sonny. I didn’t hear him. But everyone in the band had and agreed that the kid can really play.
This was the perfect break from the Broadway Bubble I’ve been in. A beautiful unreformed beatnick who sat with us told me she felt sorry for people so square they couldn’t dig Sonny’s sound.
New York is just grand some nights.
Gia Mora, Matt Bogart, Van Hughes, Paul Anthony Stewart
Paul Anthony Stewart as Montgomery Clift, Matt Bogart as Rock Hudson, and Van Hughes as James Dean. They play characters in Liz’s mind. Quite an amazing leap that Joe has put into this book. We are rehearsing “I Can Do”. The three “imaginary boys” have two songs together. The other is “That’s the Kind of Friend”. In both they have this very funny chemistry. They are ghosts, or figments of her imagination who don’t quite realize they are imaginary. I know that it sounds odd for a musical, but Joe has somehow made this work.
Reggie Marshall is coming to New York tonight to see one of his other clients, Sonny Fortune. I am going to go to Sweet Rhythm (a jazz club here in NYC) to see him with Reggie. Sonny Fortune has been a well know sax player for nearly 50 years. I’m looking forward to this.
Saturday- tomorrow- we also rehearse.
Gia Mora and Clarke Thorell
After Lunch Break
I am watching Steven Skybell and Mark Lotito play Mank and Spyrous. What a hoot! They are like a vaudeville act. Their big number is an eleven O’clock number called “The Way They Should Be Run.“ I hope someday I get to hear this song with a soft-shoe included.
Act II is feeling good. Certainly not enough time in this 29 hour reading to address everything that is screaming for attention. But the cast is so good – top to bottom- that they are able to pull it off.
We are moving on to the last song of Act I “Everything I Want” It sounds huge. Really amazing to hear the amount of volume a roomful of good singers can put out! Gia Mora is sailing out over the chorus just like she should. her chemistry with Clarke is great.
It is appropriately grey and rainy here today. This is the eighth anniversary of 9/11. Down at the site of the former World Trade Center there is the dedication of the new 9/11 memorial. I watched for a while on TV as all of the names of the victims were being read.
Yesterday at 1PM we read through the first Act. For having only two days of rehearsal, it went pretty well. The thing that makes me happiest about this is that I think it holds together as a piece of theater. Having a new cast, we now know that these words and these songs are not dependent on any one performer. The show works on its own. There are, of course, innumerable things to fix in this show that works. Meg Guroff asked me yesterday when it would be done. I abandoned that question in theater a long time ago. There is no “done.” I heard yesterday from Mel Morgan that they are still making adjustments to Phantom of the Opera. That show has been running for 20 years. That notion is contrary to most of my work-a-day psyche. I am at heart a completionist. I make lists and take great joy in crossing off the items that I have completed.
After rehearsal I came back to the Leo House to work on the show for a few hours. Then went to see “Spottiswoode and his Enemies.” They were at the Living Room on Ludlow St in the Village. Nice listening room. He played all new material – really none of his fallback killer songs. And it was all good. He is a really good lyricist and an incredibly theatrical performer. I can see why his band has been willing to work with him for so many years. Like many of his fans, I don’t understand why he is not more of a national figure. I know a few of his band members. John Young on bass. Candace DiBartolo on sax, Kevin Cordt on trumpet. And Wiley McMahon on guitar. Wiley is one of the most artistic, interesting guitarists around. Their performance at times bordered on the psychedelic. Something called Purple River, Yellow Moon??? The band bus trip to the Center of the Earth?? Whoa! I love the fact that the whole band can get into it with total conviction. I invited Johnathon to the Cleo reading on Monday.
Today we are continuing the read-thru. Starting with Act II. There are changes in the song “Toast.” Hell there are changes in everything. When this is all over I will need to see a compiled score to get a handle on all the changes. I have just been writing, sending pdfs to Mel, and then wondering what version we are currently singing…..