Breaking format on Halloween

I remember tuning into big band/jazz/oldies station WEW on Halloween 1996 and hearing the swingin' sound of...Alice Cooper.  In the spirit of the holiday, the DJ was playing Cooper's "Welcome To My Nightmare."  Earlier that day, the morning host had turned the first hour of his shift over to his "vampire brother who somehow got into the studio." (Actually, it was the host himself, assuming the role of a vampire.)

If I'd been on the air then, I probably would have done something subtler to mark the holiday, such as playing Martin Denny's "Quiet Village" and Bob McFadden & Dor's "Mummy."  Looking back, though, I say, Good for those two DJs...Why not?  It's once a year, after all.

"Company's here! There's the interval!"

When the doorbell rang years ago, it hit home just how fully into music I was.  Most people, upon hearing a doorbell, would look to see who was at the door or open the door.  I opened the door, but before I did, I said, "Those doorbell notes are a perfect fifth interval."

Who does that?

SiriusXM highlights LXXVII

Standout selections heard this morning:

'70s On 7

• Right Down The Line-Gerry Rafferty (Another way of conveying the sentiments expressed in Jim Croce's "I'll Have To Say I Love You In  A Song."  As much as I've always liked Rafferty's "Baker Street" and "Get It Right Next Time," this, to me, is Rafferty's best song, by a nose.)

The Coffee House

• Stay (I Missed You)-Lisa Loeb (I've always liked the honesty and vulnerability with which Loeb sings this.  Her new release of covers, "Lullaby Girl," is also recommended; her rendition of "Dream A Little Dream" is a highlight.)

Escape

• Who Can I Turn To?-Beegie Adair (An elegant piano cover, fit for a traditional jazz station.  I also recommend Nancy Wilson's vocal rendition.)

The Loft

• Second Nature-Neil Finn (A highlight of the Crowded House singer's latest release, "Out Of Silence."  A well-put-together arrangement of lead and backing vocals, keyboard, and strings coalesces effectively in this tale of a match between a man and woman that probably should happen but won't.)  

Margaritaville

• Pata Pata-Miriam Makeba (A well-known, much-covered dance number with strategically placed spoken word interludes about the dance.  A dance this joyous should have a difficult time wearing out its welcome.)
• You Can Get It If You Really Want-Jimmy Cliff (One of Cliff's best-known recordings, for good reason; it's a sunny, singable tribute to what one can achieve through hard work and perseverance.)

Real Jazz

• It's Only A Paper Moon-Marcus Roberts Trio (With solid, well-covered material like this, the trio is already halfway home.  In a configuration of piano, bass, and drums, it's impressive and unusual to hear the bass carry the melody.)
• Satin Doll-Ray Bryant (It's impressive to hear a piano take the place of a big band in this Duke Ellington classic.  I hear elements of "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" in this rendition.)
• When I Fall In Love-Chucho Valdes (In most renditions, this is a sensitively sung ballad.  Valdes, however, shows that it also works as a brisk piano instrumental.)

Soul Town

• For Once In My Life-Stevie Wonder (One of Wonder's best early hits; it expresses the exuberance virtually anyone would feel upon finding the one for whom they've searched.)
• Hello Stranger-Barbara Lewis (Sultry vocals and one of the best uses of "shoo-bop, shoo-bop"s in a pop song.  Yvonne Elliman also sings it well.) 

Symphony Hall

• J.S. Bach: Lute Suite in C minor, BWV 997 (Ricardo Gallen, guitar) (Gallen pulls off the uptempo yet somber aspects of the suite with aplomb.)

Watercolors

• Mt. Airy Road-George Benson & Earl Klugh (It's puzzling that former smooth jazz radio stations here didn't have this immediately accessible, uptempo guitar track in heavy rotation.)

In memory of Fats Domino

In memory of Fats Domino, who passed away yesterday at 89, here are five of his best songs, in my opinion:

• Blueberry Hill (If you watched "Happy Days" for any length of time, you heard this.  It contains one of the most memorable piano intros and one of the most memorable hooks of any '50s recording.  It's not surprising this was Domino's biggest hit.)
• I'm Walkin' (Another Domino hit that some listeners might have encountered through "Happy Days."  It's possibly his catchiest uptempo hit, with a hook that grabs the listener right from the beginning.)
• It Keeps Rainin' (I don't hear this played anywhere today, but it conveys universal sentiments about the sadness of romantic rejection effectively.)
• Jingle Bells (The song isn't one of my favorite Christmas tunes, but Domino recorded one of the best renditions.  He rocks the rhythm on the piano and vocals, giving the tune a boogie woogie feel.)
• Walking To New Orleans (Possibly Domino's best song.  Other artists sing about climbing the highest mountain or swimming the deepest ocean, and you know they're only speaking metaphorically.  Domino sings this so convincingly, it's easy to believe he's actually heading to New Orleans on foot.)

Stingray Music highlights XLVIII

An eclectic array of compelling tunes I heard on U-verse this morning:

Big Band

• Don't Get Around Much Anymore-Duke Ellington Orchestra (If this stately Ellington number isn't on the ballroom's dance playlist, the playlist is incomplete.  My high school jazz band played this; even though I was a bassist who didn't get to play the melody, I was honored to provide the rhythmic underpinning of such a renowned classic.)

The Chill Lounge

• Polarnacht-Palfinger (A hypnotic, swampy-sounding instrumental, recorded with the subtle ambience of crackling vinyl.)

Classic R&B And Soul 

• It's My Thing-Marva Whitney (This record was released in 1969, but I'd never heard this James Brown vocalist's clever response to "It's Your Thing" by The Isley Brothers until today.  Whitney uses "It's Your Thing"'s template to state her case without hesitation.)

Gospel

• I'll Be The One-Bri (Briana Babineaux) (A convincingly sung proclamation of volunteerism for a noble mission.) 

Holiday Hits

• The Raven-Alan Parsons Project (A raven's caw opens this spooky 1976 blend of electronically altered vocals, powerful instrumental crescendos, and a recurring fanfare that reminds me of Joe Walsh's "Life's Been Good," released two years later.)

Jazz Now

• My Ship-New West Guitar Group featuring Peter Eldridge (Charlie Watts and Bernard Fowler recorded the definitive version, in my opinion, but this is a jauntier arrangement with pleasant guitar and vocals.  I can imagine Livingston Taylor and Kenny Rankin approaching the song similarly.)

The Spa

• Saturday-Zanaelle (This plaintive piano instrumental could pass for a soap opera theme.)

A defiant right-handed lefty

When I played the upright bass, my strongest assets were my intonation and rhythm.  In the eyes of some judges, however, my left hand position on the bass left something to be desired.  I usually didn't curve my left hand properly on the bass because it was uncomfortable.  Because I played in tune and in time, however, I never understood why it mattered.  One judge at a solo/ensemble festival in high school noted his dislike of my left hand position three times.  On the evaluation sheet, he wrote, "Your left hand position is bad," and "The next time you go to a professional symphony concert, watch the left hand position of every player, and copy it!"  Even when praising my intonation, he couldn't resist slamming my left hand.  "Considering the way you hold your left hand, your intonation is quite good," he wrote.

Reading that qualified compliment taught me what a left-handed compliment was.  Nevertheless, my left hand remained defiant, as I continued to play in tune and in time.

SiriusXM highlights LXXVI

Noteworthy songs heard this morning:

The Coffee House

• You Really Got A Hold On Me-She & Him (An effective cover of the Smokey Robinson & The Miracles doo-wop number.  The seemingly-recorded-in-a-tunnel echo on the vocals captures the intimacy of the lyrics convincingly.)

Escape

• Dancing On The Ceiling-Jack Jezzro (A bouncy acoustic guitar rendering of the Rodgers & Hart tune.  If you like the way Earl Klugh covers "It's Only A Paper Moon," "If I Only Had A Brain," and "You Make Me Feel So Young," Jezzro's take on "Dancing..." should satisfy you, as well.)

Kirk Franklin's Praise

• I've Seen Him Work-Anita Wilson (A powerfully sung case for trusting that God won't abandon you.  I hear elements of Joe Sample, the Luther Vandross hit, "Stop To Love," and '80s power chords in the instrumental accompaniment.)

The Loft

• Movies-Hothouse Flowers (One of the more semi-lighthearted singer-songwriter gems on the band's strong album, "Home."  Not just any tune advises you to "find a friend in a film."  Also recommended from the album: "Christchurch Bells," "Dance To The Storm," "Give It Up," and the cover of "I Can See Clearly Now.")

Real Jazz

• Cry Me A River-Jim Rotondi (The longest, most reassuring version of "Cry..." I've heard; Renato Chicco's organ playing and Rotondi's trumpet runs mute the sorrow you hear in other versions, such as Ella Fitzgerald's, of this much-covered song.)
• Maiden Voyage/Everything In Its Right Place-Robert Glasper (On Tuesday, I wrote about how seamlessly Kerri Anderson wove Bob Dylan and Blue Oyster Cult together in her cover, "All Along The Watchtower (Don't Fear The Reaper.)"  I never would have imagined anyone pairing Herbie Hancock's jazz landmark, "Maiden Voyage," with Radiohead's "Everything In Its Right Place."  Hearing Glasper's excellent traditional jazz piano rendition shows the common ground between two seemingly disparate tunes.  When I take notes on appealing SiriusXM, Stingray Music, FM dial scan highlights, and Online radio sampler highlights contenders, I write, "BLOG?" in the margin by selections I'm most likely to cite here.  Hearing the intro of "Maiden Voyage..." made me, in a rare occurrence, write "BLOG," without a question mark next to it.)

XL Backspin

• Tennessee-Arrested Development (Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why do some of the same good people get hit with tragedies repeatedly?  "Tennessee" addresses these injustices directly by asking the hard questions.)