Dead Jazz

Today I had the pleasure of being amidst some great jazz musicians.  What a collection of players.  First, Max Roach on drums.  Look him up, he's played with everyone, even Bird.  Two great sax players, Jackie McLean on Alto and Illinois Jacquet on Tenor.  The two "headliners" though are unparalleled, there was Miles Davis on trumpet and Duke Ellington leading the ensem.  It gets no better than that.

Unfortunately I saw them all at the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.  (And I didn't even know Max Roach had died.)

Melanie knew the cemetery was a National Historic Landmark and asked if I'd be interested in seeing it.  We knew some famous people were buried there and that there were some interesting monuments.

It was worth the visit.  I knew Duke Ellington was buried there but I didn't know Miles was there until Melanie saw him on the map.  They're on the same intersection of paths across from each other.  (They have nothing in common musically or, from what I know, personally.  But they're both at the top of jazz royalty.)

We walked further along and I saw the gravestone for Illinois Jacquet.  Wow, so who else is here?  Turns out Max Roach is close by and Jackie McLean is a few yard over from him.

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G&S

A few weeks ago I told Melanie I wanted to take her out on a weekly Date Night.  We usually go out two or three times a week anyway - sometimes just us and sometimes with friends - but I wanted to plan something each week like I would if we were still dating.  I thought it would be fun to go during the week and we agreed on Tuesday nights with Wednesdays if Tuesdays didn't work.  The rule was I'd pick the place.

We've done three or four things and they've been fun, but this Tuesday I took her to a production of Gilbert & Sullivan's "Utopia, Limited, or, The Flowers of Progress."

Yikes.

It was uptown on 104th & 5th at El Teatro El Museo Del Barrio, a nice theater in a museum/performance space, but wow what a fantastically lousy and amateurish production.

During the first act I'm thinking, there's no WAY Melanie is enjoying this.  I couldn't wait for intermission to ask if she wanted to leave.  She did.

We felt like two kids skipping school.  I don't think I've ever walked out on a show before, but it was so worth it.  We went home and watched TiVo and that saved the evening.

I'm loving this.  Even if the event turns out to be a bomb, we're sharing in it together.

Here are some shots of the theater.  When the show started I realized I could take pictures of the production, but there was no point...

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Game of Thrones

I've always hated the fantasy genre, it's too unrealistic.  I like gritty urban dramas set in a world I see.

A few years ago someone at work who became a good friend, Susan Emro (she was Susan Kemp then), told me how much she liked the Harry Potter books.

Susan?!  Liking Harry Potter?!  Maybe I should read one.

I got the first novel and realized I'd been wrong to rule out something based on its genre.  The Harry Potter books are populated with people and relationships, and in that way they are universal.  And the writing, especially early on, is tight and powerful.

(As the series progressed I think Rowling's success made editors afraid to trim her books down, to her detriment; the Stephen King affliction.)

A show on HBO just premiered its second season, "Game of Thrones."

It's a fantasy show.

When I saw the first season advertised I thought it looked boring and stupid.  But it got good reviews, so I checked it out.

What an amazing show.  Each episode is like a 60-minute movie with HUGE production values; big main cast, a gazillion extras, amazing locations and sets, and elaborate wardrobe and prop pieces.  You know a lot of what you see has to be CGI, but it works so well you just go with it.  And the writing is stellar, blending in the occasionally fantastical with real characters and situations easy to relate to.

Maybe it works for me because the setting seems more like medieval England than some fantastical universe.  Or maybe that's how a lot of fantasy is?  (If so, what's the connection between medieval England and the fantasy genre?)

After watching this show I bought a discount boxed set of the first four books of the series in paperback, the original novels written by George R. R. Martin.  Very impressive.  I can recommend these to anyone who likes good writing.

Like Robert E. Howard before him with Conan The Barbarian, Martin creates an elaborate, sophisticated, whole reality.  The difference is that Howard (like Burroughs) was a pulp writer.  Martin is much better.  He's more like Ray Bradbury, someone who works within a genre but creates literature.

Miraculously the HBO program found the budget and the talent to bring all this to life.  It's sooo good.

I'm a fan.  The second season just started and I re-watched the first season in preparation.  Check it out if you haven't.  Start with the first season and pay attention.  Maybe watch each one twice, that helped me get all the details down.  Either way, watch it and let me know what you think.

(I'd love to hear from you.  Feel free to comment.)