tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post8201549398601745234..comments2024-03-28T15:17:18.477-05:00Comments on Orange Crate Art: Jazz on Route 66Michael Leddyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-49498737759570581732014-12-26T08:40:30.113-06:002014-12-26T08:40:30.113-06:00Yes, his name appears several times in these pages...Yes, his name appears several times in these pages. I’m a great admirer of his work. And don’t forget <a rel="nofollow">Naked City</a>.Michael Leddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-27152034758761816832014-12-26T08:01:53.456-06:002014-12-26T08:01:53.456-06:00It is worth noting that the head writer for this e...It is worth noting that the head writer for this episode and the series was Stirling Silliphant, famous for several movies including "In the Heat of the Night."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-71052620680571893602013-06-05T19:31:24.163-05:002013-06-05T19:31:24.163-05:00Sold! :)Sold! :)Michael Leddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-31460102565774333982013-06-05T17:09:51.911-05:002013-06-05T17:09:51.911-05:00The cd version of Sounds in the Night also brings ...The cd version of Sounds in the Night also brings a wonderful bonus: Marni Nixon singing in a suite inspired by Mr.MaGoo! It is heartbreakingly beautiful.Adairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08472918455336742493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-24090518144541824412013-06-05T17:01:27.277-05:002013-06-05T17:01:27.277-05:00The dancing is right outside the house. The little...The dancing is right outside the house. The little kids made me think of the NYC school institution known as Dance Festival.<br /><br />I think the show’s makers were interested in offering a picture of African-American life that ran a gamut: there’s a doctor who talks on equal terms with his white colleague, a lawyer who has the respect of a white judge, successful musicians, Jenny (who’s “loaded,” as she tells Tod and Buz), one playa, and one musician who’s fallen on hard times. But there’s no one who exhibits the pathologies so often associated with jazz musicians. I esp. like seeing Tod talking to people in an African-American neighborhood. One fellow, who seems to me a resident, not an actor, calls Tod “my man.” I can only imagine the reception this episode must have had in some (white) quarters.<br /><br />This is the second time you’ve mentioned the Russ Garcia record. I’ve heard some of it online, but now I vow to seek it out. Nixon’s voice in this episode cannot easily be mistaken for Waters’s, but it’s one fine voice.Michael Leddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05547732736861224886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-55348700465859470972013-06-05T15:12:29.473-05:002013-06-05T15:12:29.473-05:00Oh, and I forgot to comment on Marni Nixon, one of...Oh, and I forgot to comment on Marni Nixon, one of the absolutely great voices of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I did not know about her role in this episode. That is a great story! Nixon can be heard on a wild mood music album by Russ Garcia called Sounds in the Night, where she is accompanied by the legendary Randy Van Horne Singers.It is terrific! She also recorded for Igor Stravinsky!Adairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08472918455336742493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343608.post-10131572510040336562013-06-05T14:28:29.518-05:002013-06-05T14:28:29.518-05:00I recall this episode not only for the presence of...I recall this episode not only for the presence of these great jazz musicians but also for some interesting "documentary" style shots of African-American neighborhoods and dances. It reminds me of how, because of segregation, the black neighborhoods still preserved very distinct cultural differences in the early 1960s, to the point of probably seeming foreign and strange to white viewers of the era. These shots almost seem to have an anthropological look, and may even strike us as a bit racist today, focusing as they do on certain stereotypes, such as the outdoor dancing. And yet,they are visually powerful in the episode, superior to the story itself, which is undermined by sentimentality. I wonder if they were actually shot for the episode or are footage spliced in from another source.Adairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08472918455336742493noreply@blogger.com