August 1st: Little Feat. Lowell George (1945–1979) is the central figure, who died in 1979 at the age of 34. Born in Hollywood California was the son of a furrier, who raised chinchillas. He played the flute in the Hollywood High School marching band. He liked jazz. He worked at a gas station when he graduated from high school, and studied art history at Los Angeles Valley College. He played in Zappa's Mother of Invention. Little Feat's first album came out in 1971. Little Feat came out with 8 albums with George alive. They have 9 albums since George died, they reformed and went on 9 years after his death and still perform.
"George led an overindulgent lifestyle of binge eating, alcoholism and speedballs (heroin and cocaine mixed together), and he became morbidly obese in the last years of his life, weighing 308 pounds (140 kg/22 stone)." He died of a heart attack on tour in Arlington Virginia.
According to Fred Tackett, "We were driving down the New Jersey Turnpike in this bus and we stopped at this pizza joint off the highway. Everybody in the band shared a cheese pizza but Lowell bought a large pizza with everything on it, carried it to the back of the bus, and he ate the entire pizza by himself. He died two or three days later. So, when people ask me, 'What really killed Lowell?' I say, 'It was a pizza on the New Jersey Turnpike.'" (Wikipedia)
Read about Lowell George from substack: "He injured his hand building a model airplane, and thus was forced to learn to use a slide on the guitar instead of fretting it. Of course, he mastered slide; in fact, he created his own style, different from any of the other great players. We learn, in detail, what his slide was (a Sears socket, not a glass bottleneck) and how he compressed the sound afterwards so it was all the same volume."
"He was obsessed with Howlin’ Wolf, the legendary Chicago bluesman"
8/2. Howlin' Wolf (Spotify). Chester Arthur Burnett (1910-1976) was born in White Station Mississippi. He was a protege of Charlie Patton. His wife Bertha Lee sang on Oh Death and Mind Reader Blues.
8/3 Charlie Patton (1891-1934) had some Choctaw and African American, and maybe Mexican and other heritage. Imagine, "playing with the guitar down on his knees, behind his head, or behind his back."
8/4 is the date Louis Armstrong was born in 1901. He passed 1971. A pivotal human in history, he's the first jazz star. Here's a video of him singing in 1933 in Copenhagen.
8/5. Arena American Epic (2017 is a documentary on early American Music. (Part 1 with commercials) Spotify has the 1935 Carter Family Album. It's going to be 100 years old in a year and a half. Out of the primordial soup: Memphis Jug Band, Furry Lewis. They get to Charlie Patton at 51 minutes near the end. Williamson Brothers and Curry. Elder J.E Burch. Dick Justice.
8/6 American Epic - Blood and Soil - Second Episode (YouTube) I found a Wikipedia entry about the documentary that lists the names and such, which really goes into depth about Elder J.E Burch. Dizzy Gillespie grew up down the block and heard that church rocking. Lots of other stories. It's a little repetitive. I'm still really interested in early music recordings, reaching back as far as you can go into the history of recorded music. Can't find the 3rd one yet. Really want to see the Hopi music. The Hopi music track led me to Hopi Radio, KUYI 88.1 fm. (Wikipedia)
8/7 Peter Grimes Britten.
8/8 Ireland buries Sinead O'Connor (1966-2023) (NY Times). Protest singer. Spotify. She's the same age as me.
"in accordance with an old Irish custom, her coffin will first be carried past her last home in Ireland, on the seaside promenade in Bray, just south of the capital"
"Courageous, passionate, often controversial, Ms. O’Connor had slowly become, in the eyes of many, a national treasure, a woman who spoke up for the weak and oppressed, and who took an early stand against the abuses of the Catholic Church in Ireland and elsewhere."
8/9 Robbie Robertson died. Guitarist for Bob Dylan and The Band. His mother was Cayuga and Mohawk and they would travel to the reservation to see family. His father was Jewish. He was raised by a man who thought he was his father, but it was disclosed later that he wasn't, and they broke up. The Last Waltz has to be the greatest rock and roll movie. You can watch it on Tubi for free with commercials.
8/10 Bill evans in '64 and '75 on YouTube.
8/11 My Heart Is Beating (The Backyard Banjo Club) (YouTube).
8/12 Art Tatum Yesterdays (YouTube).
8/13 Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media - Funky Stuff (1975) (YouTube no video).
8/14 Marina's top song on Spotify is Bubblegum Bitch. I don't consciously know any Welsh musicians (Wikipedia). She's separate from what comes below.
I came across this version of Someday My Prince Will Come, which is a jazz standard.
The 17 year old guitarist comments on Reddit about this collaboration with Marina. Honestly don't think this is the Marina. Confusing. Still like it. I love the low fi garageband aspect.
Cry Me A River also. Desafinado. Pra Machuchar Meu Coração.
8/15 Chick Corea and Gary Burton Tiny Desk Concert June 13, 2016. It feels busy for me at the start, but then it clicks in for me.
8/16 Molly Tuttle White Rabbit. She has a fun song El Dorado.
Molly Rose Tuttle (born January 14, 1993)[1] is an American vocalist, songwriter, banjo player and guitarist, recording artist and teacher in the bluegrass tradition, noted for her flatpicking, clawhammer, and crosspicking guitar prowess. She has alopecia. I actually discovered her for myself on 8/4, but I go ahead a little bit because I don't discover or appreciate someone every day.
Yosemite feat. Dave Matthews
PBS News feature profile a year ago.
8/17 Leonard Cohen (spotify), my profile of him. Poet, novelist, pop star.
8/18 Tony Bennett (1926-1923) passed away, here's Autumn Leaves with Ralph Sharon Trio that some like.
8/19 Robert Cray album Sweet Potato Pie (Wikipedia) somehow got heavy rotation. I've tried to get into other albums, but I just like that one. Little trivia, "In the 1978 film National Lampoon's Animal House, Cray was the uncredited bassist in the house party band Otis Day and the Knights."
Keith Jarrett and Thelonious Monk
8/20 Keith Jarrett Over the Rainbow (Tokyo 1984) YouTube. Artist on Spotify.
Keith Jarrett was born in 1945 in Allentown Pennsylvania. He had strokes in 2018 and only plays wiht one hand these days. His discography is extensive. He looks black but his parents were Slovenian and German. He moved to New York and played for Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, which from 1955-1990 were a top ensemble. Later he was on Miles Davis' Bitches Brew Live. He played solo, in trios and classical music after that. Jarrett lives in an 18th-century farmhouse in Oxford Township, New Jersey in rural Warren County.
5 months ago Rick Beato (48 minutes) put up an interview of Keith Jarrett. This is a good video because he gives a history of Jarrett. And there's an amazing one handed piano video. He's pretty amazing. "I had good parents." He was in his barn, which he built in the 70's. He thought Miles Davis was a beautiful guy, didn't argue with him ever. He compares Charlie Haden and Gary Peacock on base. When I went to see Haden before he died, I sat next to Yoko Ono and John Lennon Jr. at the Blue Note. The video is great because they're talking about fourths, and he explains it. McCoy Tyner was more into fourths, but he does dabble in a few concerts. They play My Song. There are country elements, gospel. He didn't play bossa nova he said even though he liked it, because he didn't know any bossa nova drummers. He could just play anything, he plays Desenfriol by Carlos Jobim (1927-1994). He had his first gig when he was 14 at the Deer Head Inn. He says he's the oldest lasting jazz club. I can't confirm that. Watching his face when he's listening to his own music is cool, with his face when he was actually playing it. Beato plays him Solar. That's such an amazing performance, wow, I cried. Amazing. "I had more hands... only one more, though." This is such beauty that moves me.
I didn't know he played with Paul Motion (1931-2011), I saw him at Vanguard the year he died. Wow, that was 12 years ago.
I didn't know that Steely Dan had got sued after they said they were influenced in a song by him, and he got royalties for that song, Gaucho (spotify) was based on "Long As You Know You're Living Yours" (spotify)
The Koln Concert is the best selling solo piano album. He performed on SNL! He's played many different instruments.
I've always wanted to listen to more Keith Jarrett but I was afraid because I somehow didn't have an entry point, but I saw what a titan he was. The video helped me to get over the hump.
8/21 Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser 1988 American documentary film YouTube. Artist on Spotify.
Thelonious Monk (1917-1982) was born in Rocky Mount North Carolina. His family moved to Manhattan when he was 5, he lived in San Juan Hill.
8/22 Avenue Q.
8/23. Miles Davis and Prince collaboration (video on Twitter). I read a book on Prince and Dickens.
8/24. Rory Gallagher was listed as a great guitarist, so I looked him up. Wikipedia, Spotify
8/25 Barbod Valadi He's an Iranian jazz guitarist, Persian Jazz. (Spotify).
8/26 Strange Worlds Episode S2E9 Subspace Rapsody
8/27 Dolly Parton Let It Be with Paul and Ringo.
8/28 I listened to Elvis Costello Imperial Bedroom with my daughter.
8/29 Sonic Youth
8/30 Mahler's 5th Symphony
8/31 Weezer
Bonus: I forget what day was Bill Evans but this month was his birthday. (August 16th)
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