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Lou Reed, Ornette Coleman and David Bowie: After Walking On The Wild Side 8/18/72
by Mike Jurkovic
British saxophonist Ronnie Ross had just locked down his now iconic baritone solo on Lou Reed's soon-to-be overplayed rock classic, “Walk On the Wild Side" when co-producer David Bowie snook up behind Reed and whispered excitedly “Ornette's here." Reed, intently tapping a vein and hitting the rush, replied like only a stoned kid from Queens could. “No sh**." Yeah, no sh**. And that is just the beginning of the fascinating story behind After Walking On The Wild Side 8/18/72.
Continue ReadingDavid Bowie Jazzed: Ten Essential Bowie Covers
by Ian Patterson
One of the measures of a great artist is the number of covers they have inspired. Covers of David Bowie songs are not in short supply; Blondie, The White Stripes, The Cure, Philip Glass, Nirvana, Bauhaus, The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Red Hot Chili Peppers, to name just a handful, have all paid homage to the great pop iconoclast, who died in 2016. So too have a host of jazz musicians. The following is not meant in any way ...
Continue ReadingRoots to Branches: Broadway, Jazz, and David Bowie?
by Kurt Ellenberger
In 10th grade, I had a classmate in my French class named Morvan, whom I didn't know at all (in fact, I doubt I ever ever talked to her). She was quiet and introverted but also somewhat defiant and aloof. She always dressed in what was quite outlandish fashion at the time. She was somewhere in between glam and punk, the latter of which was still largely undefined in 1975. One thing stood out to me--she often wore David Bowie ...
Continue ReadingMasayoshi Sukita: A Higher Place
by Nenad Georgievski
Japanese photographer Masayoshi Sukita is a giant of 20th-century photography, and his contributions are immeasurable. His work ranges from documenting urban life, fashion and travel to taking celebrity portraits and film sets. Born in Nogata Shi, Japan, in 1938, his photo career began when he received his first camera as a present from his mother and used the device to take a portrait of her. According to Sukita, this photo is the most important one he has ever taken as ...
Continue ReadingMasayoshi Sukita: Eternity
by Nenad Georgievski
Eternity Masayoshi Sukita 256 Pages ISBN: 9781788841078 ACC Art Books 2021 People may or may not recognize his name but they have certainly seen his photographs. For the past 50 years, photographer Masayoshi Sukita and his camera have captured an enormous number of genuinely emblematic images of pop culture luminaries, and these photographs can only be classified as iconic. Diving deep into one of the most significant photographic careers, his book Eternity ...
Continue ReadingGhosts In The Machine, Part 3: Jazz Musicians And Popular Music
by Kurt Ellenberger
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 Part 3: The GhostsIn a recent essay in Commentary, Terry Teachout, arts and culture critic for the Wall Street Journal, makes an argument for the date on which the jazz era officially ended and the rock/pop era began--May 9, 1964, the last time a jazz musician (Louis Armstrong, with his version of “Hello Dolly," from the musical of the same name) topped the ...
Continue ReadingBowie's Books: The Hundred Literary Heroes Who Changed His Life
by Nenad Georgievski
Bowie's Books. The Hundred Literary Heroes Who Changed His Life John O'Connell 263 Pages ISBN: 1526605805 Bloomsbury 2019 Only a handful of musicians have embraced the continuous changes of musical directions, characters, and styles that singer David Bowie has during his long and illustrious career. It is difficult to embrace or fathom the enormous influence and impact that he had on worldwide culture across the many decades as it spread to so many ...
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