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Writing Nice 'N Easy for Sinatra
Source:
Michael Ricci
In the fall of 1959, a dashing Los Angeles writer of tunes named Lew Spence got a call from Frank Sinatra’s people. In between concerts on the Vegas Strip, the most popular jazz singer in America had finished a new album of classic, lightly swinging love songs, “The Nearness of You,” named for a Hoagy Carmichael standard. But now Sinatra, in typically volatile form, decided hewanted a new title song written especially for him.
The next morning, as he did ...
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L.A. Clubs Offer Cheaper New Year's Eve Revelry
Source:
Michael Ricci
On New Year's Eve, the Viper Room on the Sunset Strip will charge a basic cover of $50, or $100 with drinks and other goodies included. Venues on the Sunset Strip and in Hollywood are cutting cover charges and drink prices to draw partygoers. The beat is slowing on the Sunset Strip, muffled by a less-than-festive economy. For the first time in years, clubs in this night-life mecca on Sunset Boulevard and nearby will be ringing in 2009 on Wednesday ...
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Swinging 60s: Brit Girls Rule
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
In 1968, when I was a kid, my artist parents took me and my brother to London for a few weeks on a budget summer vacation. In retrospect, I wish they had taken us a few years earlier so I could have seen Swinging London at the height of its glory. But in 1968, I still got an eyeful of bold colors, wide stripes and long hair as well as an earful of BBC hit radio. What stuck out most, ...
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Microsoft Patents Pay-as-You-Go PC Computing
Source:
PC Magazine
Did you purchase the entire Microsoft Office Suite, but only use Word? Were visions of becoming a Photoshop whiz short-lived? Do you only use the Internet to check e-mail? A pay-as-you-go computer developed by Microsoft might be an economical choice down the line. The software giant has applied for a patent that would offer low-priced computers that provide usage-based access to software, according to documents released on Christmas Day. “An in-vehicle mapping and directions appliance may be invaluable during a ...
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The Good Times Stop Rolling: Vegas Meets the Recession
Source:
All About Jazz
With Las Vegas in the grips of its worst economy since the early 1980s, the snowstorm that dumped four inches on top of the desert metropolis in mid-December felt like piling on. The city's cocksure swagger is gone.
Gaming revenue in Clark County, which includes downtown Las Vegas and the Strip, is down 8.5% for the year, to $8.3 billion. But the revenue for October, the last month for which figures are available, is off an ominous 24.3% versus the ...
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WSJ: The Best Musicians Span Continents, Generations
Source:
Improvised Communications
Weekend Extra: Lester Young
Source:
Rifftides by Doug Ramsey
With so little video of Lester Young, every foot of him performing on film is precious. Loren Schoenberg calls attention to a performance by Young that showed up recently on You Tube. Whoever submitted the clip from a kinescope of Art Ford's Jazz Party television program provided no information beyond Young's name. Ray Bryant is the pianist. The bassist is Vinnie Burke, who was on many of Ford's shows. Does anyone recognize the drummer? We catch a glimpse of cornetist ...
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