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There Were Big Stars At This LA Party, But I Didn’t Shine So Brightly
by Mort Weiss
Let's set the scene: Actress Polly Bergen's Malibu Beach house, 1965. The cast of participants includes Jack Lemmon and his wife Felicia Farr, Kirk Douglas, Jackie Gleason, Steve Allen and his wife Jayne Meadows, Sandra Dee, Cary Grant, William Powell, a bevy of young starlets and many more show folks. And the bands! A Guy Lombardo ...
Let’s Compare Your Average Jazz Cat To Those With Classical Gas
by Mort Weiss
This question goes way back, but is still relevant in 2012: Who's the better musician--a jazz or classical player? I remember talking to someone, about someone, and the cat asking: Is he jazz or legit?For those of you who don't know what Mort Weiss is about, I will restate that when I use the ...
A First-Take Life, With Everything From Hard Times To Hard Rock
by Mort Weiss
When I first started doing these articles I gave no thought as to the chronological order in which they occurred. Because of all the response regarding these little tidbits of the various happenings in my life as a jazzman (hey, there's no other name for it is there?) I will endeavor to fill in the blanks ...
Paul Whiteman’s TV show, and spending New Year’s Eve with Ella Fitzgerald
by Mort Weiss
I was quite active in the early days of live television, most of which was shot in Hollywood, California. Sometime in the latter part of 1951, I got a call from the director and producer of many teen-oriented TV shows.His name is Al Burton, and he went on to become a mega-dude in the ...
Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry Once Blew Us Away Under LA’s Big Top
by Mort Weiss
Los Angeles/Hollywood, California, in the late 1940s through the early 1960s was a happening place for jazz and jazz musicians. There was always a place to play a jam session, or more correctly session(s)--mostly in beer bars. (I'm not counting the ones that went on all night in some one's pad, if they were lucky enough ...
Two Strangers On A Train, Me and Another Kid Named Elvis Presley
by Mort Weiss
Elvis Aaron Presley. I spent most of a day and night with the cat, back in March or April 1956. Me? I was stationed at Fort Riley Kansas in the 1st Infantry Division--the Big Red One--and was going home to Los Angeles, California on leave, by train.Most folks weren't using airplanes back in that ...
On White Guys Playing The Blues, and Benny Goodman Practicing Nude
by Mort Weiss
Yes, I drank muddy water--and slept in a hollow log! Um, hmm! I said that I steady drank muddy water, and slept in a hollow log. Ah huh! An' all I wanna do is tell my story on dis here music blog. Oh, yeah!The blues. If you can't play them, you ain't never had ...
The State of Jazz, Coltrane Clones, and the Noose of Technology
by Mort Weiss
Some thoughts and comments--bound to piss some people off and others smile. Do I feel that I am an expert on what I'm about to say? The answer is a resounding yes! Onward.I'm not overjoyed that my parents gave me a clarinet to play. If it had been damn near any other instrument, I ...
Mort Weiss Meets Bill Cunliffe
By Mort Weiss
Label: SMS Jazz
Released: 2011
Track listing: The Theme; Who Can I Turn To; Indian Summer; The Gentle Rain; What is
this Thing Called Love; Readings of Kerouac 1; My Ship; If I Should Lose
You; The Sheik of Araby; Dewey Square; Awaken; For Heavens Sake; Who
Cares.
Mort Weiss - Meets Bill Cunliffe (2011)
Clarinetist Mort Weiss, who turns 76 years young tomorrow, is ten years into a remarkable comeback after laying off working as a musician for four—that's right—four decades. Last year, both Mark Saleski and myself totally dug Weiss' solo clarinet opus, Raising The Bar. Making up for lost time, Weiss is now nine albums in his remarkable ...
