Tidbits: Radu Lupu

I was very sorry to hear that pianist Radu Lupu died yesterday. He's long been a favorite. His recording of the Schubert Sonata in A Minor (D.959) is still the best in my view. 

His Brahms is great, too, but it was the Schubert D.959 recording that first brought him to my attention. Years ago, I had the unexpected privilege of being invited to dine with with Kyung-wha Chung and her entourage after a concert in Ueno, in Tokyo (another story altogether). For some reason we got on the subject of Radu Lupu. They recorded Franck and Debussy sonatas together.  I remember her calling him "a crazy man." It was something about putting his fist through a glass door—which seems a very odd thing for a pianist to do. I don't know. He may have been crazy, but he will always remain among my favorites. I heard him in recital in Tokyo sometime around 1988. He was wonderful. I was surprised, however, by his virtual baldness even then. His photos on recordings were always of him as a younger man and with more hair. Funny the things you remember...

Tidbits—RIP: Mary Tyler Moore (January 25. 2017)

I was saddened to see that Mary Tyler Moore died today. She gets a lot of credit for the role model she became as Mary Richards in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but I'll alway remember her as Laura Petrie.

Tidbits—RIP: Gene Cernan

I just saw that Gene Cernan died during the past week, apparently on January 16. The last man to have walked on the moon. I believe 12 people walked on the moon. I wonder how many are still alive?

Tidbits--RIP: Oliver Sachs

I was sorry to hear about the death of Oliver Sachs today. He appears to have died a couple of days ago. I'm surprised there hasn't been more about him in the news. I enjoyed many of his books, particularly Uncle Tungsten and remember a couple of pieces about him and by him in The New York Review of Books over the years. Always an interesting writer.

Miscellaneous: Blues Legend B.B. King: RIP

It was in November of 1997 that B. B. King released his 35th studio album Deuces Wild, a collection of duets with the likes of Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Dionne Warwick, The Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker, and Willie Nelson. Tokyo-based blues writer Allan Murphy, a friend, had been given a one-hour interview slot with Mr. King while the musician and his band were on tour in the city just after Deuces Wild had been released. At that time, Allan had been helping my brother, Ian Talcroft, and me produce And This Is Maxwell St., a three-CD set containing music recorded for the soundtrack of Mike Shea's 1964 film And This Is Free. I went along to the interview as the photographer.

Mr. King impressed me immediately as a soft-spoken, intelligent, thoughtful, and gentlemanly man. He was dressed in a suit, wearing glasses, and carrying one of his guitars--guitars that were always named "Lucille." He set the guitar aside as we began to talk. The interview started with the usual courtesies and questions about Deuces Wild, but quickly ranged widely with much talk about Mr. King's early career and what it had been like growing up in the south in the early part of the 20th century. It finished with some talk about the Maxwell St. Market area in Chicago--the subject of Shea's film. We got Mr. King to wear a "Save Maxwell Street" button for us (at the time, the old market area was slated for redevelopment). At the very end of the talk, I asked if he'd stand up with the guitar for me so I could get a few photographs. He politely asked if it would be all right to do the photos sitting with the guitar--as he was "getting old." One of my shots is shown above.

Allan mentioned while preparing to leave that his second daughter had been born that morning and that he'd be rushing off to the hospital to join his wife and the new baby. Hearing that, Mr. King quietly removed his wallet, pulled out a crisp $100 bill, and picked up a black marker that had been sitting on the table in front of us. He signed the bill "B. B. King" and then added "For the little one" and the date (February 28, 1998). He handed the bill to Allan as a souvenir.

Allan's daughter's middle name is Lucille. One classy man. It was a privilege to have spent an hour with him. RIP.

Tidbits: RIP Leonard Nimoy (February 27, 2015)

Leonard Nimoy died today. Sorry to hear this news. Like most, I knew him mainly as Spock in the original Star Trek series and the original series has always been the real Star Trek to me--the one I remember watching in real time as a child. Thursday nights at 6:00, but memory is a tricky thing.

My father worked with Nimoy in the late 1940s at the Pasadena Playhouse. I remember him saying he respected Nimoy for his diligence--that Nimoy would accept almost any role offered him and work hard to do his best at it, often roles that other young actors would look down on. His diligence appears to have served him well over a long career.  RIP.

Tidbits--RIP: Gael Reed

Sad news over the weekend--news of the death of Gael Reed, long-time kindergarten teacher at Spring Creek Elementary School, in Santa Rosa, CA. Grateful that my child had her as a teacher. Grateful to have been able to call her a friend. Few teachers are as imaginative and giving, few teachers as filled with the kind of inner strength and beauty she had. Grateful to have known her. Heartbroken that she's gone, taken too soon, a victim of cancer. She is mourned and will be long remembered by the many who loved her.

Tidbits--RIP: Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall

I was sorry to hear yesterday that Robin Williams had committed suicide. A sad surprise--but what a shock to hear now that Lauren Bacall died today. One of the all-time greats. To Have and Have Not is the greatly entertaining film that it is in large part because of Bacall (and Bogart and Hoagy Carmichael). What a shame. They say celebrity deaths come in threes. Perhaps the recent death of another Hollywood star, James Garner, makes this the third already.

Tidbits: RIP--Peter O'Toole and Joan Fontaine (December 15, 2013)

I was very sorry to hear of the death of Peter O'Toole today. I'm sure I'm not the only person who will always think of him in his role as T. E. Lawrence in the film that made him an international star--although he did so much else.... It's been interesting to see how much attention the event has been getting. I read later in the day that actress Joan Fontaine died today as well. It's a shame she's not being remembered as widely. Her death appears to have been overshadowed by that of O'Toole.

Tidbits: RIP--Nelson Mandela (December 5, 2013)

Just to note that Nelson Mandela died today. I vividly remember the day he was released from prison after--what was it, 27 years? I happened to be in London on the day and had gone to Trafalgar Square for some reason. I remember standing in front of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, looking out over the square. It was full of cheering people. Many had climbed up on statues and walls and lampposts. I must have come up out of the underground, not knowing what was going on. It was a bizarre scene. It made sense only after someone told me what had happened, what the excitement was about. Nelson Mandela. RIP.

Tidbits: RIP--Dave Brubeck (December 5, 2012)

I see that jazz great Dave Brubeck died today, a day shy of his 92nd birthday. A long and full life. He performed into his late 80s, I understand. He's best remembered for his album Time Out (1959) famous for its use of odd time signatures (for jazz at least) and for the track "Take Five," in particular. "Take Five" is in 5/4 time, "Blue Rondo a la Turk" in 9/8 time. He's also often remembered as being the first modern jazz musician to be on the cover of TIME Magazine. I was always impressed by his humility when chosen for the cover. He rightly believed there were more deserving musicians who were black (like Duke Ellington). He was, in fact, deeply embarrassed to have been the first modern jazz musician on the cover of TIME (I base this on an interview of him I once saw in which he said as much).

Tidbits: RIP--Neil Armstrong (August 25, 2012)

I note the death yesterday of Neil Armstrong. I imagine his passing will inspire many to think back to what they were doing on July 20, 1969, when he became the first human being to walk on the moon. I remember watching the event on TV. The feeling of anticipation among the adults watching left a stronger impression on me than the event itself, but I'm glad to have seen it. By all accounts, Armstrong was a brilliant yet modest man. RIP.

Tidbits: RIP--Maurice Sendak (May 8, 2012)

Writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak died today. He was 83. He is gone, now, but I suspect books like In the Night Kitchen, Where the Wild Things Are and the little stories in the Nutshell Library will live forever. RIP.

Tidbits: RIP-- Catalan Artist Antoni Tapies

It's just come to my attention that Antoni Tapies died recently, on February 6, 2012--the day before my own father's death. I imagine I was distracted, but I don't remember hearing any news about the death of Tapies--although I don't watch TV and it was probably not considered news, at least not in the US anyway. I've always enjoyed his heavily textured, cryptic-yet-suggestive, messy-yet-beautiful work. He had a knack for creating arresting images that always looked like they'd been happened upon by accident. RIP.

Tidbits: RIP--Helen Frankenthaler (December 27, 2011)

I saw today that artist Helen Frankenthaler died yesterday. I always liked her work. In the lobby of the Winters National Bank, in Dayton, Ohio, there used to be a very large weaving based on one of her paintings that I always liked very much (this would have been back in the 1970s, when I was in high school, or younger). I wonder if it's still there? I wonder if Winters National Bank still exists? Funny the way the Internet has changed the weight of such musings. There's no longer any need to wonder about much of anything, is there? If I really want to know, I can just Google it....*

Frankenthaler was known for the style that came to be called "color field painting"--using large washes of color, sometimes poured directly on bare canvas. I wonder how those paintings have held up--physically, I mean. I wonder if the paint and thinner has damaged the unprimed canvas over the years? Reminds me of one of Kurt Vonnegut's books--Bluebeard. Anyway, tonight I will raise a glass to Ms. Frankenthaler. RIP.

*And so I did. It seems Winters National Bank is now part of JPMorgan Chase. I learned a few other things. I had known that the bank was associated with the family of comedian Jonathan Winters, who was from the Dayton area. I didn't know that Winters studied cartooning at the Dayton Art Institute. Hmmm.... Now you know, too.

Tidbits: RIP--Steve Jobs

I was surprised and saddened to hear this afternoon that Steve Jobs has died. We all knew he wasn't well, but I hadn't believed him so close to death. I still vividly remember the first time I saw a Macintosh in action. My best friend at the time worked for a company that used Apple computers in its publications department. In my own work, I had been stuck using computers running DOS (this would have been around 1987). I remember the thrill of watching my friend select a group of icons on the screen with a flourish of his mouse. No text commands with meaningless abstract elements like " *.*" were required. That was all I needed to see. Although it was another three years before I bought my own Apple computer, I was hooked. Since then I have purchased 12 Apple computers, including gifts--not to mention my iPhone. Thank you, Mr. Jobs, for all you did. You will be missed. RIP

Tidbits: RIP--Peter Falk

I just read that actor Peter Falk died today. He was 83. I remember watching him as Lt. Columbo on TV in the US when Columbo was new. Later, dubbed TV shows like Columbo helped me learn a great deal of Japanese when I first went to Japan as an exchange student. I hope they bury him in that old raincoat. RIP

Tidbits: RIP--Sidney Lumet (April 9, 2011)

I was sorry to hear that director Sidney Lumet died yesterday. Lumet made some of my favorite movies--including famous films like 12 Angry Men (1957), Serpico (1973), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and The Verdict (1982), but also some "smaller" films that deserve more recognition--notably Fail-safe (1964) and The Pawnbroker (1964). RIP

Tidbits: RIP-- Blues Great "Pinetop" Perkins

I was sorry to hear that blues pianist "Pinetop" Perkins died yesterday. He was 97, but had been performing recently, mostly in Austin, Texas. I had the privilege of sitting with him and talking backstage at a Tokyo blues festival in 1999 (photo) while doing research for the liner notes that eventually accompanied And This Is Maxwell Street, the recordings from Mike Shea's 1964 documentary film And This Is Free. Perkins played for many years with the Muddy Waters band but had also known Robert Nighthawk, the guitar wizard featured on many of the Shea Maxwell Street recordings. We wanted to talk with people that had worked with Nighthawk. Perkins was a soft-spoken, slow-moving man that gave an impression of gentleness, but, like many aging blues musicians I've met (notably Frank Frost, B. B. King, and R. L. Burnside), he dropped about 50 years as he got up on stage and began to make music. RIP

Tidbits: Clear Weather for Travel

Following storms in the past few days, the weather has cleared. Cold, but a beautiful day today. Perfect day for traveling. Perfect day for leaving, for arriving, for taking photos of pretty things along the way.