And all that jazz...
Janet Klein and Her Parlor Boys played again Thursday night! Again, people in ’20’s and ’30’s attire, including me (except, I need to find period dresses…right now I’m wearing modern shirts or tank tops and long skirts, which are lovely in themselves, but they’re not period. Yeah, there’s an actor buried deep down in me, somewhere...). I loved, loved, loved that people were getting into the spirit of it! There was one girl in particular who had a fantastic ensemble: a headband-esque hat (very ’20’s), a long-sleeved top with a lacy vest and a long silk or satin-looking skirt that had a peplum-type flare at the knees, then went nearly to the floor. I love it when people dress the way they feel! We both simultaneously stopped to tell each other that we liked what the other was wearing (she dug my cloche hat). We introduced ourselves, and ended up exchanging digits. Her name is Claudia and she seems like a wonderfully free spirit. I gave her my blog address. So Claudia, if you’re reading, hellooooo! It was lovely meeting you, and I look forward to future conversations!
The show was fabulous! There were just a tiny bit of technical glitches--seemed like things were just a step off--but I didn’t care. That’s the charm of live music—played by real humans with imperfections (they who have more musical talent in their eyebrows than I do). The music is just so infectious! You can’t help bobbing and bouncing in your seat! Scott of the May 4th show was not there, and I was a tad disappointed, because I was hoping he’d show and we could chat some more. But I lost myself in the music, which is what you must do when you’re at a show. Could not sit still. It was just not possible. I stopped trying.
On the way home, I remembered what started me on the road to loving early jazz, ragtime, and swing. When I was a kid in New England, there used to be a radio station that played big band music. All ’40’s, all the time. I don't why I was drawn to it, but I was. I’d listen to it very quietly in my darkened room at night, when I was supposed to be sleeping. It transported me to another place, that I'd never experienced before. For people like my grandmother, it was full of memories, but for me, it was an exotic foreign country I was stepping into for the first time. I asked my grandmother what music she used to listen to when she was younger, and she rattled off band leaders and their orchestras: Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Les Brown and His Band of Renown (such a cool name!), Harry James, and more...I told her how much I was into big band, and she was surprised to hear that in one so young, yet rather pleased. It was something in common we could share, the way grandfathers and grandsons share sports. She gave me some Ray Anthony tapes she’d recorded. My sister used to rag on me, saying I was listening to my “old folks music”. I also told my uncle about my love of big bands, and he made me a tape of Glenn Miller songs from his record collection of original 78s. I still have, and listen to, that tape.
After both of my grandparents passed away several years later, one of my friends turned me on to Squirrel Nut Zippers, who had just started to become well-known. I adored them—they were so jazz! I couldn’t believe people around my age could play music they didn’t grow up on (generationally speaking) so fucking brilliantly. I bought every single album they put out. Then they stopped recording—turns out they were in-fighting violently, and broke up soon after. I only found this out a few months ago—I thought they were taking a break from music to raise their kids! So sad, that they'll never play again! When swing became popular again in the ’90’s, I don’t know why I never went out and bought Big Bad Voodoo Daddy or Cherry Poppin’ Daddies or The Brian Setzer Orchestra. At the time, I guess I thought that no one could measure up to SNZ in my little heart. I stopped listening to them for a long, long time; life kind of took up all of my attention for a long while.
Now the resurgence in interest has come about largely due to The Dresden Dolls. Punk Cabaret--cabaret with a twist! Which led me to traditional cabaret music, sung by Ute Lemper, Marlene Dietrich, Edith Piaf, among others. Which led me to repeat viewings of Cabaret and All That Jazz. Which led me to my pitiful little one CD collection of 1920’s songs that my mom had gotten for her Roaring ’20’s-themed office Christmas party one year and then gave to me because she wasn’t going to ever listen to it again. Which led me to Janet Klein and Her Parlor Boys (though I can’t remember which link on the Internet lead me to find out about JK & the Boys...which is, in fact, bugging the shit out of me). Which brings me up to date. And there are so many more artists still to discover, past and present...And dances to learn! I so want to learn swing & jazz! I was going to take lessons this spring, but my dad had open heart surgery and I wanted to be able to fly there at a moment’s notice, should I have needed to. So, this summer or fall, I’m takin’ lessons, dammit! Then I can go to the Derby—which is going to be around awhile, so I hear.
I am thrilled that there are other souls out there who love the ’20’s & ’30’s as much as I do! I mean, I’m finding out that there’s a whole little population out there! I heard some folks talking to each other last night about certain recordings by Rudy Vallee and Hoagy Carmichael, people who knew the pre-show music so well that they knew where the changes were and could hum along with each instrument...and I realize I am such a virgin, still. I know so little right now about the music, musicians and singers, or the actors and movies from back then. If I knew back in the day that I would have been so interested now in the way things were, I would have grilled my grandparents about their youth years ago. I’ll just have to rely on the kindness of other jazz-ophiles to further my education...
Oh, and the Internet.
The show was fabulous! There were just a tiny bit of technical glitches--seemed like things were just a step off--but I didn’t care. That’s the charm of live music—played by real humans with imperfections (they who have more musical talent in their eyebrows than I do). The music is just so infectious! You can’t help bobbing and bouncing in your seat! Scott of the May 4th show was not there, and I was a tad disappointed, because I was hoping he’d show and we could chat some more. But I lost myself in the music, which is what you must do when you’re at a show. Could not sit still. It was just not possible. I stopped trying.
On the way home, I remembered what started me on the road to loving early jazz, ragtime, and swing. When I was a kid in New England, there used to be a radio station that played big band music. All ’40’s, all the time. I don't why I was drawn to it, but I was. I’d listen to it very quietly in my darkened room at night, when I was supposed to be sleeping. It transported me to another place, that I'd never experienced before. For people like my grandmother, it was full of memories, but for me, it was an exotic foreign country I was stepping into for the first time. I asked my grandmother what music she used to listen to when she was younger, and she rattled off band leaders and their orchestras: Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Les Brown and His Band of Renown (such a cool name!), Harry James, and more...I told her how much I was into big band, and she was surprised to hear that in one so young, yet rather pleased. It was something in common we could share, the way grandfathers and grandsons share sports. She gave me some Ray Anthony tapes she’d recorded. My sister used to rag on me, saying I was listening to my “old folks music”. I also told my uncle about my love of big bands, and he made me a tape of Glenn Miller songs from his record collection of original 78s. I still have, and listen to, that tape.
After both of my grandparents passed away several years later, one of my friends turned me on to Squirrel Nut Zippers, who had just started to become well-known. I adored them—they were so jazz! I couldn’t believe people around my age could play music they didn’t grow up on (generationally speaking) so fucking brilliantly. I bought every single album they put out. Then they stopped recording—turns out they were in-fighting violently, and broke up soon after. I only found this out a few months ago—I thought they were taking a break from music to raise their kids! So sad, that they'll never play again! When swing became popular again in the ’90’s, I don’t know why I never went out and bought Big Bad Voodoo Daddy or Cherry Poppin’ Daddies or The Brian Setzer Orchestra. At the time, I guess I thought that no one could measure up to SNZ in my little heart. I stopped listening to them for a long, long time; life kind of took up all of my attention for a long while.
Now the resurgence in interest has come about largely due to The Dresden Dolls. Punk Cabaret--cabaret with a twist! Which led me to traditional cabaret music, sung by Ute Lemper, Marlene Dietrich, Edith Piaf, among others. Which led me to repeat viewings of Cabaret and All That Jazz. Which led me to my pitiful little one CD collection of 1920’s songs that my mom had gotten for her Roaring ’20’s-themed office Christmas party one year and then gave to me because she wasn’t going to ever listen to it again. Which led me to Janet Klein and Her Parlor Boys (though I can’t remember which link on the Internet lead me to find out about JK & the Boys...which is, in fact, bugging the shit out of me). Which brings me up to date. And there are so many more artists still to discover, past and present...And dances to learn! I so want to learn swing & jazz! I was going to take lessons this spring, but my dad had open heart surgery and I wanted to be able to fly there at a moment’s notice, should I have needed to. So, this summer or fall, I’m takin’ lessons, dammit! Then I can go to the Derby—which is going to be around awhile, so I hear.
I am thrilled that there are other souls out there who love the ’20’s & ’30’s as much as I do! I mean, I’m finding out that there’s a whole little population out there! I heard some folks talking to each other last night about certain recordings by Rudy Vallee and Hoagy Carmichael, people who knew the pre-show music so well that they knew where the changes were and could hum along with each instrument...and I realize I am such a virgin, still. I know so little right now about the music, musicians and singers, or the actors and movies from back then. If I knew back in the day that I would have been so interested now in the way things were, I would have grilled my grandparents about their youth years ago. I’ll just have to rely on the kindness of other jazz-ophiles to further my education...
Oh, and the Internet.
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