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MR. WASHINGTON GREETS THE DAY
SPECIAL DELIVERY
last night to deliver two of his signature resin-sealed portraits to us at Dizzy's.
I love the colors in this image (based on a photo by Tom Kwas).
Great to meet you and your family, Mr. Plummer!
A WORK OF ART
NOBODY'S COOLER THAN SNOWCAT
“In this spellbinding performance,” raves Town & Country, “Dmitri Matheny and his band weave a magical, musical tale of a little girl searching for her missing white cat on a chilly afternoon. The SnowCat reveals the spirit of sharing and gratitude that makes the holiday season such a wonderful time of year.”
Created especially for children and family audiences, The SnowCat combines storytelling, singing, visual art and live music in a variety of styles, including jazz, blues, jump swing, funk, calypso, samba, tango and R&B. Don't miss it!
DID YOU KNOW?
THE WALL
Michigan Tour Diary — Day 13
Michigan Tour Diary — Day 8
How To
Eminence Front
NOT A SONG
ALL WILL BE WELL
IMPRESSIONABLE
When I was young and asking the big questions, I learned most of what I still believe about loyalty, bravery and morality from the Silver Age superheroes in my comic book collection.
For real.
In later years I would travel internationally, study world religions, read classic works of philosophy and ethics, and even pay attention to my father's many lectures. I went to private school, public school, boarding school and the school of hard knocks. I'm an educated cat.
But to this day, when the world tests my mettle or challenges my sense of right and wrong, it's not Spinoza but my inner Green Lantern who shows up for the fight.
I've always been impressionable in this way.
For example, I'm pretty sure I have a goatee because of the way Spock looked in "Mirror, Mirror." I know I started wearing dashikis in high school because of a picture I saw of Elvin Jones in Downbeat. I sport a beret on stage because Dizzy did.
Today, while watching Highlander for the godzillionth time, I noticed something about Christopher Lambert's home. Like so many characters in films of the 1980s and '90s, The Highlander lived in a loft.
It now occurs to me that my interior design preferences and bone-deep love of warehouse loft spaces and mid-century modern furniture are not based on anywhere I've lived or anything I've seen or studied. They don't reflect some sophisticated notion about the aesthetic requirements of an artist's life. They aren't because I need space to rehearse and create.
Nope. I learned about loft living from the movies. Dig:
William Sanderson in Blade Runner (1982). Jennifer Beals in Flashdance (83). Lambert in Highlander (86). Barbara Hershey in Hannah and Her Sisters (86). Mickey Rourke in 9-1/2 Weeks (86). Tom Hanks in Big (88). Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally (89). Rosanna Arquette in New York Stories (89). Nancy Travis in So I Married An Axe Murderer (93). James Caan in Bottle Rocket (96). Ethan Hawke in Great Expectations (98). Julianne Moore in The Big Lebowski (98). Adam Sandler in Big Daddy (99). Christian Bale in American Psycho (00). Owen Wilson in Zoolander (01). Olivier Martinez in Unfaithful (02).
I want their cribs!
Thanks, Hollywood.
(Sure hope this flugelhorn thing works out.)
FROM THE ARCHIVES
On This Day
March 13, 1997
Dmitri Matheny Group
Voices & Images of California Art Launch
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco, California
Design by Brad Rickman
March 13, 1999
Dmitri Matheny Group
In-Store Appearance
Borders Books & Music
Emeryville, California
March 13, 2008
KCSM Jazz 91.1 FM
San Mateo, California
FROM THE ARCHIVES
March 11, 1999
North Beach Jazz Festival
Scott Chernis Exhibit Opening
San Francisco, California
OMEN
spotted at Rio Salado College yesterday,
would be a good one.
IN THE EMERALD CITY
On the wall across from me is a Michael Dailey original, one of his spectacular landscape-inspired abstractions. I've always loved his work. These color field paintings are particularly arresting, like desert sunsets, yet somehow evocative of the Pacific Northwest. Similar to Mark Rothko, Georg Gudni and Hiroshi Sugimoto, Dailey was able to conjure atmospheric windows to a misty horizon, conveying a sense of longing for something just out of reach.
WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN
Peace
By sculptor Carl Fredrik Reutersward
United Nations Plaza, New York City
ON MUSIC & MARKETING
FRIDA & DIEGO
“Frida had become the most important fact in my life.
And would continue to be, up to the moment she died.”
—Diego Rivera
"There have been two great accidents in my life.
One was the trolley, and the other was Diego.
Diego was by far the worst."
—Frida Kahlo
SECOND LOOK — Batman, the Animated Series
This week is the 20th anniversary of Batman: The Animated Series, which aired on American television from September 1992 to '95.
If you've never seen the series, do yourself a solid and check out an episode or two from Netflix.
For fans, this incarnation of Batman achieved what the movies have not: it strikes the right balance between the fanciful, kid-friendly hero of the silver age comics and the brutal vigilante of Frank Miller's dark world.
For everyone else (even those who may have already reached their superhero saturation limit), the series has other virtues. You'll appreciate the vintage radio drama storytelling style, film noir visuals ("dark deco" art direction by Bruce Timm) and Shirley Walker's excellent orchestral score.
One of those rare moments when pop culture is worth a second look.
SAND Magnified 250x
Photo by Gary Greenberg