Off Topic The Arts Thread (Paintings, Music etc)

I'm a great fan of the Teddy Bear Ladies.

 

Me too. Did you see that one recently when they were set to repair that leather rhino? It required re-stuffing at the bum end before putting its tail back in place. Just as they started to stuff straw (or whatever) into its ass, they both collapsed laughing. What a fit of the giggles, took them both a while to recover. Quite a hilarious scene. Needless to say, they both did a marvellous job, and repaired the old leather rhino perfectly. Repair Shop, as I said before, is one of my favourite programmes on BBC-1.

 

This track is from a 1969 LP called Super Black Blues and is an iopportunity for these 3 (or 4) giants of Blues/R&B to improvise and stretch out. It was recorded live in the studio and just a minute into the recording you hear Joe Turner correcting T-Bone saying 'you can't say it twice, it's either one thing or the udder'.
Attributed to T-Bone Walker this song is really a mash-up of Paris Blues (T-Bone), excerpts from Joe Turner songs and a section from a song by Otis Spann. You get the three vocalists, the polished guitar of T-Bone, brilliant piano from Otis Spann and sympathetic harmonica from George Smith. To my mind the latter two take the awards.
Spann's vocal section seems to lift a song from his recently recorded 'The Biggest Thing since Colossus' LP. This LP featured him, his songs, his drummer plus Peter Green, Danny Kirwan and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac. Though Green was always capable of playing hard 'Chicago' blues he goes full throttle on this LP/CD. Apparently Spann loved the sessions and musicians and was wanting to do it all again. Sadly within 6 months of the Super Black Blues session Span died from liver cancer.

 

Au re-voir

 

Ron, I also like their Flamenco version of Beethoven's "Für Elise", really great. Good to hear from you, hope all is well.

40 FINGERS - Für Elise (Beethoven meets Flamenco) - Official Video - YouTube

 

Cheers Swanny. Hope you are all well too. Strange that I had never heard of this talented quartet until their version of Hey Jude appeared on my FB. I shared it and my wife and daughter think they are great, as do I. I doubt you will be interested but my thoughts on the Arc were published on the Not 606 Horse Racing FB here on 10th July

 

Found this one quite amusing. The old boy lead player is one cool cat!

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - YouTube

 

Masterly guitar rendering by the Jeff Beck Band playing The Beatles' "A Day In The Life":

[04] Jeff Beck Band - "A Day in the Life" HD - YouTube

 

My 2nd favourite guitarist

 

"Yesterday's Music", a bit of Tamerlo-style nostalgia, this time with music. The long-forgotten days when melody, yes melody, was the key ingredient of popular swing music. Here's Cole Porter's "Begin The Beguine" played by the Artie Shaw orchestra. Ah, nothing like a bit of happy memories!

Artie Shaw - Beguin The Beguine ( Cole Porter ) - YouTube

 

....and here's the great Joe Pass playing his jazz guitar rendering of Erroll Garner's own composition, "Misty":

MISTY by Joe Pass - YouTube

 

Brilliant, Ron. And what a legacy Freddie left to the world with that number!
As a post-script, I went to a Dairy Transport Managers’ Conference in Torquay in the mid nineties.
A group played pop songs by blowing into glass bottles- taken from over a hundred of assorted sizes, some only a couple of inches tall.
When they opened it up to requests, I asked for Bohemian Rhapsody- to be jokingly awkward.
They responded and their rendition absolutely brought the house down! The packed audience couldn’t believe what they’d heard and clapped them senseless.
Sadly, I couldn’t tell you their name.

 

Top notch, Swannie! I bet Artie played that a few years before my pater got his ‘rhythm method’ all wrong!

 

I wondered whether or not I should put these two clips up as music has changed so much from those distant days. However, I took the cue from your excellent "Down Memory Lane" posts. I do not dislike modern-day popular music, far from it, but admit to being very choosy.
Swing has more or less vanished, but good jazz, modern or traditional, will live for ever, IMHO.

 

I accidentally came across Carly Simon singing this live on the Queen Mary 2 (no I wasn't on it) but I prefer the Glen Miller version.

Keep them coming Swanny. Great for us oldies to reminisce

 

My brother had these big bands in his record collection. I remember playing these 78s on a gramophone. Great big needles moving across the vinyl. Big breakthrough was the loading of several 78s and the auto changer. I used to vary the volume by stuffing a sock in the speaker

Unfortunately I have an unexpected visit to the UK soon as my brother passed away recently at the age of 92

 

All my sympathy, Ron. Ninety two is a good age but it’s always sad when we lose a family member.
Trouble is that the older we get, more and more friends and family die around us.