My Rendezvous with Django in Paris
On my first year-long VW campervan excursion across Europe in ‘72 -’73, one of the practical rules I set for myself was, no albums. Can’t go buying albums, that I would have to fit into our tiny living space, without being able to listen to them, then have to haul them back home. Vinyl is heavy. I kept my resolve about “no concerts,” despite missing epic performances by The Who, and Charles Mingus, in small venues, but when I encountered a Django Reinhardt LP in a Parisian record store, that was it. It was beautiful, on a French label, how could I resist?
Of course I never had the chance to see him live (though I did catch his famous Hot Club bandmate Stephane Grappelli at Hop Singh’s here, and he was heavenly), but I still have that French album, still play it, still in love with the three-fingered Gypsy jazz guitar master. Which is why I am so excited that his legacy will be played this Saturday at the Ruskin Group Theatre at the airport, by the Hot Club of Los Angeles. See you there.
Columnist’s Note: In the midst of gigantic government and corporate forces diminishing our freedoms one by one, here’s a tiny blip on the radar I’d like to inform my faithful readers about.
I have been pleased and grateful for the latitude in writing these columns (also Curious City, every other Wednesday), without censorship, for more than 12 years. That’s rare, especially when ownership/management hasn’t always been in agreement with the views I’ve expressed. That is true freedom of the press.
Nothing has changed there. But the massive presence of the behemoth Google is now stifling some of my artistic expression. Most columnists submit their copy and then others determine how it appears. Headlines, format, editing, artwork, even length. The Daily Press, particularly Editor Matt Hall, and Publisher Ross Furukawa and co-owner Todd James, have always given me near-carte blanche and because of my decades of journalism experience I have some notion of what to do with those elements. So I have attempted to play creatively with them, and even though management was sometimes puzzled by it, they let most of it go.
No more. We all know how small city newspapers are struggling for their very existence. SMDP has been a rare success story, through constant awareness of digital elements. But the overlord Google can no longer be resisted by li’l ol’ me, if we are to survive. They constantly change the rules for how many digital eyes can see our paper, and we have apparently done a stellar job so far of maximizing readership. But now it has gotten so complicated that I can no longer keep up and must yield to more informed staffers. Scott, work your magic.
What I’m saying is, if you see headlines or other elements of my columns that don’t seem to make sense, I didn’t do that. But it must be allowed. Santa Monica needs the Daily Press. So crack your whip, Googly, but the words and ideas of my columns are still mine.
Until they need to usurp those too. If it happens I’ll let you know. Unless large men in black suits have come to my door, holding this column, and inviting me to take a little ride.
Highly Recommended:
Hot Club of Los Angeles – All these years I’ve been urging you to go to the Cinema Bar any Monday to catch this virtuoso group, so now, will you go to our wonderful Ruskin Group Theatre at Santa Monica Airport, to see them in a concert setting? I sure hope so. They are a local treasure. And will be premiering their new album, Nova. You might even be sitting next to Jackson Browne. He too is a fan and has hired them several times.. See “Django…Paris,” above. Sat 8 p.m., Ruskin Group Theatre, SMO, $20.
The Hot Club of Los Angeles – Every Monday, “Hot Club’s brand of virtuoso, Django-style 1930s gypsy swing jazz is …will keep you smiling all night.” If you loved them on Sat, you can see them again on Monday. Mon 9 p.m., Cinema Bar, Culver City, no cover.
Recommended:
Booker T. Jones – Booker T. & The M.G.s, right? Green Onions. Jones was only 17. That slow instrumental that became a gold record, #3 on the pop charts. It was a local radio hit before the group even had a name. It was hugely influential in the birth of soul music, but they didn’t have much chart success after that. But they became the house band for the fledgling Stax Records and played on hundreds of songs, for artists like Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Albert King, Wilson Pickett, Bill Withers. When we visited Stax in Memphis some years ago we heard the story that as they were building the studio a neighborhood kid found out and said Hey, I can play keyboards pretty good… Right place, right time. Don’t dismiss the simplicity and minimalism of Jones’ playing; real artists know that less is often more. You think Otis wouldn’t have used him if he wasn’t the best? Fri, Sat 8 p.m., The Soraya, Northridge, $69-99.
An Extraordinary Ordinary Man – this one-man show has been extended, and it’s at the Ruskin, telling you all you need to know. Fri 8 p.m., Ruskin Group Theatre, SMO, $20-30.
Toledo Diamond – Unique, riveting, first class act. There’s nothing like it, it is high performance art and great decadent fun. Degeneracy is rarely so well disciplined. And the band is smoking! Sun 9:30 p.m., Harvelle’s, Santa Monica, $12.
Coming Attractions: Hot Tuna Acoustic, Mccabe’s, 2/10; An Extraordinary Ordinary Man, Ruskin Theatre, 2/10, 17, 24; It’s Only A Show, Ruskin Theatre, 2/10, 17, 24, 3/9, 16, 23; Library Girl, Ruskin Theatre, 2/11; Toledo Diamond, Harvelle’s, 2/11, 18, 25; Hot Club of Los Angeles, Cinema Bar, 2/12, 19, 26; Government Mule, Wiltern, 2/15; Schubert, Beethoven, LA Phil, Disney Hall, 2/15, 16, 17, 18; Malkki Conducts Brahms, Disney Hall, 2/23, 24, 25; Taj Mahal, Luckman Fine Arts Complex, 2/23; Shawn Phillips, Mccabe’s, 2/24; Highway 1, USA/The Dwarf, LA Opera, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 2/24, 3/3, 6, 9, 14, 17; Judy Collins, Luckman Fine Arts Complex, 3/2; Robert Fripp, David Singleton, An Evening of Conversation, Questions, Insights, Mccabe’s, 3/3; Dianne Reeves, Disney Hall, 3/3; Christone Kingfish Ingram, Fonda Theatre, 3/9; Southside Slim, Harvelle’s, 3/15; Philip Glass, Complete Etudes, Disney Hall, 3/20; Esa-Pekka Salonen, San Francisco Symphony, 3/22; Los Straightjackets, Mccabe’s, 3/24; Sleater-Kinney, Wiltern, 3/28, Belasco, 3/29; Yo Yo Ma, Kathryn Scott, Disney Hall, 4/3; Springsteen, Kia Forum, 4/4, 7; La Traviata, LA Opera, 4/6, 14, 18, 21, 24, 27; Saint-Saens, Organ Symphony, LA Phil, Disney Hall, 4/12, 13, 14; Herbie Hancock, Disney Hall, 4/20; Academy of St. Martin in The Fields, The Soraya, 4/21; Rhiannon Giddens, Theatre At Ace Hotel, 4/25; Mozart, Strauss, Dudamel, LA Phil, Disney Hall, 5/2, 3, 4, 5; Dvorak, Ortiz, Dudamel, LA Phil, Disney Hall, 5/9, 10, 11, 12; Turandot, LA Opera, 5/18, 26, 30, 6/2, 5, 8; Kraftwerk, Disney Hall, 5/21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30; Chris Stapleton, Hollywood Bowl, 6/26, 27; Rolling Stones, Sofi Stadium, 7/10, 13.
Charles Andrews has listened to a lot of music of all kinds and over 3,000 live shows.