Category: Books

The last of our three consecutive weeks of travel took us to New York to accompany Clorinda on her visit to watch our niece, Sophia, perform in an off Broadway play.  We arrived a few hours before Clorinda and visited the “Black Tail” restaurant in Battery Park.  This is run by the folks who have the “Dead Rabbit” close to my work office in the Wall Street area – it was named the best cocktail bar in the world and so we had high hopes of “Black Tail”.

  The cocktail menu was very cleverly constructed as a multi chapter novel and had lots to choose from.  My favorite was the “Doctor Zhivago”.  The place had a Cuban theme including décor and menu options.  A highly recommended stop for a great craft cocktail and good views of the Statue of Liberty from outside.

For Friday lunch we tried “Craft”, a restaurant by the celebrity chef Tom Collichio.  They have a 3 course prix fixe lunch menu that we all thoroughly enjoyed.  The duck liver mousse appetizer was a highlight.  Clorinda enjoyed tasting the desserts.   The restaurant had a nice relaxed feel while the food and service were very well done.

On Saturday we took Clorinda to the top of the Empire State Building.  Diana sprung for VIP tickets and we avoided the very long lines for the elevators.  The views were quite spectacular and everyone enjoyed the visit very much.  The ladies opted for a pedi-cab ride back to the hotel.  It’s been about 25 years since I was up in the Empire State Building – the last time was on a work trip from San Antonio to install computer systems in Pennsylvania.  That was the same trip that I surprised my Uncle Scott and Aunt Evelyn at the Ottsville Inn.

Clorinda went to watch Sophia’s first performance on Saturday night and so we tried a restaurant that Diana had picked from those participating in New York restaurant week named “Batard”.   This was our best dining experience in a long time.  The place is located in Tribeca and has one Michelin star (not that you would know from their advertising or menus – it’s just a small award in the window).  We had foie gras and steak tartare to start and both were phenomenal.  Then duck and lamb to follow – Diana’s lamb was the best I’ve tasted.  The service and atmosphere were just what we like.  We’ll certainly be back as soon as we can.

After dinner we tried to go to Small’s tiny cellar jazz club but it was full and so we opted for the late show at the Village Vanguard.  This is the place that I like to go to on Monday night when they have the Vanguard orchestra.  On Saturday they had a three piece band without any names I recognized and a “special guest”.  The guest turned out to be Joshua Redman – perhaps the best living saxophonist.  We both really enjoyed the show and Diana was able to share some of her left over champagne with the star of the show and his friends.

All three of us attended the matinee of Sophia’s show titled “Show and Tell” on Sunday.  The show was very well done – particularly considering the short rehearsal time the kids from all over the country had together.  Sophia had one of two leading parts and so we got to enjoy a lot of her singing and acting.

A picnic in Central Park was our plan for Sunday afternoon.  We got off to a dodgy start as the subway train didn’t stop where we expected at 81^st street and our next option was 125^th street in Harlem.  We quickly came back down to Columbus Circle on the next train, picked up some sandwiches and headed into the south area of the park for our picnic.   A short ramble after lunch took us past the carousel, baseball fields and “Library Walk” which features statues of both Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott.

Birdland jazz club was our destination on Sunday evening.  We saw the Birdland Latin Jazz Orchestra which was in the midst of a five week Sunday residency.  The music was excellent – mambo and salsa style and the band was very well rehearsed and together.  Here’s a video of the rhythm section getting a workout.  I hadn’t been to Birdland before and was very pleasantly surprised by the white table cloths, food, service, sound and room to move around the tables.

After the show we stopped into a cocktail bar in the Intercontinental hotel across from the club.  The craft cocktail performance making the “Smoking Sipper” was quite something as was the presentation.  We met a few interesting characters at the bar – a former McKinsey consultant from Dallas and a couple from Canada who had owned and worked in the “Horseshoe” – apparently the most famous music club in Canada.  The club owner was named “X-Ray” and told us a story about the Rolling Stones playing his 180 person club.

Travel home for us on Monday was smooth (after the horrible traffic into LaGuardia airport with the construction) but Clorinda didn’t fare so well with multiple cancelled flights and redirection to Cleveland rather than Akron.  It was very late when she finally arrived at her destination in Wooster, Ohio.

I finished the book “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles this week.  Amusingly the lady across the aisle from me on our flight home was reading the same book and was at about the same place.  We had a nice chat about how much we were both enjoying being transported to Russia in the early 20^th Century.  The book details the exploits of Count Alexander Rostov after the Russian revolution and his “house arrest” in the Metropol hotel.  The Count spends more than 40 years in the hotel and finds ways to pass his time, ultimately becoming the head waiter of the excellent restaurant in the hotel.  This was a very interesting view into a period and location in history that I don’t know a lot about.  A couple of favorite quotes:

“his fingers were half an inch longer than the fingers of most men his height.  Had he been a pianist, Andrey could easily have straddled a twelfth.  Had he been a puppeteer, he could have performed the sword fight between Macbeth and Macduff as all three witches looked on.  But Andrey was neither a pianist nor puppeteer – or at least not in the traditional sense.  He was the captain of the Boyarsky, and one watched in wonder as his hands fulfilled their purpose at every turn.”

“As the willow studied the Count, he noted that the arches over her eyebrows were very much like the marcato notation in music – the accent which instructs one to play a phrase a little more loudly.  This, no doubt, accounted for the willow’s preference for issuing commands and the resulting huskiness of her voice”

I heard the song “Senor Blues” by Taj Mahal this week and was taken with its combination of jazz and blues – particularly on the piano part.  Some research showed this to be the 36^th album from Taj Mahal, released in 1997, and with the fabulous Jon Cleary (an Englishman who has lived in New Orleans for many years that I’ve had the pleasure of listening to several times) on piano.

The oldest of nine children, Taj Mahal was born in Harlem to a gospel-singing schoolteacher mother and a West-Indian born composer-arranger father who was a big jazz fan. So from his youth Taj Mahal was immersed in the music which would become his career. He writes that his father had a short-wave radio, and when young Taj was growing up, he was able to tune in to styles from all over the world. Later, his heroes would be American blues masters like Mississippi John Hurt, Sleepy John Estes, Big Mama Thornton, plus rock & roll pioneers like Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry. In his college years at the University of Massachusetts, before his graduation in 1964 with a degree in animal husbandry, Taj had an R&B band playing on campus. Then he turned professional after graduation, co-founding a group with fellow blues aficionado (and one of my most favorite guitar players) Ry Cooder called The Rising Sons.

Having finished my book on jazz, I picked up a new “car book” – the book I keep in the car for a quick and light read if I stop for coffee or have to wait for someone or something for a few minutes – titled “The Olivetti Chronicles – Three Decades of Life and Music” by John Peel.  Peel was a late night Radio 1 DJ in England when I was growing up and I love the walks down memory lane that his short stories provide.  Here are a couple of snippets:

From “Kenny Dalglish” in the Guardian, 12 August 1994

“Of course, we were well aware of Kenny’s abilities long before he came to Anfield.  I stood on the Kop for his first home game and we warmed to him in a way that we had never really warmed to Keegan.  The most impressive of his abilities in those early matches was the way he seemed to know where every player was at all times.  Even a superb Liverpool squad, by far the greatest team the world has ever seen, took a few weeks to catch up with Kenny’s speed and anticipation”

From “Tubular Bells” in The Listener, 7 June 1973

“With Tubular Bells we have a record that does quite genuinely cover new and uncharted territory.  Without borrowing anything from established classics or descending to the discords, squeals and burps of the determinedly avant-garde, Mike Oldfield has produced music which combines logic with surprise, sunshine with rain.  In the process of so doing he plays a bewildering range of musical instruments without ever playing merely for effect.”

Finally, a couple of other songs I heard this week and really enjoyed.  A cover of “Hey Joe” by Jerry Douglas, the amazing dobro player from Nashville.

And a song from the upcoming release from “The War on Drugs”.  I’m looking forward to listening to the whole album.

This was the first of three weekends of travel in a row.  We flew to San Luis Obispo to visit Diana’s stepson John, his wife Madison and their family.  Our arrival was delayed as we missed our connection in Phoenix so didn’t get in until late evening on Friday.  We’re so spoiled by being able to take a direct flight to almost anywhere from Dallas.

John and Madi picked us up at the airport and drove us to our hotel, “The Carlton”, in downtown Atascadero.  I kept thinking of the dance on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air show that the character Carlton does.  This is a very small downtown but has most everything you could need – a good hotel, a great bakery and several very good cocktail bars.  We enjoyed the dive bar, “Whiskey and June”, for a nightcap after arrival.

Saturday started with coffee and a very buttery and delicious croissant from the Back Porch bakery.  Then we enjoyed a lovely brunch at the “Kitchenette” in nearby Templeton.

Then it was off wine tasting in the Paso Robles wine country.  Diana had organized a large van through Uber that worked out very well.  John, Madi, and her parents, Tad and Terri, joined us.  First stop was the Tablas Creek winery where Tad had arranged a private barrel room tasting for us.  We liked a few of the wines but nothing jumped out and grabbed us.  Our hostess was a wine student at Cal Poly who really knew her stuff and could answer all of Tad’s various questions with ease.  Madi wasn’t dealing with the twisty roads too well and so we chose close wineries for our next stops.  I was amazed at how mountainous the region was – much more varied than Napa valley and more difficult to navigate.

Next stop was Adelaida and we all agreed that this was our least favorite stop – sweet and fruity wines for the most part.  The views from the mountaintop were very good with a straight line view to the Hearst ranch where the famous castle sits.  We finished up at McPrice Myers which was the smallest and friendliest of the wineries.  Our hostess invited us to bring in our meat and cheese and enjoy it on the counter during the tasting.  I made friends with the house Westie.  A couple of the wines at this stop were quite pleasant.

We headed back to Atascadero to relieve the babysitters who had been watching John and Madi’s kids – Ben and Lilly.  They are quite busy and time consuming for sure – both being under the age of two.  John had been smoking a brisket for 12 hours or more and we enjoyed it for dinner in the garden of Tad and Terri’s house with a nice breeze and a great view over the valley.

Sunday had a lazy start with breakfast at the Back Porch bakery and then hanging around outside at Tad and Terri’s home reading and enjoying Bloody Mary’s and bagels and lox.  In the evening John and Madi took us over to Morro Bay on the coast for dinner.  The water front looks directly out on Morro Rock, a 581 foot volcanic plug that is connected to shore by a causeway.  It is the last peak of the Nine Sisters which extend from San Luis Obispo to Morro Bay.  It was named by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (a Portuguese explorer) in 1542 – “Morro” in Spanish translates as crown shaped hill.

We had appetizers at 3 different places that were quite different and enjoyed them all.  Tognazzini’s was our first stop where we had oysters and calamari on the deck with a good country singer for entertainment.    Next was Morro Bay Wine Seller where champagne flights were sampled by all but me along with the “ultimate” crostini and some very pleasant live music.  We captured this silly boardwalk picture on the walk to the final  progressive meal stop at Windows on the Water where I sampled some yummy risotto.  Some shuffle board and pool at Whiskey and June and then it was off to bed.

Travel home on Monday was smooth with no delays and actually arriving home a little early.

I finished the book “Swing Time” by Zadie Smith this week.  The British author writes about friendship between two girls growing up in a poor part of London.  One of them goes on to dance on the stage in London while the other works for a pop star and travels the world.  A key theme is the attempts by the pop star to create a school in Africa and the challenges that ensue.  The book was very well reviewed and was a quick read but didn’t really do a lot for me.  Some of the references reminded me of things I had forgotten all about – “I ventured into the kitchen to get two beakers of Ribena”,  “I sometimes sang for him – the theme tune to “Top Cat”” – now I can’t get that tune out of my head.

In the credits for “Moonglow”, Michael Chabon comments on enjoying music from “A Winged Victory for the Sullen” while writing the book.  This is interesting and relaxing music that would be helpful background music while concentrating.  It’s kind of a cross between Keith Jarrett’s Koln concert and Brian Eno’s ambient music.

This thought sent me off to listen to the Koln concert again and I came across an excellent TED talk explaining how Jarrett wasn’t going to perform that night because the wrong piano was delivered.  It was too small for the 1,400 seat hall and unplayable in the high register.  The seventeen year old promoter convinced him to go ahead and he had to improvise around all the flaws of the piano.  I had never heard this story before – I just really enjoyed the concert.  Amazing what a challenge can bring out in a world class musician.

Two other songs really caught my attention this week.  “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Julie Rhodes showcases a powerful new voice and some excellent guitar.  This song was written by Ellington Jordan and first released by Etta James in 1967.  I’ve listened to a few versions including this one, Beyonce, and Joe Bonamassa and definitely prefer the Julie Rhodes rendition.

The next is “Tell Me” by Meena Cryle.  I found this because she also does a version of “I’d Rather Go Blind”.

I arrived in New York on Monday afternoon to a heavy thunderstorm.  Circled La Guardia for a couple of hours before landing and then took over an hour to drive to the hotel due to the weather.  The travel woes were quickly forgotten as I headed to the Village Vanguard jazz club for an evening with the Village Vanguard jazz orchestra.  This is a 16 piece all star ensemble that plays most Monday nights.  The celebrated their 50 year anniversary in February.

I sat next to a middle school music teacher from Chicago who plays drums in a local big band.  He was a great source of comments on the drumming and the band in general and has several students who have gone on to have professional music careers.  What a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

It was interesting to see the Village Vanguard in a documentary called “Becoming Mike Nichols” that I watched between catch up naps on Saturday – apparently he and Elaine May performed there in their early days as an improv duo.  The documentary was about Nichols work up to and including “The Graduate” which was his first movie at age 36.  It was also Dustin Hoffman’s first movie – Nichols had seen him perform at an off-Broadway production.

Tuesday and Wednesday were long work days at 180 Maiden Lane in the Wall St area.  80 folks locked up in an auditorium with rotating speakers, panels, and group discussions.

Wednesday night was another excellent music adventure.  I took the subway up to the Times Square area and saw Joe Ely performing at B.B. King’s club.  This club is set up like a supper club with good food, drinks, and great seating/views.  I remember seeing Joe Ely for the first time at an outdoor amphitheater in San Antonio over 20 years ago – Ian Moore was the guitarist in his band.  He is a great singer/songwriter, originally from Lubbock, TX.  His stories and songs were very enjoyable – particularly in the solo acoustic setting.  Here’s a movie I made from a few clips I took during the evening.  My favorite song of the evening was “Live Forever” by Billy Joe Shaver.  I didn’t get a video of that one but it did remind me of the Bugs Henderson song, “I wish I could write like Billy Joe”; a tribute to his stellar songwriting skills.

Here’s some Bugs Henderson – I really miss seeing him live since he passed a few years ago.  A trademark Bugs solo starts at 2:48.

Thursday was another work day in New York and then travel back that evening – another weather delayed flight that got me back home pretty late.

Friday night was pizza and wine night with the Wahba’s at their home – trying to distract Patty from her bad news.

On Saturday I made my first Blue Apron meal in a while.  Catfish with ponzu and red pepper sauce, ginger toasted peanuts, garlic infused rice, and sesame seed zucchini.

I finished the book “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson this week.  This is a mind blowing account of the racial injustices of the judicial system in the South (particularly Alabama) told through stories of many cases that the author, a Harvard lawyer who has never really earned much of a living, has worked on over the last 20 years.  The progress that Stevenson has driven almost single handedly over the years with many Supreme Court hearings is phenomenal.