Cracks In Sidewalks

For some reason I started thinking about the Gershwin brothers particularly George last night while sleeping.  I found myself returning in my dreams to a long ago place in my own life where I spent a summer performing almost exclusively Gershwin songs.  I had studied jazz at the University of California in Santa Cruz and a professor asked me to participate in a summer concert series honoring the Gershwin’s that he had arranged.  I was honored!

We played all over N. Central and Northern California.  The concert started off with the pieces Gershwin wrote for two grand pianos, and then the second half were his jazz standards and that’s where I came in.  I sang several songs as a duo with my boyfriend who was a great jazz guitarist, and later I sang with a jazz trio of piano, acoustic bass, and drums.  It was quite an event for me.  We played at some rather famous venues and were also broadcast live on the radio in San Francisco and Berkeley.  For about five months, between my preparation for the concerts and the shows themselves, I must have listened to the Nelson Riddle arranged, Ella Fitzgerald “Sings the Gershwin Songbook” albums at least a thousand times.  She was my bible.

The Gershwin brother’s Ira (born 1896) and his younger brother George (born 1898), were a formidable musical pair.  Together they wrote some of the most memorable and well-known Broadway classics and jazz standards ever written.  Some of the Broadway Musicals they wrote include “Lady Be Good,” “Strike Up the Band,” “Funny Face,” “Of Thee I Sing,” and “Let Em Eat Cake.”  George’s orchestral works included “An American in Paris,” “Rhapsody in Blue,” and “Variations on Fascinating Rhythm;” and his one opera “Porgy & Bess,” included some of my favorite music of all time.  I can hear  in my head as I write this piece Billie Holiday in the background singing “I Loves You Porgy,” an absolutely beautiful, sad, emotive, sultry arrangement!  And for me his most memorable film score was for the movie, “Shall We Dance.”  Everyone from Fred Astaire, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, to John Coltrane, Sam Cooke, Miles Davis, Julie Andrews to Janis Joplin, Nina Simone, Sting, even Amy Winehouse (see below) and countless others have played and sung the songs of these two brothers.

Ira the great lyricist of the two outlived his younger brother George who died of a brain tumor at the age of 38.  But the two of them together wrote some of the best songs ever written including such classics as “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “The Man I Love,” “Embraceable You,” “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” “I Can’t Get Started,” “Love is Here to Stay,” “They All Laughed,” “Summertime” and every song from “Porgy and Bess.”   Their imprint on American music and jazz is something that musicians will be studying and emulating for years to come; and their audiences will have the opportunity to hear and be moved by their lyrics and melodies for many generations.

Last night I dreamed of the Gershwin Brothers, especially George….

To hear Amy Winehouse sing Gershwin’s “Someone To Watch Over Me,” either click on the link below or cut and paste it into your browser.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54QBj0YyoI4&feature=related

“My names August.  Can you guess when I was born?”

Check out the “Cracks In Sidewalks Store” for unusual and fun Holiday Cards good for everyone!  You’ll find the link in the top right corner of the home page.  While you’re there you’ll also see additional “Cracks In Sidewalks” cards, a hip urban messenger/computer bag that makes a great present, and a stylish but very practical tote bag.  More items coming soon.

Enjoy and happy shopping!

With the holidays creeping up on us I decided right now not to think about presents, but instead to think about fun holiday activities and events taking place this upcoming season that we can share with loved ones and friends.  Below is a small list that might give you some additional ideas of things to do and see.

1)    Go Ice Skating.  Places to go include: The Pond in Bryant Park, Rockefeller Center, Wollman Rink in Central Park, Lasker Rink in Central Park, the Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers, Riverbank Ice Skating Rink on the Hudson River at 145th Street, and the Kate Wollman Rink in Prospect Park.
2)    The West Village Chorale sponsors several events.  On Saturday December 13th a Scandinavian festival of lights, on the 15th a sing-along of Handel’s Messiah, and on the 19th you can join the West Village Chorale and go caroling.
3)    At St. John the Divine almost finished with their renovations and ready for their unveiling on November 30th, you will find a tree with 1,000 paper cranes, Paul Winter’s Annual Winter Solstice Celebration taking place on the 18th, 19th, and 20th of December as well as a New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace.  And if you’re lucky you’ll be there during a time when the Great Organ can be heard again.
4)    The Rockefeller Christmas Tree Lighting will take place on December 3rd this year.
5)    Walk up and down 5th Avenue from Rockefeller Center to the park checking out the wonderful window displays.  Then head over to Barney’s on Madison as their windows are always pretty fabulous too.
6)    Watch the lighting of the World’s Largest Chanukah Menorah at 59th St. and 5th Avenue and join in the celebration each night of Chanukah.
7)    Take a trip to the N.Y. Botanical Gardens and see the “Holiday Train Show” which begins November 23rd and while you’re there you can also visit the “Henry Moore” outdoor garden exhibit which has been extended until some time in early January.
8)    Make a trip to the Museum of Natural History.  The butterflies are back!  You can go to the Butterfly Conservancy and while you’re there visit the museum’s Origami Christmas Tree.

Then there is the annual Tuba Christmas at the Rockefeller Center Ice Skating Rink.  That takes place at 3:30pm on Saturday the 13th.  They are celebrating their 35th year.  And of course there is always the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, George Ballanchine’s “The Nutcracker” by the New York City Ballet, and how can one forget the parade that kicks this all off, the “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Over the next several weeks I’ll keep my eyes open and ears to the ground looking for additional perhaps more unusual things to do this Holiday Season if you live in or are going to be visiting the NYC area.  And if you know of something special that you would like to mention, simply add a comment at the bottom of this post for other readers. Also for unusual cards and gifts this year don’t forget to check out the “Cracks In Sidewalks Online Store.”  There is a link at the top right of the homepage.  I’ve created some fun items and cards that you won’t find anyplace else.

I don’t know a single serious blues, rock, or jazz guitar player who is not familiar with or has not studied the playing of Delta Country Blues legend Robert Johnson.  Born in 1911in Hazlehurst, Mississippi and dead by the age of 27 Johnson left a mark so big that he is honored by his legacy to this day and will continue to be by future generations of musicians, singers and guitarists.  His influence to blues and rock has been one of the greatest of any musician from the 20th century.

Not much is known about the life of Robert Johnson and many of those facts have been disputed, argued, and strung together, but his recordings were real and no on can deny or disregard their greatness and influence.  Martin Scorsese puts it aptly in his forward to the film-script about Johnson by Alan Greenberg, “The thing about Robert Johnson was that he only existed on his records.  He was pure legend.”

His mother, life, multiple stepfather’s and stepmother, his half siblings, where he lived and traveled, the women he married and had affairs with, and the children he fathered or helped to raise, all shaped Johnson creating their own history, myths, textures, teachings, and along the way provided him with his musical mentors.  A few of those teachers included bluesmen Willie Brown and eventually his partner Son House, and Ike Zinnerman.

In 1936, Johnson through a talent scout in Mississippi named Spier, was put in touch with a man named Ernie Oertle who had a recording studio in San Antonio, Texas.  It was there that the shy Robert Johnson recorded a three-day session that produced 16 selections.  Several of those songs included the well-known “Come On In My Kitchen,” and the infamous blues song “Cross Road Blues,” which was made even more famous by Eric Clapton and his band “Crèam.”  A year later Johnson went to Dallas where he recorded another 11 records.

The last year of Johnson’s life it is said that he made it north and east to play his music and that several of his records had been released in the south.  At the time he was living in Arkansas but was playing for a few weeks at juke joint in Greenwood, Mississippi.  Johnson supposedly had a thing for the club owner’s wife.  Not taking kindly to Johnson’s advances, the club owner also the bartender, put strychnine in an open bottle of whisky, handed it to Johnson ultimately poisoning him.  He survived for a period of time after the poisoning, but died soon after.  Some say that in a weakened state, he contracted pneumonia and died from complications.  Others say he could never have been poisoned by strychnine at all as it has such a distinct bitter taste.  But the one thing all the historians and scholars can agree upon is that Robert Leroy Johnson was one of the greatest bluesmen to inhabit the planet and he was 27 at the time of his death.  To this day the controversy of his death and the place of his burial are disputed, thus there are three different sites that mark his grave and hold claim to being the final resting place to this great musician and singer.

To hear Robert Johnson sing “Cross Road Blues,” either click on the link below or cut and paste it into your browser.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyH2OU4SVvA

For a comprehensive look into the life of Robert Leroy Johnson, check out the link below.
http://www.deltahaze.com/johnson/bio.html

I want to put in a plug for my neighborhood veterinarian, Janet Ficarra, at Downtown Veterinary Clinic.  More and more it is becoming less frequent to have a neighborhood anything independent.  Everyone and everything seem to be merging.  In some cases it’s not bad, but at the same time I like having someone close by that I can establish a relationship with and whom over years I can learn to trust and entrust in that person the well being of my little furry loved ones.  I’m happy to say I’ve been fortunate to do that in Dr. Ficarra and her clinic where she serves as its sole veterinarian.

Between myself and several of my friends who go to her as well, I know at times she has been confronted with some perplexing cases.  What I like about Dr. Ficarra, or one of the things I like about Dr. Ficarra is that she is inquisitive and if she doesn’t know something, she’ll ask around and read until she does, or she’ll find you the best specialist to consult with about your animal.  Either way I always feel my animal is being well looked after.  She also doesn’t sugar coat things, if she thinks it’s time for your animal to go to animal heaven, she’ll tell you.  Obviously it is your decision but she’ll let you know when she feels she has used up all reasonable options in the care of your pet.  Always tough to let go, her truthfulness for me in the past has proven to be a comfort.

When talking to Dr. Ficarra recently, I asked her as a vet, “what is one of your biggest frustrations?”  She didn’t blink but immediately started talking about rescue dogs and cats.  Loving animals as she does, and having rehabbed more then a few, she went on to talk to me about the overcrowding of the shelters and animals being put down.  She wanted to plea with pet owners who have to give up their animals, to please put up a post and to deal with it one on one.  “Take responsibility to find your pet a good home.  Don’t rely on the shelters.  They just don’t have the room.”  As a vet she feels it’s important for those who can, to adopt pets.  “With the economy in the state it is in, many people are giving up their pets and the shelters can’t handle that many animals so they are being put down.  I want people to really think about adopting an animal or at least consider fostering a dog or cat.” She continued by saying, “anyone who hasn’t had a cat for a long time or any pet, will feel how nice it is to relate to someone directly, some little one who relates without a cell phone, without a computer, and who’s reliably in the moment.  The reward is tremendous!”  If nothing more what she would like is for people to rally and be proactive. Adopt, foster, and most importantly if you love animals, step up and do something.

What I would like from this post is to emphasize the importance of supporting your smaller neighborhood vet before we’re left without a choice, in my case that’s Dr. Janet Ficarra and Downtown Veterinary.  I know for me Dr. Ficarra has not only taken good care of all my pets since coming to NYC, but she has also been an invaluable resource.  And if you live in Chelsea, the West Village, or the Flat Iron District, I highly recommend her services.  Located on 9th Avenue and 19th St. she is somewhat centrally located to all.  And for those animals and people who need the service, the good Doctor Ficarra will also make house calls.

Downtown Veterinary
148 Ninth Avenue
New York, NY  10011
(212) 463-8705

http://www.downtownveterinaryclinic.com/