#valerie wilmer

[sivavakkiyar]

I made a post some years ago that quotes Valerie Wilmer who observed that Black American music—-music that finds it’s formal and stylistic origins amongst Black Americans, developed by and for a long time almost exclusively made and performed by them—-was a revolutionary cultural moment, equivalent to the development of cinema. I still think that’s the great comparison, it’s spot on, but people don’t think of music in that way (and then yes, the idea of crediting a fundamental shift on that level to Black people is axiomatically assumed to be a primarily ‘woke’ thing by a lot of people—-impossible) and so I got a lot of weird responses from it and I think it’s genuinely hard to discuss the literal practical ways in which it’s an objective fact

[theatrepup]

From Worthpoint. Photographers include: Graham Keen, Peter Stuart, Harry Goodwin, Valerie Wilmer, Bruce Evans

[historybetweenthepages]

1977

Books on Jazz

As Serious as Your Life: Classic Val Wilmer Book Reissued

Photographer and author Val Wilmer has a new reissue of As Serious As Your Life: Black Music and The Free Jazz Revolution, in both paper and ebook form. It’s an even a better read in the 21st century, for me at least. Her observations and the musicians’ analysis of the place of African Americans in both the music business and society at large ring louder and truer with 40 years of hindsight. It’s a shame how marginally things have changed in the intervening decades, and the rage in their comments and music should make us all pay even more attention to the contemporary descendants like Kamasi Washington. I only met Val once, at Rashied Ali’s loft, when she was researching this book. Her comment to me threw me off at the time for its accuracy and prophecy: “The musicians all talk to me because I’m gay, so they know I won’t sleep with them.” (Though her actual language was much more street.) By the way, the beautiful book title comes from something McCoy Tyner said to Val: “Music’s not a plaything; it’s as serious as your life.” Perfect.

-Fred Seibert

Get the book… Follow: Mosaic Records Facebook Tumblr Twitter

[undergroundrockpress]

Blues

Photography by Valerie Wilmer

[rocksbackpages]

New for RBP subscribers this week

“Most writers don’t have any idea of what being a musician is about. They’re just pundits…”

— Val Wilmer to Brian Case (NME, 1977)

PLUS pieces on...

• The Tremoloes (1963) • The Yardbirds (1965) • The Troggs (1966) • Arthur Brown @ UFO (1967) • Stones drug bust (1967) • Dusty Springfield's 'Son' (1968) • Sly & Family Stone et al. (1969) • The Nice live (1970) • Van Morrison (1971) • The Dead's Europe '72 (1972) • Paul Simon (1973) • Hot Tuna/Journey live (1974) • Judy Collins (1975) • Lynyrd Skynyrd's Road (1976) • Carla Bley live (1978) • Def Leppard (1979) • Rufus' Masterjam (1980) • Carl Wilson (1981) • Rosanne Cash live (1982) • Rick Springfield (1983) • Johnny Thunders (1984) • The Long Ryders (1985) • Ultravox @ Barrowlands (1986) • The Cult (1987) • Felt's Review (1988) • Barry Manilow (1989) • Daniel Lanois live (1990) • KC & Sunshine Band (1991) • Ultramagnetic MCs (1992) • Velvets/Harry Connick Jr. (1993) • Boo Radleys in Dublin (1994) • Public Enemy (1995) • Cypress Hill's III (1996) • The Offspring (1997) • Kraftwerk in Hollywood (1998) • Foo Fighters (1999) • Ronan Keating (2001) • Pure 90's (2002) • Johnny Cash R.I.P. (2003) • Tom Russell's Indians etc. (2004) • Sonic Youth (2005) • Neil Young's War (2006) • Richard Cook R.I.P. (2007) • Steve Winwood's Lives (2008) • Greg Kurstin (2009) • Lilith Fair returns (2010) • Kid Koala (2011) • Little Feat's Rag (2012) • 1972's ICES festival (2013) • Marissa Nadler's July (2014) • Rock 'n' retirement (2015) • Band Of Horses (2016) • Eminem's Revival (2017) • Beyoncé/Jay-Z live (2018) • The Kinks' Arthur (2019) • Donnie Fritts R.I.P. (2019)

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[mariocki]

Revenge Of The Pink Panther (1978)

"Now this time, I'm going to stand on your shoulders."

"What good would that do?"

"Because I'm taller than you are, you fool."

"Oh yeah."

[paolo-streito-1264]

Valerie Wilmer, England,1970.

[onetwofeb]

Cecil Taylor, in Valerie Wilmer’s ‘Jazz People,’ 1970

[sivavakkiyar]

Valerie Wilmer actually put this extremely well I think: ‘Black music, along with the cinema, is the major aesthetic event of the 20th century’—-the comparison, with its implicit attention to fundamental technical changes that are far reaching, is probably actually *more* upsetting to some people than ‘what do you mean Black people are fundamental to all the new music genres of the century’? but it’s also more insightful, productive

[dirtylowdown2]

Jukebox, Betonia, Mississippi, 1973 Photo by Valerie Wilmer

[frank-o-meter]

MALTESE FALCON

1941’s “The Maltese Falcon” based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel and starring Humphrey Bogart is a film noir classic. It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Bogart as private detective Sam Spade. But Warner Brothers produces two other version of the film before 1941

The 1931 original is largely forgot today because everyone remember the better Bogart version. The 31 version hint strongly that several characters are homosexual (like Hammet’s novel) and it had other element that didn’t pass muster when the Hayes Office (studio self-imposes censorship) came into effect in after the film’s initial release. (In 1966 Warner renamed it “Dangerous Female”.)

Not able to re-release the original, Warner decided to make a tamer version in 1936 titled “Satan Meets a Lady” starring Bette Davis in the Brigid O'Shaughnessy role (renamed Valerie Purvis). Along with making the gay gunmen a momma’s boy, it also changed the sex of Gutman the Fat Man to a Fat Woman. The film made another major change. The McGuffin became a Ram’s Horn stuffed with jewels instead of a Falcon statue.

The Bogart version is one of my favorite film noir. The cast is terrific - from Bogart as Spade, Mary Astor as the double crossing femme fatale; Sydney Greenstreet as the Fat Man; Peter Lorre as the greasy accomplice; and Elisha Cook Jr. as the closeted gunman (still hinted at in this later version).

The Maltese Falcon (1931)

Bebe Daniels as Ruth Wonderly

Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade

Dudley Digges as Casper Gutman

Otto Matieson as Dr. Joel Cairo

Dwight Frye as Wilmer Cook

Satan Met a Lady (1936)

Bette Davis as Valerie Purvis

Warren William as Ted Shane

Alison Skipworth as Madame Barabas

Arthur Treacher as Anthony Travers

Maynard Holmes as Kenneth

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade

Mary Astor as Ruth Wonderly/Brigid O'Shaughnessy

Sidney Greenstreet as Kasper Gutman

Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo

Elisha Cook Jr. as Wilmer Cook

[mosaicrecords]

Benny Golson Interviewed

Valerie Wilmer’s interview with Benny Golson in the February 24, 1966 Down Beat catches Benny in a transitional period in his life, when he shifted emphasis from jazz to composing and arranging for commercial record dates, television and film. As time went on, he dove deeper into that world, but finally came full circle back to jazz as a saxophonist and writer in the ‘90s. Benny is a remarkable man with a great vocabulary and a chronic postcard writer. As Bruce Lundvall used to say, when I get a card from Benny, I reach for the dictionary.

-Michael Cuscuna

Read from DownBeat… Follow: Mosaic Records Facebook Tumblr Twitter

[thewomanwhowatchedchristmas]

Unaccompanied Minors (2006)

This movie might have been popular when it came out. I was 12 I think, so I have no memory of any previews, but I always love seeing actors I love now earlier in their careers. Is that weird?

Anyway, our main character Spencer (Dyllan Christopher) is being dropped off at the airport with his little sister Katherine (Dominique Saldaña) by their mom, Valerie (Paget Brewster), to visit their dad, Sam (Rob Corddry), for Christmas. Their parents are recently divorced because it's the first time their traveling as unaccompanied. They have a layover somewhere between Florida and Pennsylvania. Zach Van Bourke (Wilmer Valderrama) is the airport staff assigned to keep them safe between flights. Which, ok, I get that anybody can have any last name, but maybe during the movie, he says random things in Spanish, so maybe give him a Latin name? Moving on. A huge blizzard hits and all flights are grounded, so they get taken to the UM room with all the other unaccompanied minors. It's chaos. Meanwhile, the manager of the airport, Mr. Porter (Lewis Black) is pissed because he was supposed to go to Hawaii on vacation. Zach tries to get control of the room only to be tackled by a mob of children, so Spencer decides to leave. He is followed by Grace (His Montegna), the rich kid and hot girl, Donna (Quinn Shephard), the crazy girl with issues, Beef (Brett Kelly), the big weird kid who's too into his Aquaman action figure, and Charlie (Tyler James Williams), the good kid with anxiety who just really had to pee. They go their separate ways to enjoy the airport, but it doesn't take long for someone to notice they're missing. Donna grabs a luggage cart and drives through the airport, picking up Spencer who couldn't pay the waitress (Mindy Kaling) for all the food he ordered, Grace who got caught taking advantage of the spa, Beef who was running after Head Guard Hoffman (Rob Riggle) found him playing in the emergency equipment room, and Charlie who got caught singing karaoke at an electronics store. They get cornered between Porter and Hoffman and escorted back to the UM, where Porter informs them that all the other kids got to go to the hotel, but now they're stuck with cots at the airport. And poor Zach has to stay with them. Spencer is determined to get back to Katherine before Santa comes, so they work as a team to get out of the airport. Katherine gets stuck in a room with flight attendant Cindi (Jessica Walters) and only child Mary Lynn (Michelle Sandler) who torments Katherine by using her as a life-size doll. We also get a scene with David Koechner as Ernie, Beef's mom's asshole boyfriend, and a different scene with B.J. Novak as the unhelpful information desk attendant. Tbh I would just want to read if I was working at 2 a.m. also though. As it goes when you spend a night running from a crazy man, Spencer and Grace develop feelings, as do Charlie and Donna. And Beef learns how to stick up for himself. On their second time escaping (there's 3 total), Zach gives up trying to catch them and tells Porter that once these kids are gone, he's quitting. Oh, and the whole time the kids are up to their shenanigans, Sam is trying to drive to the airport and keeps having car problems.

It might have been a little predictable at times, but it's a friggin Christmas movie. This movie was funny and clever.

Overall, I give it 4 stars.

[werkboileddown]