Monday, February 11, 2008
When a Few Minutes Are Worth It
It is a bit of a guilty pleasure, but there are always a few performances and moments that are worth powering through with speed remote. Folks, I'm talking about the Grammys, and here was the stuff that made it worthwhile for me for the 50th Anniversary telecast.
- The Time The original line up got together for about two thirds of Jungle Love. It was excellent to see a bunch of guys in their fifties still lay it down. But what's this? Jerome gets Morris his mirror and then they become the backup band for Rhianna's umbrella song. Who thought that was a good idea?
- Keely Smith and Kid Rock It was a sweet moment regardless of the fact that the Kid could not pull off the timing of Louis Prima very well. It almost made me wish David Lee Roth was doing it instead. Still Keely showed a lot of class and still has those wonderful pipes at 76 years old. Just the idea of her being there and giving the Best Rock Album to the Foo Fighters served as this year's surreal Grammy moment
- Aretha Franklin and Bebe Winanssounded great together during the gospel segment. They also brought out the Clark Sisters and Israel and the New Breed but the thing that turned my head around was...
- The Madison Bumble BeesI have seen my share of New Orleans brass, but nothing like these folks: a dozen or more bass clef instruments working both with and against each other melodically, lots of trombones with an intense but sweet sound. There is a little amateur video of them from last year's NOLA Jazz and Heritage Fest, where they were apparently a huge hit, and there is a gross of recent comments at the vid link of many who were as dazzled as I was by their appearance at the Grammys. Yet other than that there is apparently very little presence on the web for Elder Baab & the Madison Bumble Bees of Winnsboro, South Carolina. There is a risk that they will become a quick novelty like Robert Randolph and his sacred steel slide guitar but, I'm telling you, these folks have got to be heard. I rewound twice just because I didn't believe my ears or eyes at first. The world is ready for truly sanctified trombones. Have Mercy
- Herbie Hancock It was cool to see him play Rhapsody In Blue in a dual arrangement with Lang Lang from China, but cooler yet to see him pretty much totally dumbfounded when Record of the Year was announced for his Starbucks friendly tribute to Joni Mitchell. He lost his speech on the floor and Quincy Jones had to recover it for him. Every time his name comes up in conversation it seems I have to make apologies to my wife for his gawdawful robot Rockit video from the eighties. What a horrid image for most of America who were impacted on the first wave or so of MTV. Folks, we are talking about Herbie Hancock here, co-explorer with Miles with the mid sixties Miles Davis Quintet, a father of both boogaloo (Watermelon Man) and funk jazz (Chameleon). He will always outclass the likes of Kanye, who is still probably whining about not winning Album of the Year.
Low Points or Just Didn't Connects: Beyonce & Tina Turner, Little Richard, John Fogerty & Jerry Lee Lewis, and any time Alicia Keyes showed up--self absorbed art at its most self absorbed...ooops excuse me, Kanye West has that one hands down,. Poor Amy Winehouse. You want to root for her. I've been digging some live recordings lately, but I have my doubts about her future and stability.
Final Verdict Hey, it's only once a year. And there will almost always be a few golden moments you won't see anywhere else on television for 364 more days.
posted by well-executed buffet at 8:36 PM
Comments:
Post a Comment