Andrea Motis in Jobim's "How Insensitive"

Andrea Motis is an extremely gifted Catalan Musician (Singer,Saxophonist,Trumpeter)who is now 17 years old and already enchanting every audience were she performs with the ensemble of his discoverer and mentor the Maestro Joan Chamorro. She is very talented, quite cute and very learned, but this song requires emotions that are still beyond her expressive possibilities. The problem with young geniuses is that people many times praised them too much and pressed them too hard. She has still quite a path ahead of her to achieve what too many people is already giving her for granted. I believe the best one can do for such a gifted musician as Motis is, is to encourage her to keep growing without so much drooling over her. PS: BTH,Sting did perform this one together with his author-Jobim-making a sort of remake of the same duet that Jobim did with Sinatra, allow me to say once more, even for a fan of Sting as I am, still old Frank wins hands down...His version sounds still unsurpassed.

Boulevard of Broken dreams

Tonny Bennett and Sting, who can ask for more in this performance full of panache by these two great and charismatics singers...

Film Noir Nostalgia by Lennhart

A compilation of different films noirs with "broken dreams" background by Lennhart in youtube

http://www.youtube.com/user/lennhart

It reminds me of my childhood, when I used to watch a lot of these movies and also cartoons with music very similar to this one in style.

What an evocative scenario!!!!

Beautiful!

The Boulevard of Broken Dreams performed by Jacintha

Jacintha is an exquisite singer and actress from Singapore.

Her version is smooth, sweet and tender. The instrumental arrangement is very good. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do and again thanks to the far away friend

that put this on Youtube.

I do have the originals but I just do not want to be banned because of copyrights...

"Laura" by Matt Monro

A beautiful performance by Matt Monro with wonderful photos of the Goddess

Gene Tierney: a Tribute to the Goddess

Paraphrasing the huge Al in "Devil's Advocate", I would ask you:

"Wasn't she stunning?"

Homage to Gene Tierney

"Laura" performed by Frank Sinatra

Here we have another video clip with footage selection from the movie, with "The Voice" behind...

By now you must have discover why this place has been named Remembering Laura...

Laura is the Archetype of the Anima to me, as Rosemary Forsyth was for Juan Eduardo Cirlot

Rosemary Forsyth, the last muse of Cirlot

"Laura" original trailer, 1944

You will see, besides Gene Tierney, Vincent Price, Dana Andrews and Clifton Webb

Erroll Garner playing his version of "Laura"

Don Byas, a half-forgotten wonderful Saxo

Don Byas was a truly great tenor Saxophone performer.He went to Europe and remained there until his death, with a short trip back to the States to perform at the Newport Festival in 1970

.He died of cancer two years later in the Netherlands (he was married with a Dutch woman).He was 60 years old.

Let's get straight one thing here: he was one of the very best performers of the instrument that ever lived, and he had many influences on many others.

Here we will listen to him playing at Copenhagen, a city that also received his friend Ben Webster.

His version of "Laura", by the way, is one of the very best and most original ever played...I will have it here soon...

Oscar Peterson plays Laura

Here we listen to Oscar Peterson playing our favorite song with strings, this is from his record "In a Romantic Mood",1955

Thanks to the many unknown friends that are posting all these at Youtube. Here we will just see one Still from the movie, Gene Tierney is with the great Vincent Price

Enrique "Mono" Villegas

Photo taken from: http://enriquevillegas.blogspot.com

I want to share with you some memories about a great Jazz musician from my own land. Enrique "Mono" ("Monkey") Villegas was a very talented man, highly opinionated, a little freakish -some could say- turbulent, bizarre,original (he recorded a "jazzistic", strange and marvelous version of Chopin's preludes, which he called the "metamorfosis of Chopin 23 preludes")

I have many recordings of this great pianist, and I love him very much. I appreciate, in particular, his absolute honesty which was almost always -as it muts be!-very politically incorrect!

For example, he said at an interview that he believed that most popular singers were famous and well heard, because about 85% of people simply have a "banana in the ear"!

A huge musician, that I will be remembering for you more than once!

Erroll Garner plays his song

When one realizes that this wonderful man never learned to read music, one wonders about the magic of Life manifested in his talent.

Here he is playing one of the several arrangements he made for his own song, "Misty"... With his trio at Brussels...

West End Blues 1955

When people heard Louis Armstrong's first recording of West End Blues (1928) they couldn't believe that the trumpet could sound like that. Today we give it for granted, but it was just unbelievable....This one is from his perfomance at Italy, in 1955

Ella and Satchmo in a classic display

She was wonderful, he was absolutely Unique. Nobody played the Trumpet as he did, nor before neither after. He began to sing after he hurt his mouth because of too much practice! What a bless!

To listen and enjoy forever!

The Bird playing Laura...

Charlie Parker playing Laura, I don't need to add anything else...

Bruce Springsteen and his rare and beautiful version of Angel Eyes

Ok. This version by Bruce must be listen to by anyone who loves unique artists that have such an unimitable style. I have the full version of this recording and Bruce is live on stage, and just before beginning to sing he says to the audience (who exploded in laughs) "I want to dedicate this song to Frank Sinatra...From one Italian to another: Angel Eyes..."

Angel Eyes by the one and only...

I am not the greatest fan of "singing jazz",I agree with one of the most talented -and also a little freakish-Argentinean jazz pianists, the late "Mono" Villegas.I generally prefer just instrumental jazz...BUT, there are some voices that inevitably get my heart.I do prefer the female singers, and among them my all-time favorites are Lena Horne, Shirley Horn,Sarah Vaughan and Oletta Adams, of course I enjoy very much listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, the rare Abbey Lincoln. And how can I leave out Dinah Washington and Betty Carter and...Well, if I name everyone is the same as to name none at all! 

Among the male singers...I am far more reduced in my tastes. I think Ray Charles is just amazing in so many ways...I really like, very much indeed, "Mr Elegance" Tony Bennett. BUT, I do have an absolute favorite, whose voice still strikes me as almost PERFECT(and I say "almost" because we know nothing could be perfect, whatever "perfect" may be)
The texture, the equilibrium, the "just the exact pitch" sustained in an unbelieavable steady and perfect tune, and perfect tempo... And... I just love this voice so much...

I want to share with you, this one, (¿maybe my favorite song?) Angel Eyes by the one and only Frank Sinatra.



I have several versions of Angel Eyes by Sinatra, in one of these, he is live on stage, explaining the sad situation of the man in the song, his chick left him, taking with her his money...and his grass! He enters alone in a bar, telling his story, he does not want an answer, just to be heard...And going away just to find "who's now the number one..."

Johnny Hodges at his best

Of the Alto saxophone performers my all time favorites are Johnny Hodges and Charlie Parker.

Here we hear the legendary Alto soloist of Duke Ellington's orchestra performing in a way that will -no doubt!- gain your heart! My goodness, what a sound! No matter what your musical background or knowledge, this will sound to you as fantastic as it does to the so called "specialists". That is the true mark of a musical genius.

Ben Webster with Art Tatum

Of all the great tenor saxophone performers, Ben Webster is my favorite. "The Frog", or "The Brute", as he was called by his friends, has unsurpassable panache and a "blowing" that sounds truly unique. His sound has the power to touch one's most inner fibers. Here we hear him playing with that other great, Art Tatum... Just feel what happens when, after the initial piano, the saxophone enters into the scene...The sweetness and deepness of the sound is just unbelievable!

And what to say about the song, with music by Guy Wood and lyrics by Robert Mellin...Such a classic!

Fiona Apple doing Why try to change me now

To my friend Jeremy Silman

Yesterday I was watching a Dr.House episode, and at the end they played a song by the legendary Cy Coleman that I heard many years ago by Frank Sinatra. The temperamental Fiona Apple does something unique with this song. One just wants to get drown into one's own drool with the hope of being reborn just to hear her singing it once more...

Manuel, in a magic afternoon at Walden, Villa Giardino (Cordoba) Argentina, March 5th 2010 (from the false calendar)

No tengo suficiente tiempo...aún!

Perdóname si entras aqui, pero todavía no puedo publicar nada y sigo manteniendo esta página vacía para recordar que alguna vez tendré que comenzar a postear en Remembering Laura, una página de reminiscencias de Jazz alrededor de la figura de ..bueno, tú ya sabes.