Friday December 22, 2006 SGN.org |
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Volume 34 Issue 51 |
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Thursday, Aug 28, 2008
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Bits & Bytes |
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| Rockin' Ain't Misbehavin' heats up Jazz Alley, Will Smith scores with Pursuit of Happiness, Martin's offers seven nights of free piano | |
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by Milton W. Hamlin -
SGN A&E Writer Just a week ago, Seattle and its diverse entertainment scene were in shambles. As the Emerald City moves into Christmas weekend-with Boxing Day and other seasonal celebrations on the horizon-all seems right with the world. It's another great week for Seattle-area entertainment fans and-thus-for Bits&Bytes. Read on: AIN'T MISBEHAVIN' ROCKS JAZZ ALLEY IN RETURN VISIT Broadway's Tony Award winning Ain't Misbehavin' has packed Jazz Alley in several visits over the past decade. Back in town for the holiday season, the raucous salute to Fats Waller-one of the first "juke box musicals" to score big on Broadway-is nonstop energy and entertainment rolled up in one package. The Jazz Alley edition hosts a touring company that reunites periodically for club and concert dates of the high-energy revue. Five talented singers rock and roll through the Waller songbook-with hit after hit filling the popular jazz club with non-stop joy. It's great to have Ain't Misbehavin' back for the holiday season. Performances continue through tomorrow night with two stagings each evening. Best seating is available for the late shows both nights, Jazz Alley reports. Tickets and reservations at 441-9729. (When the hit revue first visited Seattle with the national touring company right after its unprecedented Broadway success, it played a week at the Moore Theatre on a Broadway In Seattle series. A very conservative friend-a woman now in her mid-80s-was slightly shocked by the show. "The women jiggled too much," she confided to Bits&Bytes. "I don't think they wore the proper underpinnings." Now, there was an archaic understatement about underwear&.) MORE JAZZ ALLEY NEWS- HOLIDAY SUPER JAM & PEARL DJANGO RETURNS In other Jazz Alley news, a Holiday Super Jam checks in for a Dec. 26-New Year's Eve stay. The "Swinging Funky Fun Holiday Jam" features Niki Harris, Kevin Mahogany, the Tony Monaco Trio and Red Holloway. Should be great fun. 2007 gets off to a terrific start at the Alley with a Jan. 2-7 visit from Seattle's own Pearl Django, a "Gypsy Jazz Festival" with special guests, Robin Nolan and Frank Vignola. Pearl Jam, one of this writer's favorite Seattle groups, gets its name from a double pun. The group started many years ago as a musical tribute to the stylings of Django Reinhardt, famous "Gypsy" jazz guitarist of the 1920s and 30s. Since it was based in Seattle, the troupe punned rock group Pearl Jam-the "D" in Django is silent. Thus, Pearl Jam was born. Jazz Alley's 2007 schedule continues with a Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 9-10, visit from jazz saxophonist Kenny Garrett touring behind his latest CD, Beyond The Walls. Playin' Favorites is the newest release from jazz guitarist Peter White. His Jan. 11-14 visit to Jazz Alley will highlight numbers from the CD. White and his band members will play seven sets in four nights. Clark Terry, Jan. 16-21, Janiva Magness, Jan. 23-24 and Tower of Power, Jan. 25-28 fill out the month. Complete ticket information and reservations are available at 441-9729. Remember that Jazz Alley offers free parking for all patrons-a rarity in downtown Seattle. Check it out. WILL SMITH & SON SEND PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS TO NUMBER ONE SPOT Will Smith has a long, long list of films that have opened at the Number One spot. Smith's latest, The Pursuit Of Happiness, hit $27 million last weekend continuing the record. In the "based on a true story" tearjerker, Smith stars opposite his real-life son, Jaden. They make a winning combination that obviously drew millions and millions of fans to the multiplexes. The rags-to-riches tale, inspired by the true-life story of Chris Gardner, is set in San Francisco in 1981-Ronald Reagan is president, Raging Bull is the hot film of the year. A series of harrowing events find Gardner and his son living on the streets-in public bathrooms, in homeless shelters, in various missions-as he works hard to become an investment broker with Dean Witter. The film is certainly grim-but with a Happy Ending and a Real Life Lesson looming. While the director, Italy's talented Gabriele Muccino, refuses to sugarcoat the events, no one seems to recognize the obvious-if you don't pay your rent, you will be evicted, if you don't get a paying job, you will have no money for rent, etc. Will Smith, a major Hollywood star and popular force in the reel world, has been a "problem" for GLBT papers (like SGN) ever since he hit early stardom with a terrific performance in the Hollywood version of Six Degrees Of Separation. In that film-a smash hit on Broadway and a major hit film of the year-Smith played a male hustler who cons his way into the homes of people. He pretends to be the son of a famous actor and a friend of a friend of theirs-a roommate to a college son, someone they met at a holiday party, etc. After signing for the film role and starting to shoot the picture, Smith refused to kiss another man on screen. The producers either had to live with his stance-reversing his signed contract-or fire him and reshoot the film. They stayed with Smith and "worked around" the problem. Bits&Bytes was bothered then-and is still bothered. Enough said. MARTIN'S OFF MADISON HOSTS FREE PIANO MUSIC SEVEN NIGHTS A WEEK Piano music seven nights a week is on the menu at Martin's Off Madison, the popular Gay-owned and (primarily) Gay-staffed restaurant near 14th and Madison. The legendary Ruby Bishop, now in her mid-80s "and still goin' strong," plays Monday nights, 8-11 p.m. Playing request after request, singing now and then, telling tales of Louis Armstrong begging her to "cook up a mess of greens" on his Seattle visits, Bishop is always a delight. Another keyboard legend, Howard Bulson, commands the grand piano Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights and returns on Sunday, playing from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Bulson, a fixture at Sorry Charlie's on Queen Anne for decades, draws a lively crowd of old fans and new, neighborhood audiences. Joseph Rojo plays Fridays from 9 p.m. to midnight with Larry Knapp (known in this scribe's circle of friends as "the cute one from Thumper's") taking the same hours on Saturday evenings. Another pianist, Chase, starts the weekend piano fun from 7-9 p.m. both nights. Larry Pearson and Adam Creighton play for the popular Sunday brunch, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The keyboard schedule, traditionally, is very flexible. One friend went in recently to hear Knapp and found Bishop delighting the crowd. Subbing for vacationing colleagues, switching schedules when another gig is available-that's all part of piano bar tradition. Bits&Bytes says check it out. |
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