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FEBRUARY
The intersection of art, entertainment, culture, opinion and mad genius
INTERVIEW 18 | JIM GAFFIGAN FEATURE Margaret Bourke-White, Aerial View of New York Bus Terminal Building, 1951. Allentown Art Museum, gift of Audrey and Bernard Berman, 1983. (1983.53.87)
20 | THE GAME CHANGERS With Academy membership shifting right alongside the progressive zeitgeist, we're now a long way from your grandmother's Oscars. If these buzzy contenders win, they'll confirm a turn of the tide.
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MORE FILM
ART 5|
ESSAY Papers
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EXHIBITIONS 3rd Annual Juried Show, Mixed Media Bethlehem House Gallery Fresh Perspective: Modernism in Photography, 1920–1950 Allentown Art Museum
Matthew McConaughey in Serenity.
The Art of Seating: Two Hundred Years of American Design Michener Art Museum
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ON THE COVER: Jim Gaffigan. Photo: Robyn Von Swank. Page 18.
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DOCUMENTARY They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead FOREIGN Cold War
PRESIDENT Trina McKenna trina@icondv.com EDITORIAL Editor / Trina McKenna Raina Filipiak / Advertising filipiakr@comcast.net PRODUCTION Richard DeCosta Megan Flanagan Rita Kaplan
FOODIE FILE 26 |
Valentine’s Day & Beyond
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS A. D. Amorosi
MUSIC 28 | POP
Joe Jackson The Complete Cuban Jam Sessions
Robert Beck Jack Byer Peter Croatto Geoff Gehman
(Various Artists)
Mark Keresman George Miller
NIGHTLIFE
Bad Bunny Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra 30 | JAZZ/ ROCK/CLASSICAL/ALT
Till Fellner Gil Evans Orchestra Henry Kaiser/Simon Barker/Bill Laswell/Rudresh Mahanthappa Anja Lechner/Pablo Márquez
CINEMATTERS A Star is Born FILM ROUNDUP Fyre Glass Serenity Transit
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since 1992 215-862-9558 icondv.com facebook.com/icondv
STAGE
FILM Rami Malek, nominated Best Actor for his role in Bohemian Rhapsody
ICON
REEL NEWS The Hate U Give Araby The Old Man and the Gun First Man
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33 | JAZZ LIBRARY
Marty Paich
ETCETERA 32 |
HARPER’S FINDINGS
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HARPER’S INDEX
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L. A. TIMES CROSSWORD
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AGENDA
R. Kurt Osenlund Bob Perkins Keith Uhlich Subscription: $40 (12 issues) PO Box 120 • New Hope 18938 215-862-9558 ICON is published twelve times per year. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. ICON welcomes letters to the editor, editorial ideas and submissions, but assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material. ICON is not responsible for claims made by advertisers. ©2019 Prime Time Publishing Co., Inc.
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ART ESSAY & PAINTING BY ROBERT BECK
PAPERS
I’M AMAZED THAT MY paternal grandparents were born in the 1800s, nearly one hundred and thirty years ago. Fredrick Douglas, Mark Twain, and Sitting Bull were still making news, as were Alexander Graham Bell and Queen Victoria. At the end of their lives, and the beginning of mine, Mamie and Charles Beck lived only a half-hour away, in a weary Dutch-roof cottage on a country lane. My father, mother, brother, and I would drive over to look in on them every few weeks. At the end of their dirt driveway was a crooked wood garage, with doors that scraped the ground when swung open. It smelled of rust and motor oil and harbored a late ’40s DeSoto the color of ashes. Out back was a chicken coop filled with boxes of useless junk. I was a child; it was the fifties, and there was a lot of exploring to do. When I last saw my grandfather, he was laying on the daybed in the darkened parlor, covered to his chest with a floral-patterned blanket. My visit came with instructions that he was not to be disturbed. The room wore a cloak of exhaustion, with disregarded mail on the table and wallpaper loose in the corners. Grandfather’s skin was tight on his head and face, but his mustache was still full. He had no words for me, just a thoughtful gaze. I was taken by the clarity of his eyes. Charles Beck left behind a lot of stuff, including two extraordinary documents written in the last years of his life. One was a 5,000-word composition entitled Experiences of a Man in His 70s, written on the back of old Beck Egg Farm ledger sheets. Neither comprehensive nor well written, it is nonetheless fascinating in its first-hand account of his childhood at the end of the 19th century in the meatpacking district of New York, and subsequent work as a bank employee, an egg farmer, a partner with his brother in an auto repair shop, and in the later years when his health was declining, selling real estate. The other document was a letter written to Mamie that breaks my heart every time I read it. It was executed with the marvelous penmanship common in his day. Composed on a page of his letterhead in ink that has faded to pale, it begins with the flourish of a first official step, but then settles into an undisciplined script: Charles Beck Real Estate Broker Fairview Avenue Near Public School Woodcliff Lake N.J. Telephone Park Ridge 862 Mamie: Feeling so bad and being in such poor health for some time, and writing these few lines to state what I think may be best for you to do in case of my passing away. Sell the car—take what you can get—Mrs. Cullen pays $29.98 a month to November—she promised to pay up before when she gets money—Expects to get money from husband—Use your judgment about the property—if you can find a place to rent—sell (for around $7,500) payments are about $45.00 month now. In case you need a lawyer—would advise taking either Judge O’Dea or Judge Randall. Charlie
Added later in pencil, the word “over” appears at the bottom of the page, along with additional instructions on the back. The penmanship has declined. Get certificate from undertaker & go to Surrogate’s Office in Administrative Building in Hackensack with it—show my paper and tell them everything is in your name—the only thing my name is on is the checking account and that is in both names—and that there is so little in either my name or on both our names it practically amounts to nothing that I own. I don’t believe you will need a lawyer— What a cruel thing it sounds. I’m struck by the fact that my father—their only son—is absent from Charlie’s thoughts. This loveless, Dickensian, goodbye-andgood-luck advisory to Mamie shows how grim things can be for many people, but my Grandfather wasn’t the best decision-maker and his leaving no money didn’t surprise anyone. What kept him in house and home over the years was his brilliant, resourceful, capable wife. Times were thin, my parents helped out, and Mamie lived in that cottage another dozen years before her farm-wife heart finally gave up. Her monthly Social Security check had just been increased to $24.00 a month. n ICON | FEBRUARY 2019 | ICONDV.COM | FACEBOOK.COM/ICONDV
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EXHIBITIONS
August Sander, The Dadaist Raoul Hausmann, Posing, 1930/1974. Allentown Art Museum, gift of Eric Alterman, 2007. (2007.26.2)
Michener Art Museum 138 S. Pine St., Doylestown, PA 215-340-9800 Michenerartmuseum.org February 9–May 5, 2019
Janet Dance, Stone Wrapped
3rd Annual Juried Show, Mixed Media Bethlehem House Gallery 459 Main St., Bethlehem, PA 610-419-6262 Bethlehemhousegallery.com February 8-March 30 Opening reception Feb. 8, 6-9pm Closing reception March 30, 6-9pm Mixed Media showcases 31 artists from the mid-Atlantic region, featuring all forms of mixed media. Lite fare and live music by Joel Garcia, Dawgwood and Sam Houseal. At Bethlehem House Gallery, original, innovative works are displayed in a beautifully furnished “living space” that makes you feel right at home.
Amy Schade, Multiple Intelligence 6
The Art of Seating: Two Hundred Years of American Design
Edward Weston, R.S. - A Portrait, 1922. Allentown Art Museum, gift of Audrey and Bernard Berman, 1983. (1983.53.19)
Fresh Perspective: Modernism in Photography, 1920–1950 Allentown Art Museum 31 N. 5th St., Allentown, PA 610-432-4333 Allentownartmuseum.org Through May 12, 2019 For nearly a century after the invention of the camera, photographers tried to imitate the style of painters. But beginning in the 1910s and 1920s they embraced the camera’s unique abilities instead. Inspired by the art world’s movement toward abstraction, these photographers began to experiment with cropping, dramatic lighting, deep focus, and unusual angles, making familiar subjects, like everyday objects or landscapes, look mysterious and unexpectedly beautiful. They used their cameras to celebrate cities, factories, and construction—subjects that symbolized the exciting modern age. This exhibition of photographs from the Museum’s collection includes works by Edward Weston, Walker Evans, Margaret Bourke-White, and August Sander as well as some by less-recognized artists. Fresh Perspective continues the Museum’s series of exhibitions and programs celebrating photography, and draws substantially on gifts from Bernard and Audrey Berman, and Jon and Nicky Ungar.
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Most chairs encountered throughout the day define themselves fairly simply—a place at the family table, a comfortable spot with a great view, a seat of corporate power. When looking at the more than 40 chairs selected for The Art of Seating: Two Hundred Years of American Design, however, there is much more to see than simple pieces of furniture; each chair has a fascinating story to tell about our national history, the evolution of American design, and incredible artistry and craftsmanship. The Art of Seating presents a stylistic journey in furniture design from the 1800s to the present, transporting the viewer into the design studio through patent drawings, documented upholstery, artist renderings, and multimedia presentations.
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STAGE VALLEY
CITY
Moon Over Buffalo. Ken Ludwig’s keen, clever comedy circles around married, bickering, flailing actors alternating plays in an upstate New York theater who hope to return to glory by being cast in Frank Capra’s new screen version of The Scarlet Pimpernel. The original production featured Carol Burnett in her first Broadway residence since the 1959 musical Once Upon a Mattress, which she helped christen at Tamiment, the Poconos entertainment emporium that helped launch the writing careers of Neil Simon and Woody Allen. (Pennsylvania Playhouse, 390 Illick’s Mill Rd., Bethlehem, Feb. 8-10, 15-17, 22-24) Noises Off. Fraying offstage affairs cause onstage chaos and calamity in Michael Frayn’s hilarious, ingenious double farce, which unfolds during two scary performances and a disastrous rehearsal by British performers derailed in Iowa, Florida, and Ohio. Peter Bogdanovich’s 1992 film starred Carol Burnett as a gone-to-seed celebrity, Michael Caine as a flummoxed director and Christopher Reeve as a nervous hunk. (Civic Theatre of Allentown, 527 N. 19th St., Feb. 8-9, 14-17, 21-24) The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. A teen with dyslexia, ADHD and an absent dad discovers he’s the son of Poseidon, revenges his mother’s sacrificial death with a pen-sword named Riptide, defeats mythical beasts, meets dead musicians in Hades during the song “D.O.A,” and seeks Zeus’ lightning bolt to stop his fellow gods from warring. The current national tour includes George Salazar, who played Mr. D (aka Dionysus), director of a camp for young mortal immortals, in the 2017 Off-Broadway debut. (Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, 420 E. Packer Ave., Bethlehem, Feb. 13) Rock of Ages. This jukebox musical, touring to mark its 10th anniversary, unites an aspiring rocker/busboy, an aspiring actress/stripper, a retiring rock star who screws up their romance, and a Hollywood bar-club in danger of disappearing as part of a plan to gentrify the Sunset Strip. Two-timing Sherrie Christian is serenaded with “Oh Sherrie”; redevelopment is protested in “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” and the finale, “Don’t Stop Believin’,” also scored the last episode of The Sopranos. Joel Hoekstra, a former guitarist in Night Ranger, played its hit “Sister Christian” in the stage band of the original Broadway staging, which is tied with Man of La Mancha for the Great White Way’s 29th longest run. (State Theatre, 453 Northampton St., Easton, Feb. 17)
2019 Philly Theatre Week: Feb. 7-17 Think of this as Philadelphia Restaurant Week without the weight gain: 110+ events and ten days’ worth of already existing theater showcases, newly staged works, imaginative readings, interactive events, and lecture/panel discussions all dedicated to this city’s brisk theater scene, its craftspeople and audiences. A downloadable program guide to free and nicely priced events may be found at theatrephiladelphia.org/whats-on-stage/2019-philly-theatre-week Clown Sex Ed. Philly’s most athletic dramedy outfit push Tribe of Fools company members Tara Demmy and Zachary Chiero out front to make fun of that talk your elders are supposed to have with you as you hit puberty (only with clown noses, which is how my dad told me about the birds and the bees). (Feb. 7-17, Philly Improv Theater, 2030 Sansom Street, tribeoffools.org) OLEANNA. Written by David Mamet in the immediate wake of the 1991 Clarence Thomas/ Anita Hill hearings, the blunt and cutting master of modern theater produces a MeToo#-worthy drama about the “he said, she said” pull of gender politics and male privilege from two different people’s perspectives. Directed by Debi Marcucci and starring two of Philly’s best actors (Jessica Johnson and Johnnie Hobbs, Jr.) (Through Feb. 17, Walnut Street Theatre’s Independence Studio on 3, 825 Walnut Street, WalnutStreetTheatre.org) 74 Seconds…. To Judgment. hiladelphia playwright and actor Kash Goins presents a nerve-wracking, provocative drama about what is justifiable homicide and how a deadlocked jury must define the fates of a man and society at large. (Through March 3, Arcadia Stage at the Arden Theater, 40 N. 2nd Street, ardentheatre.org) Broads. This femme-driven red curtain comedy revue is curated by Jennifer Childs, stars Joilet Harris, MB Scallen, and Jess Conda, and finds this quartet of Philly’s funniest women touching base on new, self-written material, as well as bawdy bits from legends such as Mae West, Moms Mabley and Pearl Williams. (Feb. 13-17, 1812 Productions, Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Place, 1812productions.org) Gem of the Ocean. Philadelphia thespian and theater provocateur James Ijames turns the turn of the century-based first installment of August Wilson’s The American Century Cycle on its head, and makes magic reality out of a true take of redemptions and justice. (Feb. 27-March 31, F. Otto Haas Stage at the Arden Theater, 40 N. 2nd Street, www.ardentheatre.org)
Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play. Nuclear-holocaust survivors improvise the “Cape Feare” episode of The Simpsons, which evolves over eight decades into a “Simpsons” troupe and a “Simpsons” musical pageant. Anne Washburn’s inventive dissection of culture, civilization, and myth was referenced in a 2015 “Simpsons” episode as a post-apocalyptic movie. (Baker Center for the Arts, Muhlenberg College, 2400 Chew St, Allentown, Feb. 20-24) I and You. A bedroom births an unlikely friendship between a popular basketball player and a terminally ill, dachshund-tough girl, bonded by a classroom assignment involving Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grace, a poetic cry for a harmonious, universal “we.” Author Lauren Gunderson was the most produced living American playwright in 2016 and 2017; married to a virologist, she’s also written three works about physicists. (Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, 420 E. Packer Ave., Feb. 22-24, Feb. 27-March 2) — GEOFF GEHMAN 10
One of a Kind: Carol Channing. The white-haired lioness of Broadway, who died at age 97, still has the local theater community blue (she debuted at the Forrest Theatre in her most famous role in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in 1949, a part second only to her titular take on Hello, Dolly! which came through Philadelphia for several runs), rays of sunshine peek through with a solid winter season.
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Julius Caesar. Shakespeare’s diabolical, stately political thriller couldn’t be more timely, considering this, the current moment of leaders consumed by their mythology and those destined to stop it. (Feb. 7-17, the Media Theater, 104 E State Street, mediatheatre.org) A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Shakespeare’s comedy of errors involving mistaken identities, and secret triangle, when set to Benjamin Britten’s drifting melodies and director Robert Carsen’s opulent surrealistic staging makes its U.S. debut with Opera Philadelphia, now, after 25 years of worldwide touring. Delicious stuff. (Feb. 8-17, Academy of Music, 240 S Broad Street, operaphila.org) n — A.D. AMOROSI
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NIGHTLIFE
FEBRUARY
CURATED BY A.D. AMOROSI
9 HELL’S KITCHEN FUNK ORCHESTRA
14 PATRIZIO BUANNE
NYC-based Hell’s Kitchen Funk Orchestra plays selections of R&B, funk and experimental jazz from their newest BluJazz Record release. Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem, PA, zoellner.cas2.lehigh.edu
How perfect is it that the Julio Iglesias of our time—Neapolitan-Austrian Patrizio Franco Buanne—is in town on Valentine’s Day to croon his way into our hearts. Plus, how could you go wrong calling your album Italianissimo?Ardmore Music Hall, ardmoremusichall.com
12 PETER MURPHY/DAVID J BAUHAUS REUNION
The vocalist and bassist of the dark, Bowie-like post-punk ensemble (actu-
gether-too-smooth demeanor has never been my cup of tea, but fans are obsessed with his musings, so go. SteelStacks, Bethlehem, PA, steelstacks.org 18 DISTURBED
The Grammy Award-winning industrial American heavy metal band looks more menacing than they sound at
15 BOB MOULD BAND/TITUS ANDRONICUS
The mastermind guitarist and emotional lyricist behind Husker Du and Sugar knows his way through the American independent rock and electronic scenes. He helped invent it and can probably teach locally reared, equally emotive guitarist and lyricist Titus Andronicus a thing or two about the scene and the sound. Union Transfer, utphilly.com ally Bauhaus drummer, Kevin Haskins, is in there, too) brought a gothic vibe to their music and attitude long before that term’s ascent. This tour serves as a 40th-anniversary reunion to celebrate their first 12’ single, the modern classic (and recently released) “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.” Union Transfer, utphilly.com
album, Oxnard—on Saturday Night Live at the end of 2018, and now is selling out gigs left and right. Get your tickets ASAP. The Fillmore Philadelphia, thefillmorephilly.com 23 JOHN MULANEY/PETE DAVIDSON
John Mulaney got his big break as a writer on Saturday Night Live from 2008-12. He has three stand-up comedy specials on Netflix: New in Town, The Comeback Kid and Kid Gorgeous. Pete Davidson is a current cast member on Saturday Night Live. State Theatre, Easton, PA, statetheatre.org
16 MNOZIL BRASS: CIRQUE
This world-famous Viennese septet mashes artistry with antics and masterful musicianship with creative im-
24 MICHAEL BUBLÉ
this point in their seven-album long career. A new record, Evolution, and a new single “A Reason to Fight” show why. Wells Fargo Center, wellsfargocenterphilly.com
13 ROYAL TRUX
I’m not a guy to talk about kids with diseases, but thank God that the Bublé family’s child Noah is getting treatment for liver cancer hepatoblastoma, and that his dad’s career is back to business with a new album, Love, and tour. Wells Fargo Center, wellsfargocenterphilly.com
19 VINCE STAPLES
The one-time junkie marrieds of Royal Trux—Neil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema—made a Cramps-like white provisation as their lips vibrate in unerring service to their beloved brass music. Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem, PA, zoellner.cas2.lehigh.edu
One of the snarkiest, strangest, smartest lyricist-rappers to burst the commercial hip hop bubble, this Oaklander often dropped albums (FM!, Big Fish Theory, Summertime ’06) and tour dates are always a pleasure. The Fillmore Philadelphia, thefillmorephilly.com
28 DEERHOOF
If there is an American band that has maintained its sightlines and sound as uncompromising arbiters of experimental pop, it is Deerhoof. Still touring on the merrily morose merits of
17 MARC COHN
The Southern gothic singer-songwriter with a raspy voice and an alto-
noise from 1987 until 2001, when they split and created a skuzzy revolution that would eventually influence the White Stripes and the Black Keys. Reunited this time since 2015, the Royal twosome release White Stuff this month, their first new record since 2000’s Pound for Pound. Union Transfer, utphilly.com
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22 JAMES BLAKE
Atmospheric hip hop’s best Brit friend (Frank Ocean, Andre 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, Vince Staples) has a new album that was released Jan. 18 (Assume Form) and a U.S. tour that starts in Philly. Nothing but net. The Fillmore Philadelphia, thefillmorephilly.com 24 ANDERSON .PAAK
With a funky pulse that just won’t quit, Anderson .Paak showed off his live chops—and his new audacious
its 2017 release Mountain Moves, a new Deerhoof album is in the offing. Union Transfer, utphilly.com n
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THE LATEST VERSION OF A Star is Born, nominated for eight Oscars, belongs to Lady Gaga. Her performance is brassy, vulnerable, and endearing. She turns Bradley Cooper’s gripping directorial debut—a phrase I never imagined writing—into something unexpectedly grand. Over the past decade, Gaga’s modus operandi has been entertainment by malleable provocation, something Madonna has done for nearly 40 years. Gaga has stayed submerged and impenetrable—in her own words, “a show with no intermission.” But by stripping herself down as the centerpiece of a modern-day pop culture parable—it’s jarring to see her actual face— Lady Gaga gives A Star is Born its power. There are two absorbing stories here: the one between stumbling rock legend Jackson Maine (Cooper) and Ally, his protégé-turned-lover played by Gaga, and an interpretation of Gaga’s life in the spotlight. At one point, alone in the spotlight, she looks up as if she’s in search of an answer. A tear rolls down her cheek. I was concerned for everyone: Ally, Gaga, the performer, and Gaga, the person—on screen. Three days later, I’m still wondering if Gaga is OK. Jackson is barely holding on. When we first see him, he approaches the stage, gobbling a handful of pills with a swig of gin. After he’s rocked the joint, he lurches into a waiting car and works on a bottle of whiskey. That’s not enough. Desperate for a drink, he ambles into a drag bar, where Ally’s friend Ramon (Anthony Ramos) urges Jackson to watch Ally perform. She owns “La Vie en Rose.” An entranced Jackson asks 14
CINEMATTERS BY PETE CROATTO
A Star is Born
her out. The two spend most of the dwindling night in an empty grocery store parking lot talking about songwriting, her passion. Ally sees Jackson as a person; Ally gets validation for her talents. They’re off. A sweet moment soon reaches cartoonish heights. Jackson whisks Ally and Ramon on a private jet to his next concert, where Jackson invites Ally onstage to sing her song. She’s reluctant before diving into the deep end. Two lives are irrevocably changed. At first, there’s balance. Ally is living a dream; Jackson gets stability. When Jackson is first on stage, the camera keeps moving—he’s barely in charge of himself. But when he’s with Ally, in her moment, he’s steady. She grounds him. The center will not hold. It never does. Ally is young and attractive (despite a nose that she says dissuades image-makers) and talented. Jackson is, at best, a relic and, at worst, a creaky cliché. Watching A Star is Born is a sad reminder of rock and roll’s dwindling relevance. Rap, R&B, and anything infused with studio-masterminded beats gets kids moving and breeds the stars. Rock and roll is for the Boomers, making Jackson a man on borrowed time. His cohorts have moved on—making wise investments, sending off kids to college—and he exists in an alcohol- and narcotics-infused haze. “Sitting all alone, by the wayside” are not just lyrics he’s written. Jackson serves as a mentor to Ally, until her look and sound get altered to attract young girls and the mutterers who court them, Jackson falters, resuming his graduate work in hedonistic rockers who died
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young. They’re a couple stuck in a script that’s been handed down through the ages, but with Gaga, the narrative gets infused with a flippant honesty. Ally, despite her middle-class background, is in constant flux. She’s a black-dressed chanteuse, Stevie Nicks before the Wicca took over, a sequined, choreographed pop tart, and then, in the movie’s final scene, decked out like Ella Fitzgerald belting Gershwin. Ally is concerned with only two things: not being blond and retaining her talent. The rest is negotiable and necessary. That’s why Gaga has enjoyed a decade as a pop star, which pretty much makes her Helen Hayes. The casting of Cooper and Gaga—two of the world’s biggest celebrities—makes for a fascinating double-sided mirror. As a director, Cooper doesn’t give you everything. It’s telling that his signature shot is capturing people from behind, which provides the right distance so the story doesn’t become grandiose or self-important. And there’s the key element: A Star is Born friggin’ moves. Scenes melt together, thrusting us into a tempestuous love story and a cautionary tale, the two narratives that make American popular culture infectious. But as with every great movie, Cooper’s film is about people—who they are, who they become, what they fear. That makes A Star is Born appropriate for today’s culture as well as an empathetic epic. We leave mourning for Jackson but feeling for Ally and Lady Gaga as well as anyone whose gift suddenly becomes the world’s. When your passion belongs to everyone, who are you? [R] n
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FILM ROUNDUP
Transit. Photo:Marco-Kruger-©-Schramm-Film
REVIEWED BY KEITH UHLICH
Fyre (Dir. Chris Smith). Documentary. In early 2017, the country was craving a distraction in the aftermath of a divisive presidential election. The failed Fyre Festival proved a perfect vehicle for some near-unanimous schadenfreude. Documentarian Chris Smith (American Movie) traces the abortive tropical music jamboree, cooked up by hasbeen rapper Ja Rule and frat-boyish entrepreneur/con-man Billy McFarland, from lush promo video to disaster-zone fallout. It's always compelling and frequently jaw-dropping, as when one of McFarland’s underlings reveals he was prepared to perform fellatio on a customs agent to secure the release of some bottled water. The “bad guys” are tsk-tsked, though there’s a clear conflict of interest in the fact that the upstart PR firm, Jerry Media, which promoted the Fyre Festival, is one of the film’s backers. Watch this Netflix feature on a double-bill with Hulu’s competing doc Fyre Fraud (also engrossing, though not without issues of its own) for a fuller sense of how this crash-and-burn event became a gleeful and, by now, a muchtoo-easy object of collective scorn. [N/R] HHH1/2 16
Glass (Dir. M. Night Shyamalan). Starring: James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson. A sequel few asked for, the protracted and tiresome Glass concludes M. Night Shyamalan's somnolent, self-satisfied superhero trilogy, which the writer-director began in 2000’s Unbreakable and continued, stealthily, in 2016’s Split. Crimefighter David Dunn aka The Overseer (Bruce Willis) and multiple personality-afflicted villain Kevin Wendell Crumb aka The Horde (James McAvoy) are locked up in the same asylum as Unbreakable’s big bad Elijah Price aka Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson). There, a Nurse Ratched-like doctor, Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson), tries to convince the trio to renounce their respective powers as delusions, though Glass has other things in mind. Only McAvoy, shuffling heedlessly between personas, brings any sense of fun to the proceedings, which otherwise tend toward the dour and the pompous. This is low-grade trash decked out in egocentric pretense. [PG-13] HH Serenity (Dir. Steven Knight). Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hath-
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away, Jason Clarke. Writer-director Steven Knight’s seeming neo-noir is so shamelessly certifiable it demands both no stars and five stars. Let’s split the difference at three stars and delight in the adolescent huffing and puffing of Matthew McConaughey as a virile fisherman named Baker Dill, who seethes his way around a remote tropical paradise. His ex-wife (Hathaway), with whom he has a distant teenage son, arrives one afternoon with a proposition: Kill my current abusive spouse (Jason Clarke), and you’ll get $10 million. From this point, the blood, sweat, and tears flow. For a good while, it seems like Serenity is a lost relic from the ‘90s erotic thriller phase that gave us horned-up pulp like Basic Instinct (1992) and Wild Things (1988). Yet Knight has bigger, um, fish to fry, and the pathos-ridden places the film ultimately goes are so stupid and ridiculous (and ridiculously stupid) that you almost have to applaud in awe. [R]
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Transit (Dir. Christian Petzold). Starring: Franz Rogowski, Paula Beer, Godehard Giese. German filmmaker Christian Petzold (Phoenix) transposes Anna
Seghers’s 1942 novel about a concentration camp escapee hiding out in the French port city of Marseilles to the present day. Note that I didn't say update: The vehicles and locations are modern, but the story itself, in which the fugitive Georg (Franz Rogowski) assumes the identity of a dead writer and romances the man’s wife (Godehard Giese), is still very much of the WWII era. This neither-nor approach to period signifiers lends an alluringly alien quality to the film, though it soon attains a different kind of power (at once pointedly political and profoundly emotional) akin to Alex Cox’s great, anachronism-heavy western Walker (1987), in which a 19th-century tale of plunder illuminated the then-current Contra conflict. Here as there, the past and the present hold equal weight. One is not necessarily used to comment on the other, as you might expect from Petzold’s choice, say, to make the Nazi occupiers into modern-day immigration forces. Time is, instead, beside the point because, as Transit argues with riveting insight and artistry, the trials and tribulations of history never truly go out of fashion. [N/R] HHHH1/2 n
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INTERVIEW BY A.D. AMOROSI
JIM GAFFIGAN God, family, and comedy, in that order
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THESE ARE SENSITIVE TIMES AND POLITICALLY CORRECT TIMES, AND I’M NOT SOMEONE WHO PEDALS THE IRREVERENT. I HAVE FRIENDS WHO DO, AND THEY’RE BRILLIANT. BUT I’VE ALWAYS LOOKED AT THE CONCEPT OF LIBERTY AS EVER-CHANGING. THE FOUNDING FATHERS VIEWED IT SO MUCH DIFFERENTLY THAN WE DO. EVEN OUR INTERPRETATIONS OF THE TOXICITY OF CERTAIN POINTS OF VIEW KEEP CHANGING.
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THE THINGS WE KNOW about Jim Gaffigan are (nearly) limitless: That he is an Indianan stand-up comedian with all the calm collection of his Midwestern upbringing; That his many live routines and television specials, such as The Noble Ape and Obsessed, find him musing without profanity on everything from food and laziness to family and fatherhood. With that, his wife-collaborator Jeannie Gaffigan—with whom he created The Jim Gaffigan Show—is the center of his universe. That his universe is a sanely moral one is because he is happily and proudly Catholic, most notably through mass attendance at the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in Manhattan, and his time co-hosting and performing for (Gaffigan calls it opening for) Pope Francis when he visited Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families back in 2015. Add to that a now steady slate of dramatic roles, several of which landed him at the Sundance Film Festival at the end of January (Them That Follow, Light from Light and the Viola Davis comedy Troop Zero, screened in Colorado), and a new live gig he’ll bring to The Met Philadelphia for two shows on February 9, and you’ve got a complete picture of Gaffigan. Or do you? Wait. Why are you speaking with me when you should be packing for Sundance and walking out the door? It doesn’t take that long to pack. This is pretty exciting, right? You figure that I’ve been in the entertainment industry long enough, and I am truly thrilled to get these opportunities. But it often feels like finding the wizard behind the curtain, hearing about my expectations. But this is all so lifechanging. I’ve been fortunate. We’re almost led to believe that the entertainment industry has some threshold—that is until you are led into a room, and Tom Hanks is there to welcome you to the party. “You made it,” he yells. Is there a set of expectations of your devising that come with you taking on a dramatic role, that’s different or nonexistent when tackling comedy acting? How do the challenges differ? I would say that I love doing comedy and I love doing stand-up. Acting of any stripe is a different mentality, a different approach. I think that when it comes to acting in a dramatic film or role, the weight or the concentration is more difficult. Stand-up comedy, when you’re up there on stage, is relieving. In a drama, you’re sitting in it, stewing. There’s a vulnerability in stand-up, don’t get me wrong—but add to
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that concentration in dramatic acting with all these new levels of vulnerability, it’s an awkward and unique challenge. It’s a different set of emotional contacts. Hopefully, there’s a perspective that you’re trying to communicate. Vulnerability, though is something you must find, and then hone. What is that process like when acting in a film? Stand-up is very much a point-of-view thing. Film captures several points of view, several stories with several points. Access to that vulnerability makes us all human. That’s what makes an audience care. I’m always of the belief that the reason people loved Richard Pryor—beyond him being immensely funny—was that he was vulnerable, that you could see and feel his humanity. Audiences are sometimes upset when their favorite comedians get big and lose that humanity. They want an Everyman. It’s weird. It’s like when people talk of the Everyman—in the end, we are all Everyman and Everywoman. Vulnerability never goes out of style. It could be Jimmy Stewart or even Peter Sellers—many of their characters were so vulnerable. I agree. Sellers in The Bobo, Being There, even the wounded soul of Clouseau and those Pink Panther movies—yeah. What sort of roles wake you up in the morning? You get a script and go THAT ONE! For me, I’m looking to see if this scares me a little bit. Can I put myself out there in a way that I haven’t—or maybe couldn’t—before? Can I do a good job? There was a time when I wondered about doing things for the money and finding challenges. So I can, on occasion, do this indie film thing where the director seems great, or you can do this money thing where you’re not going to be challenged; if you do the latter, you’re probably there for the wrong reasons. Besides, when something is presented to me with the money first, I never look at the money. I make my living from stand-up, so when it comes to acting, I’m much more about the deeper challenges. It’s also about beating expectations. I may not seem like the guy in the part I’m playing. That’s even better. Let’s see if I can do it. I’ve done films such as American Dreamer where I played a really bad guy. That was appealing to me.
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Jim Gaffigan relaxing with his children. Photo courtesy of AP.
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Because you seem like an ultimate nice or good guy. Look, I know that your stand-up stays away from socio-political stuff. Some of your comedic brethren are supercharged by Trump and the right. Or the left. Are you surprised by the audience reaction? This whole topic is fascinating because we all live inside of this. These are sensitive times and politically correct times, and I’m not someone who pedals the irreverent. I have friends who do, and they’re brilliant. But I’ve always looked at the concept of liberty as ever-changing. The founding fathers viewed it so much differently than we do. Even our interpretations of the toxicity of certain points of view keep changing. My whole thing about the political landscape—well, my opening act is an Occupy Wall Street guy, who before the election had jokes about Hillary and Trump that killed. Those same jokes and vibes didn’t work immediately following the election. The Hillary people were upset. The Trump people were emboldened. It comes down to interpretation. I’m a news junkie, but it’s not evergreen material. So I’m not comfortable with it, especially because you can never have all the information or facts that you need to make a singularly reasoned opinion. Plus, I think that there’s a fatigue regarding politics in humor at this point. Audiences are hit with this all day at work, at home. Going to my show, there are more points of view available in the audience alone—the lesbian couple sitting next to the family with their grandmother, for instance.
. Speaking of family—of which you’re loving and vocal—what do you recall about your material before you got married and had kids? What springs to mind? A lot of that old stuff has been passed around social media. If you told me ten years ago that I would be speaking now about appendectomies or seeing bears, I didn’t think that was possible. For me, appearing on late night shows as I did early on informed my writing, and pushed me toward weeding out some of the curse words; I never cursed that much to begin with. Then getting married and having a writing partner made me more comfortable embracing the Catholic stuff I might not have in the past. The infancy and chaos of being a parent definitely rounded things out, and that’s how we got to where are now, with food and riding horses stories. n ICON | FEBRUARY 2019 | ICONDV.COM | FACEBOOK.COM/ICONDV
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ESSAY R. KURT OSENLUND
THE GAME CHANGERS
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With Academy membership shifting right alongside the progressive zeitgeist, we're now a long way from your grandmother's Oscars. If these buzzy contenders win, they'll confirm a turn of the tide.
HAT DOES AN OSCAR movie look like? For decades, that question was easy to answer. An Oscar movie is bloated with prestige. It's a biopic. It's a costume drama. It's a snooty boutique movie a lot of your friends aren't interested in, especially if those friends aren't white, male, or straight. It's probably pretty long, and maybe a little depressing (its chances spike if it superficially attempts to right the wrongs of history). It might be a cultural phenomenon, but not one that drew in—or spoke to—a particularly diverse audience. Naturally, there have been many exceptions, a long-cited one being Annie Hall, a comedy (!) that won Best Picture in 1977. But typically, if you've paid any attention to the months-long, annual tradition of awards season, you can spot an Oscar movie—or an Oscar nominee—faster than the tear of a ticket stub. And many of these stereotypes still hold true. Last year, Gary Oldman won the Best Actor trophy for doing a classic Oscar-y thing: gaining weight, donning gobs of makeup and prosthetics, and playing a real person—Winston Churchill—in a factbased war movie (Darkest Hour). This year, Christian Bale stands as the Best Actor frontrunner for basically doing the exact same thing as Dick Cheney in Vice. But for a wealth of reasons, the criteria of what constitutes an Oscar movie, an Oscar nominee, and finally, an Oscar winner is in the midst of a highly publicized overhaul. Alongside the films and performances that check the time-honored boxes, we're now seeing more black movies, more queer movies, more female-centric movies, and many more popular movies snagging awards attention. It may have started 10 years ago with the snubbing of The Dark Knight, a rare film that straddled the realms of box-office smash and bona fide art, and whose infuriated fans reportedly prompted the Academy to expand the number of Best Picture nominees. And it surely continued in 2014 and 2015, when back-to-back slates of all-white acting
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nominees fueled the virality of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, a movement that resulted in the Academy vowing to diversify its membership. The voting body essentially kept its promise, and there's now a record-high percentage of women (39 percent) and people of color (30 percent) who fill out ballots. But, of course, the Oscars' ongoing facelift doesn't just rest on a select group of 6,687 people. Hollywood's a big town, and an even bigger club, and it needs to greenlight and support norm-cracking stories to even make them available for a vote. And, as of last year, for the first time in the history of cinema, it truly, genuinely is. In the era of Trump, #TimesUp, and hot-blooded identity politics, the entertainment industry is listening to the social media rally cries of viewers, minorities, and women, and responding with a notably increased delivery of diverse narratives. It was inevitable in a divided nation that's seeing the reign of white men regularly challenged—and in an industry that no longer has a man like Harvey Weinstein calling so many pivotal shots. In the alchemy of the Oscars, wherein the trickle-down from screen to awards-show stage carves out a certain batch of contenders, the shift is being reflected. Does that mean the next big winners will signal a true refresh? It might if we see the following victories in the top six categories—victories that are not necessarily about who and what is the best, but about who and what would upend an outdated model. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk The frontrunner in this race, Regina King has been a formidable actress since the early 1990s. (Remember her work in Ray? Enemy of the State? Jerry Maguire???) In today's climate, one could argue that part of King's edge is the fact that she's the only actress of color in the running here. But, then, from Rita Moreno in West Side Story to Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost, this category has
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been more friendly to women of color than most. What would make King's win unique is that she's not here, per se, for your entertainment. Nor is anything else in If Beale Street Could Talk, a soft, yet sobering film that plainly portrays black love, is helmed by a black director (Barry Jenkins), and is adapted from a novel by a legendary black author (James Baldwin). Sharon, the mother King plays in the movie, is not sassy, overwrought, or serving a white apologist agenda (a la Octavia Spencer's Minny in The Help). She's a stalwart, yet complex rock of hope and support, and King's win would suggest that people of color shown living their lives—on their terms—is valid, is worth celebrating, and is enough. BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Timothée Chalamet, Beautiful Boy Meanwhile, Green Book co-star Mahershala Ali—who nabbed this award in 2016 for Moonlight—is the favorite to win again here, and it would certainly look progressive if both Supporting slots saw black actors walk away with statuettes. But unlike King, Ali is playing a character who's heavily sidelined by his white counterpart (played by Viggo Mortensen) in a movie that could have been made 30 years ago. It's certainly not Ali's fault that, to boot, the real-life character he's playing (pianist and doctor Don Shirley) is, according to Shirley's family, highly misrepresented in the movie. Rewarding Ali could mean rewarding a whitewashed story, whereas rewarding Timothée Chalamet for Beautiful Boy could show the Academy's willingness to embrace youth. Last year, Chalamet, now 23, became one of the youngest people to ever be nominated for Best Actor (for Call Me by Your Name), and in Beautiful Boy, he applies his natural precocity to a role that highlights the terrible power of addiction. Progress within the Academy may not only apply to race and gender, but to age and to what taboo topics it wants to stand behind.
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BEST ACTRESS Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born Glenn Close has reached Hollywood royalty status. She's been nominated for six Academy Awards. She's never won (she has more nominations without winning than any other living actor). At 71, she's the odds-on gal to emerge victorious here for her work in The Wife. But even if Close deserves the prize, her win would join a lineage of accolades that presumably reward an actor's career, perhaps more so than
BEST ACTOR Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody Like Bale in Vice, Rami Malek is playing a real-life person in Bohemian Rhapsody (Freddie Mercury), and he's also rocking prosthetics to get into character (those Bugs Bunny veneers are all thanks to the makeup crew). But like Gaga, Malek—an actor of Egyptian descent—is new to this historically predictable club, whereas Bale has been method-acting his way to glory for quite a few years now (in 2010,
Hour, and Do the Right Thing), but he's never even been nominated in the Academy's directing category. It's debatable that rewarding him for BlacKkKlansman is practically the same as rewarding Glenn Close for The Wife, but then, Lee has already received an honorary Oscar, and his winning for this unfortunately topical film (about a real-life black cop who helped infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan) carries so much more weight than a white woman of a certain age getting her socalled due. This win would mark the Academy's collective decision to make a searing political statement, not just by anointing Lee with a proper Oscar, but by trumpeting support for the specific movie he's made—one that's capped off by such recent footage as the horrific events in Charlottesville. The Academy has been accused of racism. Racism is all around us. If Lee were to win for helming BlacKkKlansman, it would be a bold reassurance that voters—and the institution itself— want that to change. BEST PICTURE Black Panther By all traditional accounts, Black Panther has no place even being in the Oscar discussion, barring, perhaps, its achievements in visual effects. With the exception of The Dark Knight (which landed Heath Ledger a posthumous award for his role as The Joker), superhero movies do not get nominated for major Academy Awards. It simply doesn't happen, not even
Lady Gaga arrives at the premiere of A Star is Born at the Venice International Film Festival.
the performance in question (think Julianne Moore grabbing the gold in 2014 for Still Alice). In short, it's Close's time. But what about Lady Gaga? This year, Gaga is the ingenue, a type that's long been smiled on by the Academy, but she's also the crossover success story—the likes of which we haven't seen since Cher wowed everyone with her Best Actress turn in 1987's Moonstruck. Gaga, however, is wilder than Cher, and if we gauge it by inflation of exposure, she's a bigger global superstar at her age (32) than Cher was. Many naysayers squawked that Gaga couldn't pull off this type of demanding leading role. She did. If she won, it would imply that we're looking at a more open-minded (and, let's face it, cooler) Academy—one willing to not just welcome artists from other mediums into its ranks, but to hoist them to the top.
Rami Malek attends the Bohemian Rhapsody NYC premiere on October 30, 2018.
he won Best Supporting Actor after going frail for The Fighter). Like Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody has taken heat for its watered-down depiction of an artist's life, portraying the late Mercury, an AIDS-afflicted queer icon, in a manner that's egregiously safe and virtually sexless. But the movie was nevertheless a global box office smash, and its awards-season reception is proving that such numbers are wielding more power with voters than they used to. Malek, who comes to electric life whenever he's seen on stage as Mercury, would imply two things with a win: that the Academy isn't afraid to crown the people's champ, and that it's also eager to celebrate new blood. BEST DIRECTOR Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman Spike Lee is Hollywood's foremost black filmmaker. He's directed 30 movies (including Malcom X, 25th
for superhero movies with casts that aren't 99 percent black. But Black Panther changed just about everything we thought we new about Hollywood, most notably bringing to light the fact that there is a massive viewership for this specific fare, as international boxoffice numbers indisputably concur. If it were to win Best Picture, it would indicate a radical change that would cover nearly every base of retooling the Oscar formula (all it's lacking is a female lead and a queer subplot). It would prove that Titanic isn't the only film that can dominate movie theaters and awards ballots alike. It would validate superhero movies at an unprecedented level. It would validate the black moviegoing public as a vital and influential market. It would shatter the usual trickle-down rules. It would wholly redefine what an Oscar movie looks like. n
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REEL NEWS
The Hate U Give.
DVDS REVIEWED BY GEORGE OXFORD MILLER
The Hate U Give (Dir. George Tillman, Jr.) Starring: Amanda Stenberg, Regina Hall, Anthony Mackie, Russell Hornsby. Today’s America is a socio-economic potpourri with a mixture of diverse ingredients that can create a delicious, nourishing stew, or a fetid, poisonous brew. This story, adapted from a youngadult novel by Angie Thomas, stirs a festering mix of emotionally-charged events ripped from the headlines. Starr (Stenberg), a teenage black girl lives in two galaxies, her impoverished black neighborhood, and the elite private white school she attends. She keeps her head down and tries to fit anonymously into both. Then one night her worlds collide and she discovers the immensity of the black hole at the center of each. While riding home from a party with her childhood boyfriend, a white cop stops them. Things go sour and the cop shoots the unarmed teen. In the resulting firestorm, a Black Justice group wants her to testify to a grand jury, but the local drug lord (Mackie) threatens her if she brings the heat down on him. What’s Starr to do? It’s a monumental quandary with no simple solution and no way for her to escape the brutal consequences of either choice. Yet, this isn’t just a rehash of the critical Black Lives Matter issues. The story dives deep into the personal lives of those affected by the tragedy, into the complex dynamics of Starr’s dual place the black neighborhood and white school, and puts a human face on the runaway emotions that dominate the social media frenzy. Starr has navigated both her worlds by avoiding confrontation, but now she must choose between living as a passive observer or stepping into the maelstrom and fighting for social justice. [PG-13]
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Araby (Dir.João Dumans, Affonso Uchoa) Stars: Aristides de Sousa, Gláucia Vandeveld. Every human has one thing in common: we all, even the lowliest factory worker, have a story to tell, an interesting, significant narrative about how we got to where we are, and how it made us who we are. In this story within a story set in a Brazilian factory town, an unimposing itinerant worker Cristiano (de Sousa) is injured and lapses into a coma. The factory nurse (Vandeveld) sends her nephew Andre (Caliari) to bring Cristiano’s personal possessions to the hospital. Andre finds Cristiano’s journal-memoir that recounts the vagabond’s life as a poverty-stricken working man bouncing from job to job. After the film’s twenty-minute prologue, Cristiano’s narrative takes over and we follow his Don Juanish experiences as he wanders through Brazil. Like strokes of color added to a canvas, each episode reveals new nuances and dimensions about the person he is. The context illuminates the culture, values, and living conditions of a socio-economic class caught in the tight space between hope and desperation. Hardships abound but so does a carpe diem attitude grounded in an insatiable joy of life. In Portuguese with English subtitles.[not rated] HHHH
mountains, he robs banks because they are there and present a titillating challenge. The illicit pastime gives him a deep satisfaction, a purpose for living as the speeding train of his life nears the last station. The storyline, billed as “mostly true,” actually tracks Forrest’s exploits fairly accurately, with embellishments added mainly to his romantic life. He did escape from prison 18 times, presented here as nostalgic flashbacks that include clips from Redford’s iconic movies. Armed more with his infectious smile and gentlemanly manners than with the gun in his waistband, he robbed more than 60 banks for an estimated $4 million. The same charm ingratiates him to a widowed horse rancher Jewel (Spacek). The chemistry of the understated courtship powers the movie as much as the audacious exploits of the robber, and adds a romantic dimension made only more beautiful by the age and undiminished passion for life of the characters. Tucker and his Over the Hill Gang’s crime spree eventually captures the attention of Dallas police officer John Hunt (Affleck). As he connects the dots leading to the gang, Hunt, suffering the over-the-hill miasma of career and life choices, also falls under Tucker’s charismatic charm. [PG-13] HHHHH
The Old Man and the Gun (Dir. David Lowery) Starring: Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek, Danny Glover, Tom Waits, Casey Affleck. Even at age 79, retirement isn’t in Forrest Tucker’s dictionary, though Robert Redford (age 82), who plays the famed bank robber, claims the movie is his farewell performance. Tucker is passionate about his latter-day avocation. Mirroring the old question of why humans climb
First Man (Dir. Damien Chazelle) Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke. This movie easily could have been called “The Longest Road.” Not referring to the 240,000 miles between the Earth and Moon, nor the herculean eight-year effort to create a program from non-existent technology, nor the engineering marvels or the trial and error failures that cost human lives. The longest road this epic ex-
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plores was between the head and heart of astronaut Neil Armstrong, the man who first stepped in lunar dust. Faithful to Armstrong’s authorized biography, director Damien Chazelle has produced a brutally intimate and authentic view of the historic space race. Armstrong’s unique skills, personality, and intellect uniquely qualified him, yet at the same time made him one of the most emotionally distant people on the planet. He faced certain death at least three times in flight emergencies but was able to coolly evaluate the problems and survive. To say he had ice water in his veins is a cliché that misses his essence. As Armstrong, Gosling perfectly captures the soul and spirit of a man who learned to survive, both physically and emotionally, neither by denying nor obsessing on his pain and fears, but by locking them into a sealed room and losing the key. Emotional detachment comes with horrendous scars, but it enabled him to remain in control when his space vehicles spun out of control, and when his daughter died of cancer. Ultra close-up camera views put us beside Armstrong when the Gemini capsule chaotically spins out of control and when the Saturn rocket blast-off shakes the astronauts like stuffed animals. We stop breathing when the Lunar Lander alarm sounds the “abort” alarm and Armstrong continues searching for a landing spot until less than 30 seconds of fuel remain. And when his wife Janet (Foy), his emotional counterpoint, forces him to say what may be his last goodbye to his sons. It’s easy to praise Armstrong’s heroism and dedication, but this movie shows us that the price he paid was astronomical. (PG-13)
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DOCUMENTARY MARK KERESMAN
John Huston, Orson Welles, and Peter Bogdanovich.
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They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead
MONG FILM HISTORIANS, AESTHETEs and nerds: Citizen Kane is one of the greatest films ever made. Virtually defining the term “auteur,” the director, co-writer, producer, and star of Kane was Orson Welles (1915-1985). Welles was also a radio, television and Shakespearian actor and stage musician. Long before such things became common (i.e. Woody Allen, Clint Eastwood, John Cassavetes), Welles insisted on creative control of his films—naturally, Welles’ desire to create art clashed with the major Hollywood studios, the chiefs of which desired to make lots of money. Consequently, Welles spent many years in Europe (1948-58; 1959-70) where he was valued by the continent’s directors and could appear in artier fare. Toward the end of his life, Welles was doing whatever he could to raise the coin for his films, including television commercials for wine and peas, and he was Dean Martin’s sidekick on Martin’s Celebrity Roast TV show. He became known more for being Orson Welles than for any of his films. Yet Welles kept trying, and his film The Other Side of the Wind was finally completed after his death. The plot of the film: An aging veteran film director (played by famed director John Huston) is trying to finish his last film—it’s presented as a rough24
hewn documentary, the behind-the-scenes of the details and problems of making a (autobiographical?) movie. They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead is a documentary about the making of Welles’ film—completed posthumously by director Peter Bogdanovich, who also acts in Other Side of the Wind, and producer Frank Marshall—as well as Welles’ last years, mostly as they relate to the struggles to get the film made. The director of They’ll Love Me... is Morgan Neville, the same fellow that helmed the excellent documentary 20 Feet From Stardom. As with the latter film, Neville captures the vibrance of the subject matter, including the rough edges and messiness of the creative process and behind-the-scenes monetary shenanigans. There are plenty of talking-head interviews of Welles’ friends and fans and film clips from Welles’ rich cinematic history. The range of interviewees is impressive, from Dennis Hopper to Pauline Kael. Note this: This is not a bio/doc of Welles’ life and/or career—we get background, to be sure—but Neville approaches the subject of this unfinished film project as if we are already familiar with Welles. If you want to learn in detail of Welles’ life and/or career, this is not the place to begin. It’s primarily about Welles’ trying to complete this movie and it was in the works for years, beginning in 1970
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and going in fits and starts until the ’80s. Welles’ financing was a real problem, to put it mildly. (One of the financiers was an Iranian during the Shah’s regime, and when the regime fell, so did the financing.) We see portions of Wind… and frankly, it’s not easy to watch. At least one of the actors did not know what the film was about, and according to Bogdanovich, Wind contained some personal barbs directed at him personally—his then-romance with Cybill Shepherd, specifically. Some of Wind seemed like an Andy Warhol film—and that is not a compliment. Was Wind intentionally created as a satire of goofy, self-indulgent filmmaking or was it goofy, selfindulgent filmmaking? (For a frame of reference re: self-indulgent filmmaking, think David Lynch postLost Highway.) One of the subjects (sub-plots?) is the context of the American film industry in the ’70s—the phenomenal success of Star Wars changed the industry massively. Studios wanted big budget bonanzas, not subtle, arty fare. Welles had a great track record, true—many years before, and Hollywood is a what-have-youdone-lately town. It was sad to see Welles looked upon as a Legend—but a legend that few studio execs wanted to get behind. n
FOREIGN MARK KERESMAN
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OLLOWING WORLD WAR II, the eastern half (approximately) of Europe was under the domination of Russia’s Communist government. While each nation—Albania, Romania, etc.—had its own leader and government (with varying amounts of independence), Russia was, essentially, the Big Boss. For the residents of these countries, travel beyond their borders was strictly limited though people were known, through various means, to escape and restart their lives in western Europe, the UK, or the USA. The differences and clashes, political, cultural, etc., between the East and West sides was colloquially known as the Cold War, as hot war was carefully avoided by both sides. Why? Both sides possessed the military might to destroy each other, which became known as Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). Cold War (2018) is the story of a Polish couple whose lives and loves are intertwined with the geo-politics, sights and sounds of that era. In the years shortly after WWII, Poland is rebuilding almost everything. Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) is a musician who records and chronicles the folk traditions of the Polish people. A government functionary is as-
Cold War sembling a song-and-dance troupe to tour and advertise the cultural fertility of the Communist bloc, and Wiktor is one of the talent-seekers. Zula (Joanna Kulig) is a country gal singer with a dark past. They meet, fall in love, and their romance plays out amid the geographic and political landscape of the time. This film is gorgeously shot in black and white. The cinematography is stark, perhaps in homage to post-War European cinema; the influence of film noir is also felt. The story covers a lot of ground, from Poland to Paris, from East Germany to Moscow. We see how government officials exert influence over the musical and dance content performed on these tours. Music is a big part of this movie—not only are the central characters performers (Wiktor is a composer, arranger and conductor) but what is performed is often beautiful, namely the traditional Polish folk music (East European folk strains often express a haunting sense of longing) and the running hot-andcool freedom of jazz (as today, one of the cultural touchstones shared by both sides). Director Pawel Pawlikowski artfully, if a little too succinctly at times,
juggles the shifts of time and place in a terse 90minute film. He provides lots of atmosphere, from the tightly-arranged dance presentations to the subtle tension of people who know, consciously or not, that their movements are being regulated. Wiktor and Zula evolve as performers and lovers against the chilly backdrop of Communist tyranny and Western freedom. While Cold War looks and sounds wonderful in general (and the acting is mostly very good), Pawlikowski trips up by giving us a loving couple with precious little chemistry; at no point did I feel these people even liked each other. They are less characters than archetypes—he the serious artiste, she the neurotic, somewhat self-destructive beautiful singer. Zula and Wiktor often verbally declare their love for each other, but their actions are frequently at odds with their so-called devotion. Cold War is a major example of style over substance—a very watchable example, true, but there it is. This is essentially an art house version of La La Land, just another film about good looking people with very little chemistry. n
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FOODIE FILE BY A.D. AMOROSI
VALENTINE’S DAY & BEYOND If food be the music of love, play on
Libertine.
— William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night WHAT IS SENSUAL OR stirring where food is concerned is purely subjective. Some veer toward the typical aphrodisiacal choices such as oysters. Others find that chocolate does the trick, Then again, Frank Sinatra preferred Wheaties. I don’t know if anyone, locally, is serving America’s favorite iron rich flake cereal on its Valentine’s Day or Week menus, but there must be something in the bunch to stir the senses. Here are new menu items and new date night dinner (or daytime lunch or brunch) spots perfect for romance.
Karla’s.
Golden Pheasant Inn.
LIBERTINE Long the toast of the Manayunk dining scene, restaurant owner-operator-chef Derek Davis’s tip toe into the Philadelphia food scene is as chic and sophisticated as it is hearty and imaginative. Certainly it is true too that, Libertine – which stands for a loose set of moral principles and personal dynamics, especially in regard to sexual matters symbolized by legendary roués such as Don Juan, Lothario and Casanova – is darkly romantic in terms of atmosphere. Libertine’s menu too is a sensualist’s delight with subheadings such as “Hand Helds” and “Smaller Commitments” and items such as the musky, sweet Baked Lamb Meatballs in Dried Plum Compote and Lemon Goat Yogurt, the Fresh Ricotta Dumplings featuring Chanterelle Mushrooms, Fava Beans, Baby Kale, Brown Butter. Then, there is Davis’ legendary Secret Chicken which simply sounds alluring just by saying its name. Libertine, 261 South 13th Street, Philadelphia COAL Ghanaian cuisine is mysterious and earthen, primal and elegant, and owner and chef Kofi Armah is reinventing West African dishes with a nod toward Northern American palates for what they call at Coal, "Ghanaian fusion." All grilled over charcoals, the lamb and goat dishes are to die for. Coal at 81 W. Broad Street., Bethlehem
Cry Baby Pasta. 26
SURAYA RESTAURANT Though it doubles as the Fishtown/Kensington area’s sole Lebanese cafe, market and outdoor garden, the sophisticated Suraya is a dimly lit, dine-in dynamo - owned and operated by the same crew which runs
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the neighboring Root in Northern Liberties - with disarmingly sense stirring menu items such as Kawarma, Abu Sayf (grilled wild striped bass kebab with roasted chestnuts) and new Caledonia prawns in a cilantro & toasted garlic vinaigrette. Yum. Suraya Restaurant, 1528 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia KARLA'S RESTAURANT Bucks County’s Euro-eccentric eatery has long been a romantic dining center for neighbors and outsides alike for its homey, dark ambience and its madewith-love cuisine. If there’s one item though that knocks off all the senses—Valentine’s Day and beyond—it’s Karla’s famed Stuffed Chicken with Proscuitto, Roasted Red Peppers, Brie and Mushroom Demi. Karla's Restaurant, 5 W Mechanic St, New Hope. CRY BABY PASTA While city diners await the new Bridget Foy on South Street – destroyed after a ravaging fire in 2017 – Foy and her husband Paul Rodriguez and their husband-and-wife chef team of David Gilberg and Carla Goncalves (formerly of Koo Zee Doo) surprise all with an Italian menu that is both soulful, traditional, innovation and sexy. Though I will have tons more to say about this new location in March’s issue of ICON, for now I insist that you try Cry Baby Pasta’s Bolognabased menu items such as Tortellini with Pork And Parmesan Filling, Broth and Tagliatelle Bolognese Classic Ragout with Parmesan. Cry Baby Pasta, 627 S. 3rd Street in Queen Village, Philadelphia GOLDEN PHEASANT INN A vintage B&B on the National Register of Historic Places might not seem like the sexiest place to be on Valentine’s, but, the 1857 built hotel-eatery has a smart and sophisticated French-inspired cuisine. Ownerchefs Blake Faure and Jon Ramsay have several menus to choose from - a la carte and prix fie – but two items stick out as sense and soul stirring: the Butternut Squash Gnocchi with a rich pesto cream sauce finished with pecorino Romano cheese, and Dr. Jurgielewicz Roasted Duck Breast with water chestnuts and a Swedish lingonberry sauce. Golden Pheasant Inn, 763 River Road, Erwinna, PA n
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POP A.D. AMOROSI
Joe Jackson HHH Fool earMusic For his first album in years, Jackson—British post-punk and power-pop sophisticate—veers closer to the spunky guitar-driven sound of his 1979 start than he does cosmopolitan. Bacharach-ian works such as the jazzy Night and Day. Continuing with his usual caustic lyrical aplomb and sneering vocal mien to go with his
label. Founded by engineer Ramón S. Sabat in 1943, he built a modern recording unit, and ushered in the first chacha-chá on record, “La Engañadora,” by Enrique Jorrín. When that sexy sound came to America, Pérez Prado’s earliest mambos came from Panart, as did vintage Santería religious ritual recordings with Celia Cruz’s vocals. After Castro took power in 1959, Panart was nationalized, and the studio became the recording venue for the Walfredo de los Reyes Sr state record label, Egrem, but not, Sabat’s wife sent a set of masters to New York, preserving a major part of the catalog. What was gratefully salvaged were improvisational jam sessions—descarga—motivated
Joe Jackson.
aging, but still raging hormonal pop doesn’t mean that Jackson has moved backward or stood still. Utilizing a loosely-knotted theme based on the masks of Comedy and Tragedy that appear on Fool’s cover, Jackson finds his punk’s alienation and angst all grown up and tied to lived-in tales of love, loss and the mystery of art. Mixed with the 50s bachelor pad exotica of Esquivel, the hard pop of “Alchemy” is the album’s unique track, as it takes on the wonder of the artistic process and all that it’s held for Jackson to this point. That same process and its jumbled wordplay drive the catty, power-chord-pulsing “Fabulously Absolute” and the paranoid “Big Black Cloud,” the latter touched by Jackson’s famously graceful piano play. In tune with the currency of superhero everything, the album’s title tune speaks to a champion protector put on earth strictly to make us smile. With that, Jackson becomes a hero of sorts, making sure a gentle, genuine laugh comes with his usually cynical smirk. (Jackson plays Tuesday, February 12, 8 p.m., Scottish Rite Auditorium, 315 White Horse Pike, Collingswood, NJ, scottishriteauditorium.com) Various artists HHHH The Complete Cuban Jam Sessions Craft Recordings As far as five-disc sets go, this one is comprehensive, dedicated as it is to the wild, warm sound of Panart Records, the first-ever independent Cuban record 28
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Israel Cachao Lopez Valdes.
by composer and arranger Julio Gutiérrez in partnership with jazzy pianist Pedro Jústiz “Peruchín,” and featuring Cuba’s crème de la crème players such as bassist Israel “Cachao” López, timbales man Walfredo de Los Reyes, Sr., and scat singer Francisco Fellove, among others. The overall tone of the box, broken into volumes/albums led by Gutiérrez’s “Batá Rhythm” and Yoruban chanting, tres player El Niño Rivera’s sophisticated harmonic string sounds, and flautist José Fajardo gentle jazz is both sacred and gloriously sensual at the same time while pushing the boundaries of what Cubans considered their traditions. The funniest thing about this collection and the 75th label anniversary is how radical and contemporary each volume sounds today, which makes sense considering our next review.
Bad Bunny HHH1/2 X 100PRE Rimas If 2018 was the year Latin-language, música Urbana won chart-toping acclaim, and few played a better hand than Puerto Rican trap and reggaetón vocalist Bad Bunny. Duet-ing with Drake on “Mia,” or teaming with Cardi B and J Balvin for her “I Like It” smash, BB has been moving, muskily, up the mainstream hip hop ladder with flare while dropping his hits that veered closer to the nu-indigenous (and libidinous) tones of Puerto Rico like bachata, champeta, dembow, and Latin trap. For his melancholy debut artist album, Bad Bunny makes a gorgeous buffet from all
Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra HHH The Capitol Studio Sessions Decca Actor Jeff Goldblum has never quite fit into the Hollywood ecosystem with his long career’s worth of roles as varied as they are vexing. The same thing, too, can be said of his life at the 88s and his choices for his live-in-studio debut album (at
Bad Bunny.
textures of modern Urbana with his slippery monotone baritone—usually AutoTuned—front and center of every cool, electro-laced cut. Starting with the squelchy ballad “Ni Bien Ni Mal,” and the moody “¿Quien Tu Eres?,” Bad Bunny provokes the topics of each and prods them to reveal their inner urgings, especially with regard to the singer. “Who are you to get close to me?” he croons on the latter, before ending the track in cutting English. “Solo de Mi” also finds its focus - by song’s end - to be Bad Bunny, and like”¿Quien Tu Eres?” eventually becomes more aggressive, and yet childlike. The jittery “200 MPH,” however, starts from that kiddish perspective with partying on the beach as its subject and one-time Philly address holder Diplo as Bad Bunny’s partner in grime and that song’s world music provocateur. No matter who he’s partnered with here (El Alfa, Drake), X 100PRE is 100% Bad Bunny and his first, long victory lap.
Jeff Goldblum.
age 66) of piano-led neo-jazz and vintage pop standards. Goldblum is a happy-golucky, un-show-offy pianist (and singer, on the jokey “Me and My Shadow” with comedian Sarah Silverman) who makes the likes of Rodgers and Hart’s “It Never Entered My Mind” more charming than imaginable, while ably backing and zig-zag soloing through the smoky tones of guest vocalists Haley Reinhart and Imelda May. Lovely stuff, this. We only wish that Goldblum & Co. would tour The Capitol Studio around, as the album debuted at Number 1 on the jazz charts, and its live-in-studio vibe and his relentlessly goofy, self-effacing chatter seemingly need an audience to help it breathe. n ICON | FEBRUARY 2019 | ICONDV.COM | FACEBOOK.COM/ICONDV
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JAZZ, ROCK, CLASSICAL, ALT MARK KERESMAN
Till Fellner HHHH In Concert: Beethoven/Liszt ECM These piano pieces were recorded in concert in 2002 (Liszt, in Vienna) and 2010 (Beethoven, Middlebury, Vermont) but released, well, now. The recording quality sounds at tad distant, but that adds somewhat to the you-are-there concert-hall ambiance. Liszt’s “Années de pèlerinage” was inspired by his travels internationally— pianist Till Fellner’s thick, spare, slightly ominous approach conveys the joy of travel’s discoveries but also
Era of the 1940s up until his death, and his collaborators included Astrud Gilberto, Miles Davis, and Sting. (Evans also arranged the music for films Absolute Beginners and The
Henry Kaiser/Simon Barker/Bill Laswell/Rudresh Mahanthappa
tracks, 74 min.) henrykaiserguitar.com somethingelsereviews.com
Mudang Rock Fractal Music Don’t let the title fool you: Mudang Rock is not rock (and roll) music at all. While it has some of the punch of rock, it’s a fusion of traditional Korean shamanistic ritual music, jazz, and free improvisation by electric guitar ace Henry Kaiser, Australian drummer Simon Barker, electric bassist Bill Laswell, and Indian-American alto sax-
Anja Lechner/Pablo Márquez
HHH
HHHHH
Franz Schubert: Die Nacht ECM Historically, some folks have seen the guitar as the devil’s plaything— heck, take Ted Nugent. Yet the guitar has a rich history in classical music (apart from adaptations from lute to guitar)—as in Franz Schubert (17971828), one of the grand-daddies of the European classical tradition. Along
Miles Davis watching Gil Evans at work around 1970. Evans’s achievements have become so integrated into the language of jazz that they can be taken for granted. Credit Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
with it the shades of solitude—wistful, rapturous, and isolating. Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata No. 32” is a very different kind of ominous—there’s a playful sense of melodrama here. It’s easy to imagine a play, cartoon, or movie and an audience watching a comedic drama tableau, observing the plot unfolding/thickening. It’s a sharp contrast to the sleepless-at-stroke-of-midnight feel of the Lizst piece—who’d’ve thought Ludwig van could sound so… animated, almost giddy? Yet there it is. (11 tracks, 76 min.) ecmrecords.com Gil Evans Orchestra HHHH Hidden Treasures Monday Nights: Volume One Bopper Spock Suns As with the big bands of yesteryear—Glenn Miller, Count Basie, etc.—some modern jazz orchestras continue after their leader has passed. Gil Evans (1912-1988) was a bandleader, composer, arranger, and pianist whose career spanned the Swing 30
Color of Money.) As it was with Davis, Evans did not stay locked in any era or style, and his bands included jazz veterans and up-and-coming talent (including David Sanborn, Hiram Bullock, and Billy Harper). Miles Evans, Gil’s son, has kept the band going and if you were in NYC in the early ’90s on a Monday night, maybe you caught the Evans orchestra at their steady gig at Sweet Basil. The program is a couple of Gil Evans originals and compositions by longtime associates and protégés. Hidden Treasures is most def not a walk down memory lane, as when GE was at the helm his music personified not only the classic big band jazz tradition but included influences from rock, classical music, and funk. (I once bore witness at Sweet Basil to a nearly-half-hour version of “I Shot the Sheriff ” that swung like a mofo.) Treasures encompasses the brassy swagger of Basie and Woody Herman, the funky side of Quincy Jones, the compositional élan of Weather Report and Steely Dan, the elegance of Duke Ellington, and the sizzling edge of Miles Davis. Special guests include Paul Shaffer (yes, from David Letterman), trumpet legend Jon Faddis, and Living Color’s Vernon Reid—boys keep swinging, indeed! (7 tracks, 47 min.) pledgemusic.com
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Henry Kaiser.
ophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa. This is not a blow-out free-for-all—this is surreal, slippery stuff by musicians familiar with/immersed in traditional Korean music and the kind of listening-to-each-other that exemplifies the better (and best) improvised music. While this is certainly not background/dinner music, this quartet approaches these improvised flights with a sense of—there’s no other word for it—serenity. Kaiser’s guitar carries whispers (and shouts) of the Dead’s Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band, and Miles Davis’ ’70s electric era; Laswell provides the heartbeat/throb, Barker the rolling rhythms of East Asia, and Mahanthappa lithe, fluid playing the most direct line to the jazz traditions of Charlie Parker and Yusef Lateef as well as strains of traditional South Indian music. It’s rough-hewn but often meditative, the sound of ancient cultures filtered through (and pleasingly clashing with) 21st-century technology and this-is-but-one-world mindset. (7
Pablo Máquez, Anja Lechner. Photo: Gillies Abegg/ ECM Records
with symphonies, Schubert wrote songs, some of which were published in alternative versions with guitar (as opposed to the omnipresent piano) during the composer’s lifetime. Argentine guitarist Pablo Marquez and German cellist Anja Lechner have at Schubert’s songs and sonatas and the results are, dare this writer write, magical. Perhaps it’s the familiarity of the six-strings’ tones, but Marquez brings out the harmoniousness of Schubert’s melodies more directly to these rockand pop-weaned ears. Lechner’s cello seems to go for the middle or high range, sounding almost like a viola. While the cello bears the drama of Schubert’s tunes (FS, was after all, part of the Romantic era of Euro-classical-ness), Lechner’s tone is loaded with sultry nuance along with Baroque grace. Schubert fans and novices to old-school classical music: This is a must. (13 tracks, 56 min.) ecmrecords.com n
m
n — r c o e g
e d s ) d t e e s s o h . f , d e o a -
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31
harper’s FINDINGS
INDEX
Instant soups were scalding up to ten thousand US children a year, the American Academy of Pediatrics warned that soft furniture causes far more falling injuries to small children than do stairs, Orthodox Jewish children in New York City were suffering outbreaks of measles, and researchers said that there was no evidence for the safety of Finnish cardboard baby boxes. Selfish people have fewer children and earn less money. Men’s stoical downplaying of medical problems is a mating strategy. Babies, like apes, laugh while inhaling. A study of thirty-four West Texans who watched the first Clinton–Trump debate found that audience laughter did not inspire the study participants to like a candidate. Tyrannicide among chimpanzees is motivated by moral principles. Mass shootings trigger outpourings of blood donations. States with fewer lefthanded people are more Republican. Crashing waves may have spurred the evolution of spines.
Factor by which the number of Americans who identify as “former Catholics” has increased since 1975: 4 % of US Christians who say they have had fewer than ten spiritual conversations over the past year: 74 Who say they quoted Bible passages in spiritual conversations in 1993 : 59 Who say they do so today : 37 No. of Western European countries in which a majority say they would accept Muslims as family members : 14 Of Central or Eastern European countries : 1 Percentage increase in US tourists traveling to Slovenia in the year following Donald Trump’s election : 26 Amount the US government spent on advertisements dissuading Central Americans from migrating north last year : $1,300,000 Percentage of Afghan adults who report that their standard of living is improving : 4 Who report laughing or smiling the previous day : 36 Number of countries that have seen cutbacks in health programs as a result of the Trump Administration’s foreign-aid policy : 60 Percentage of Democrats who prefer that the congressional majority and the president be from the same party : 30 Of Republicans : 59 Portion of first-year US college students who experienced “clinical distress” as a result of the 2016 presidential election : 1/4 Factor by which US women are more likely than men to suffer from migraines : 3 Percentage of US cancer patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2012 who depleted all their assets within two years : 42 Average value of those assets : $92,000 Factor by which a millennial is more likely than a baby boomer to claim they have a food allergy : 2 Factor by which the portion of US children under two who have not received any vaccinations has increased since 2001 : 4 Average number of Americans who died from the flu each year between 2010 and 2017 : 36,714 Who died from the flu last year : 79,400 Average number of years that a Danish convict sentenced to life serves in prison : 17 Minimum number of years a convict sentenced to life in Tennessee must serve before they become eligible for parole : 60 Number of US states in which either “slavery” or “involuntary servitude” is a legal form of punishment : 23 Portion of US cell phones that weren’t reached by the national Wireless Emergency Alerts system in its inaugural test : 1/4 Average number of increased residents per square mile of hurricane-vulnerable US coastline since 1980 : 160 Of increased residents per square mile in the rest of the US mainland : 26 Amount of money the federal flood insurance program has paid to homeowners since 1978 : $67,900,000,000 Percentage of this money that has gone to “severe repetitive loss properties” : 11 Average number of times these homes have flooded : 5 Average percentage state and local tax rate paid by the poorest 20 percent of Oklahomans : 13.2 By the richest 1 percent : 6.2 Average amount a white American in the top 1 percent of earners will receive in tax cuts this year : $52,400 That a black American in the top 1 percent will : $19,290 Percentage of the global population that is white of European descent : 16 Percentage of participants in genetics research studies who are : 79 Chance that a kicker on a Division I historically black college’s football team is black : 1 in 7 Number of Americans’ fifty favorite athletes who are baseball players : 3 Number of those players who are dead : 1 Number of dead people Americans have elected to Congress : 6
9
Dolphins were adopting simpler whistles to be heard in noisier seas. Researchers found that tossing 600,000 pounds of dead sockeye salmon onto a stream bank over twenty years encouraged the growth of white spruce. The brown tree snake has been hitchhiking on planes. New Caledonian crows are able to use tools that must be assembled from up to four component parts. Orangutans spontaneously create hooked tools. Slow-learning pheasants live longer in the wild. Wild small mammals in Paraguay do not naturally engage in wheel running. Trained dogs can accurately determine which socks belong to malarial children in the Gambia. Giant pandas that bleat at each other, but not those that bark or roar, are likelier to have sex afterward. The tears of baby mice cause their mothers to reject males’ sexual advances. An Irish swan grieving the death of his mate was stopping cars to rest his head on their hoods. US Army cadets accidentally injured the Air Force’s gyrfalcon.
9
Americans overwhelmingly share the stereotype that “environmentalists” are affluent and white. On the Müritz-Elde-Wasserstraße, a beaver felled a tree onto a yacht. Winter ticks thriving in warmer winters are largely responsible for the 70 percent mortality rate among moose calves. Mammals cannot out-evolve the current mass extinction. A warming climate may dissuade Danes from growing maize. The European Social Survey found that people are more worried about the cost of energy than about global warming, though most accept that the climate is changing. A study in Nature concluded that a lack of change in human diet will drive Earth “beyond the planetary boundaries that define a safe operating space for humanity.” The use of cryptocurrencies alone will contribute enough carbon dioxide to raise atmospheric temperatures by 2 degrees Celsius by 2034. Lawsuits related to climate change tend to lose if they are attempting to cut emissions at coalpowered plants, and tend to win if they are attempting to support renewables and greater energy efficiency. Oceans have absorbed 60 percent more heat than previously thought, which is causing more fur seals to suffer from hookworm. Sea snails’ shells are being dissolved by increasingly acidic seas. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change determined that, in the best-case warming scenario, many humans are going to die. Australian astronomers, in greater detail than ever before, observed the death of a nearby galaxy. 32
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SOURCES: 1 Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (Washington); 2–4 Barna Group (Ventura, Calif.); 5,6 Pew Research Center (Washington); 7 Slovenia Department of Transport Statistics (Ljubljana); 8 US Customs and Border Protection; 9,10 Gallup (Atlanta); 11 Human Rights Watch (Washington); 12,13 Gallup; 14 Melissa Hagan, San Francisco State University; 15 Dawn Buse, Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University (NYC); 16,17 Grant Skrepnek, University of Oklahoma (Oklahoma City); 18 YouGov (NYC); 19–21 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta); 22 Kriminalforsorgen (Copenhagen, Denmark); 23 The Sentencing Project (Washington); 24 American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (Denver); 25 Federal Emergency Management Agency; 26,27 National Historical Geographic Information System (Minneapolis); 28–30 National Resources Defense Council (Chicago); 31,32 Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (Washington); 33,34 Prosperity Now (Washington); 35,36 Broad Institute (Cambridge, Mass.); 37 Harper’s research; 38,39 Luker on Trends (St. Petersburg, Fla.); 40 Office of the House Historian/Senate Historical Office.
\ JAZZ LIBRARY BY BOB PERKINS
MARTY PAICH
Ray Charles and Marty Paich, Hollywood, 1956. Photo: William Claxton
IT IS NOT UNUSUAL for talented jazz musicians to grow into outstanding arrangers. Musicians the caliber of Neal Hefti, Quincy Jones, Billy May, and Oliver Nelson immediately come to mind. In the case of Nelson, those close to him say he was so much in demand he worked himself to death, flying from coast to coast, arranging music for artists of varying genres, while composing, arranging and traveling with his band. Another gifted and very busy jazz arranger who emerged in the middle part of the previous century was Marty Paich. The Marty Paich Story began, January 23, 1925, in Oakland, California; his first musical instrument was an accordion, and later, piano. By age ten he formed his first small band—and two years later was playing at weddings and various social functions. Following graduation from elementary school and high school, Paich went on to garner bachelor and master’s degrees; the last degree in composition, from the University of Southern California, was bestowed, cum laude. While serving in the Air Corps in World War 11, Paich led various large and small bands, often providing many hours of entertainment for combat-weary troops. Upon his return to civilian life, he continued his schooling by going to venues where music was played…the jam sessions and concert halls. He was forever listening and learning and had an ear for many genres of music. His first major break came when he was hired to arrange the score for Disney’s cartoon film, The Lady and the Tramp. Talent and good fortune met again, and next came an opportunity to be the accompanist to singer Peggy Lee; touring with singer and actress Dorothy Dandridge; playing piano for bandleader Shorty Rogers, while continuing to arrange for bands large and small. From the mid-1950s, well into the next decade, the name Marty Paich was wellknown in jazz circles in the West Coast. The recording studios heard the name, and when their doors began to open, Paich entered, and not only began to play piano but arrange and produce jazz albums by Ray Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, and Mel Torme, to name a few. Paich seemed quite comfortable with playing more of a support role when backing the firmly established names in jazz; by now, he may have figured it was his strong suit—what he did best. He could put even better-fitting clothes on already popular music and jazz standards. His arrangements for major stars in jazz and commercial material was phenomenal and helped boost many careers. After working with jazz greats and near-greats during the 1950 and into the‘60’s, Paich moved even closer into the commercial field, arranging and recording with the likes of Al Hirt, Dinah Shore, Jack Jones, Sonny and Cher, and a host of other well-known entertainers of that era. He was awarded an Emmy for scoring the TV series, Ironside. Toward his later years, the Paich expertise was sought out by fellow orchestrators, when there was confusion about which way to proceed with a particular orchestral arrangement, especially if it involved an ensemble with strings. Before announcing his semi-retirement, he conducted the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl, in what would be Sarah Vaughan’s final public appearance. If you’re not familiar with the arranging prowess of Marty Paich, you can arrange a meeting through obtaining the CDs, Gloria (Lynne) Marty and Strings, the Mel Torme-Marty Paich Dek-tette, and Mr. Easy, a CD by singer Jesse Belvin, featuring arrangements by Paich. Marty Paich passed at age 70, on August 1, 1995, at his ranch in Ynes, California. He may not have had a nickname, but if he had, it might have been, “The Lone Arranger,” because there were few (if any) better at it. n
Bob Perkins is a writer and host of an all-jazz radio program that airs on WRTI-FM 90.1. Listen to Bob Mon. through Thurs. night from 6–9 and Sunday 9–1. ICON | FEBRUARY 2019 | ICONDV.COM | FACEBOOK.COM/ICONDV
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The Los Angeles Times SUNDAY CROSSWORD PUZZLE
REVISITING THE PAST By C.C. Burnikel
ACROSS 1 5 9 13 18 19 20 22 23
Island near Java At the drop of __ Players with parts Like highways Apple variety Jay of “Jerry Maguire” Top story Post with a column Process that may transform a neutron into a proton 25 Tree with edible nuts 26 “I swear!” 27 Man of La Mancha 28 Line on a package 31 Hefty closer 34 Out before the term ends 35 Sturdy trees 38 Cote call 39 Hectic hosp. areas 41 “Iron Man” Ripken 42 Ostrich relative 45 Navy bigwig 48 School notebook decorations 51 Sound mixing control 52 Georgia, once: Abbr. 53 Online pop-up, say 56 Asia’s __ Darya river 57 Expert 60 Magazine since 1850 62 Princess in “The Princess and the Frog” 63 Don Juan 66 One of Donald Duck’s nephews 67 Google : Android :: Apple : __ 68 Isaac’s eldest 69 Common animal welfare goal 73 Actor __ James of “Divergent” films 77 It ends in Nov. 79 Like die-hard fans 80 Hearty bowlful often topped with tortilla chips 82 Skate park move 85 Spice rack staple 88 Like the Beatles? 89 __ Fridays 90 Tip for a loser? 92 Raised rumblers 94 Every hour on the hour, say 96 An official election ballot can’t have one 97 Barbershop standard 101 Bummed 102 Clearance rack abbr. 34
104 Danson of TV’s “Fargo” 105 Bus sched. item 106 Tailless primates 107 Withdrawal charges 111 Longtime comic with a “Great Jewish Joke Book” 114 Anonymous fan 117 Singer Jones 120 Brown with a frying pan 121 Permanent marks 122 Makes retroactive ... or what the eight other longest Across answers have 126 Sun block? 127 Mississippi’s __ River 128 Sandbox boo-boo 129 Sushi roll wrap 130 Mini racers 131 The Ivy League’s Quakers 132 Caboose 133 Agt. after tax evaders
DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 21 24 29 30 32 33 35 36 37 40 43 44 46 47
Marathon runner’s wear Iowa college town Past the deadline Complaint from the nosebleed section “West Side Story” number Ad __ committee “Gotcha!” Clandestine arrangement 11-time MLB All-Star Miguel Perfectly, with “to” Exorbitant Altoids rival Tennis great Ivan Valentino’s love Rosetta Stone discovery area Yale alumni Turns red, perhaps Classic parlor game Investor’s barometer, with “the” __ del Fuego Melancholy Ground cover Alley prowlers Rub out Incan herd members Gorgon slain by Perseus Mistake Like the Grinch Org. that may request food recalls Air__: Southwest subsidiary “More or less” cousin
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49 50 54 55 58 59 61 64 65 67 70
“I’m __ you!” 109 Gives a darn? Franklin and Jefferson, religiously 110 Pollution portmanteau Nair rival, once 112 Shady area “Taste this” 113 Wordless agreement Egyptian Christian 114 Quarterback’s setback Prior night 115 Jazz great Fitzgerald Mary’s best friend 116 Tofu nutrient Accounting jobs 118 Splittable bit Missile Command producer 119 Eldest daughter of Cronus Pizarro victim 123 Wonder Con counterpart, across 124 Its HQ is named for the Pyrenees George H.W. Bush 71 Compendium 125 Sloth, e.g. 72 Clumsy one 74 Inside investment info 75 Oregon college town 76 Offers a view Answer to January’s puzzle, BETA BLOCKERS 78 Hall of Fame linebacker Junior 81 English horn relative 82 Tributes in verse 83 Constantinople coin 84 Star 85 Eggs order 86 Tattoo parlor sticker 87 Flamenco cheer 91 Snowstorm consequence 93 Suffix meaning “country” 95 Egregious 98 Becomes tiresome to 99 Vessel for couples 100 Pub patron 103 One with a lot of baggage 108 Salmon cousin
AGENDA ANNOUNCEMENT
The Philadelphia Sketch Club awarded 1st prize in its prestigious Works on Paper exhibit to art educator Marlene D’Orazio Adler for “Torn Hearts Reunited,” a printed work showing a mother and son together after being separated at the U.S.-Mexican border. Adler, of Glenside, PA, who taught at North Penn High School for 25 years, received the award Jan. 20 at the club’s historic Camac Street center. Ninetysix works were displayed in the exhibit. sketchclub.org. ART
THRU 3/24 Leslie Tucker, Devotionals. Martin Art Gallery, Muhlenberg College, 2400 Chew St., Allentown, PA. Muhlenberg.edu/gallery THRU 5/5 Carrie Mae Weems, Strategies of Engagement. 31 N. 5th St., Allentown, PA. 610-432-4333. Allentownartmuseum.org THRU 5/30 Liz Whitney Quisgard, Imaginary Architecture. Martin Art Gallery, Muhlenberg College, 2400 Chew St., Allentown, PA. 2/2-5/5 “Manufacturing Victory: The Arsenal of Democracy” tells the inspiring stories of life on the Home Front of WWII through artifacts, photographs, oral histories, and interactive components. Mercer Museum, 84 S. Pine Street, Doylestown, PA. 215-345-0210. mercermuseum.org 2/8-3/30 Mixed Media, 3rd Annual Juried Show, Bethlehem House Contemporary Art Gallery. Opening reception 2/8, 6-9; closing reception 3/30, 6-9. 459 Main St., Bethlehem, PA. 610-4196262. Bethlehemhousegallery.com
2/8-4/13 Pedro Barbeito, Paintings, 19962018. Lafayette College Art Galleries, Easton, PA. 610-3305361. Galleries.lafayette.edu 2/9-5/5 The James A. Michener Art Museum Presents, The Art of Seating, 200 Years of American Design. 138 S. Pine St., Doylestown, PA. 215-3409800. Michenerartmuseum.org 2/20-4/13 Lydia Panas, Sleeping Beauty. Martin Art Gallery, Muhlenberg College, 2400 Chew St., Allentown, PA. Muhlenberg.edu/gallery DANCE
2/7-2/9 Master Choreographers, an evening of dance by acclaimed guest artists & faculty. Muhlenberg College Theatre & Dance, 2400 Chew St., Allentown, PA. 484-664-3333. Muhlenberg.edu/dance THEATER
2/13 The Lightning Thief, The Percy Jackson Musical. Zoellner Arts Center, 420 E. Packer Ave., Bethlehem, PA. 610-758-2787. Zoellnerartscenter.org 2/16 Mnozil Brass, Cirque. Zoellner Arts Center, 420 E. Packer Ave., Bethlehem, PA. 610-7582787. Zoellnerartscenter.org 2/28 Raphaëlle Boitel, When Angels Fall. At the intersection of theater, dance and circus. Williams Center for the Arts, 317 Hamilton St., Easton, PA. 610-330-5009. Williams-center.org 2/28 & 3/1 The Illusionists, Live from Broadway. State Theatre, 453 Northampton St., Easton, PA. 610-252-3132. Statetheatre.org
3/8 The Henry Ford, Innovation Nation, Live. Zoellner Arts Center, 420 E. Packer Ave., Bethlehem, PA. 610-758-2787. Zoellnerartscenter.org
Bach Choir of Bethlehem and gifted students from Parkland Chorale, Emmaus Chorale, Bel Canto Youth Chorus and LV Charter High School for the Arts Touring Choir. Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, 420 E Packer Ave., Bethlehem, PA. 610-866-4382. Bach.org
2/9, 2/10, 2/16 & 2/17 Fractured Fables Puppet Show for the Whole Family: engaging improvisational theater with live music. FREE. 1:00 PM, Book & Puppet Co., 466 Northampton St., Easton, PA. 484-5415379. Facebook.com/bookandpuppet
3/3 Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra, “An Afternoon with Mozart.” Sinfonia Virtuosi with soloist Rebecca Brown, violin. 4:00 p.m., all-Mozart program with post-concert reception. Christ Lutheran Church, 1245 W. Hamilton St., Allentown, PA. 610-434-7811. PASinfonia.org
PUPPET SHOWS FOR ADULTS & KIDS
2/9 & 2/16 Till We Have Faces: The Eros & Psyche Myth Retold, by C. S. Lewis, 8:00 PM. Plus: Dream Puppet Theater, A Puppet Show for grownups, featuring improvisational comedy with live music. Book & Puppet Co., 466 Northampton St., Easton, PA. 484-541-5379. Facebook.com/bookandpuppet CONCERTS
2/2 Pyrenesia. Gypsy Jazz. Album Release Concert. 1867 Sanctuary Arts and Culture Center, 101 Scotch Rd, Ewing, NJ 609392-6409. 1867sanctuary.org 2/8 Max'd Out. Just Good Music.. 1867 Sanctuary Arts and Culture Center, 101 Scotch Road, Ewing, NJ 609.392.6409. www.1867sanctuary.org
3/17 Organ Birthday Recital #2, Erik Meyer (organ) and Anna Meyer (flute). Cathedral Arts, Cathedral Church of the Nativity, 321 Wyandotte St., Bethlehem, PA. 610-865-0727. Nativitycathedral.org 4/13 Philip Glass, piano, Jon Gibson, soprano saxophone, performing their solo and duo works. Doors open 7pm, recital 7pm, reception follows. St. John’s UCC, N. Whiteoak and W. Walnut Sts., Kutztown, PA. Proceeds to benefit New Arts Program. For more information, 610-683-6440. newartsprogram.org.
MUSIKFEST CAFÉ 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem 610-332-1300 Artsquest.org
2/23 Jive Jump and Wail. Mardi Gras Jazz. 8 pm. 1867 Sanctuary Arts and Culture Center, 101 Scotch Road, Ewing, NJ 609392-6409. 1867sanctuary.org
FEBRUARY 7 Marcia Ball 14 Top of the World – A Carpenters Tribute 17 XPN Welcomes Marc Cohn 23 Tracy Morgan (2 shows)
2/24 Family Concert 2019, Youth Choirs Festival. Presenting the
MARCH 3 Lehigh Valley Music Awards
15 Scythian 16 The Celtic Tenors
DINO’S BACKSTAGE 287 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside. Restaurant • Bar • Cabaret 215-884-2000 Dinosbackstage.com
FEBRUARY 8, 9 Paula Johns & Michael Richard Kelly, All About Love 14 Michael Richard Kelly, I Love You: a Valentine 16 Bearlesque 23 Comedy Tonight, hosted by Jon Koppel MARCH 1 Dane Anthony, Beyond the Sea 9 Ernest Torres & Rhoda Rogers, Jazzin’ Around Variety Revue 16 Bearlesque 22 Ladies of Jazz Weekend DINNER & MUSIC
Every Thurs.-Sat., Dinner and a Show at SteelStacks, Bethlehem, PA. 5-10, table service and valet parking. For more information, menus and upcoming events visit SteelStacks.org EVENTS
2/7-2/14 Clinton’s Sweetheart Week. Walk the charming streets and visit the unique shops of Downtown Clinton, NJ. Enter to win a romantic dinner, a shopping spree, a spa basket, or a beautiful bouquet of roses. Sponsored by The Guild of Clinton. Visitclintonnj.com 2/23 Love is in the Air at Left Bank, 11-4. Meet guest artists & interior designers, enjoy live music, and French champagne, martinis and hors d’oeuvres. Left Bank Home, Peddler’s Village, Lahaska, PA. 267-544-5622. Leftbankhome.net n
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