Dad - May 15, 1922 - May 29, 2011

I was chatting with my brother Eric the other day

and I told him,

that for Dad's service,

I'd like to rise from the grave

seated at a grand piano

playing the Aria from

Bach's 

Goldberg Variations.

This stunning piece of music is 

an example of the exquisite 

thought & beauty

that my Father was so fond of.

Sadly, a piano could not be arranged in time.

Dad grew up in The Bronx

where he used to play stickball,

eat Chinese Food,

and read

Science Fiction.

Dad was a curious lad

and always had an enquiring mind.

He loved games and puzzles, 

was a wordsmith, 

and as he grew older 

his games and puzzles grew increasingly 

more complex and into complicated equations, patterns,

languages, and systems. 

Dad, until his last days,

could be seen cocking his head to the side, and seemingly,

by tapping his fingers together, or waving a hand,

or patting his chest,

was making various calculations.

Considering String Theory no doubt.

All that Dad really wanted to do

was contemplate these beautiful truths

and their variations, and to share them with 

whoever was interested.

T'was a noble pursuit.

A noble life.

Dad 

was 

a 

Thinker,

a Writer,

and a Painter...

Here are 

A Few Words My Father Lived By

"Sums are not set as a test on Erasmus."

"Drawn I sit, Serene rest is inward."

and he sometimes asked...

"Are we not drawn onward, we few drawn onward to new era?"

Or more recently, during some of his hospital stays...

this could be heard...

"Nurse, I spy gypsies. Run!"

Yes,

and with Dad's 

fondness for puzzles, patterns, and words 

it is no surprise that he enjoyed a good 

palindrome now and again. 

Tough Times

Welcome back 

Dear Readers,

Dear Friends.

As some of you already know,

things around here have been rather tough lately. 

My Dad,

who suffered a stroke around four years ago,

was hospitalized a number of times

in the past couple months.

Then, 

at around 8:00 AM Sunday May 29th,

with Juliana, his loving caregiver

holding his hand,

and singing

"You Are My Sunshine"

to him, 

he just kinda hiccuped a couple times

and closed his eyes. 

We'd just celebrated Dad's 89th Birthday  

on May 15th.

We will miss my Dad,

Dr. Joseph Henry Engel,

and I will continue to try to celebrate him & my Mom,

by sharing my 

love for 

The Arts

with you.

Old Friend, New Friends - Painted From Memory

Once upon a time, around twenty five years ago, I lived in a lovely apartment just off Lake Merritt. As in most apartment buildings, tenants' could easily hear other tenants' goings on. It was during this time, that in addition to listening to quite a variety of Classical, Jazz and Pop, that I felt impelled to re acquaint myself with some of the wonderful music I had heard growing up in the 60's and early 70's. Namely, the music of Burt Bacharach with a young Dionne Warwick. This glorious music, tunes like: Alfie, Are You There (With Another Girl), The Windows Of The World, I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself and many others, seemed to play on happily and continually for months. While I listened contentedly, my neighbors could be heard screaming, "Put something else on already!" I could listen on and on to these arrangements, orchestrations, and beautiful vocals, but may have over estimated my neighbors' appetite. Now I live in a charming apartment in Bethesda, where the sounds of the new Burt Bacharach/Elvis Costello release Painted From Memory, has filled the air and begun seeping through the walls. I fear this may continue for a long time. Painted From Memory was composed and produced by Bacharach and Costello. In it they combine moving lyrics with tuneful melody for great emotional impact. Gorgeous orchestrations of lush, sweeping and vibrant strings, along with soul filled singing define these songs of love, loss and longing. On tunes such as In The Darkest Place, I Still Have That Girl, and This House Is Empty Now (the obvious sequel to A House Is Not A Home), Costello pleads with former, present and future loves. This is an exceptional work. A rare one, without misstep. In recent years a lot of attention has been paid to the music of Burt Bacharach. McCoy Tyner and his Trio recorded a fine CD of Bacharach's music accompanied by symphony orchestra. Bill Frisell, Joey Baron, Marc Ribot and other somewhat avant musicians recorded an eclectic take of his music for a CD titled Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach. And his influence is unmistakable in the works of pop greats Pizzicato Five. Particularly on tunes like Fortune Cookie from their The Sound Of Music CD. This music should be appealing to you as well. Along with Copland, Gershwin, and Ellington, Bacharach is one of the most important and prolific American Composers of this century. His collaborations with Warwick and Costello have been particularly fruitful. So, if by any chance, you hear these sounds wafting in through your home, pay careful attention. Better yet, run do not walk to the closest CD shop and buy a copy or two. Pick up a new Costello and an old Dionne Warwick. You will be amply rewarded.

Old Friends, New Friends - The Joe Farrell Quartet

Many, many years ago...or once upon a time if you prefer, I was a wee lad. And I ventured forth to visit my dear brother Aire in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. That lovely summer, in this unlikely place, I stumbled upon this wonderful record with it's colorful jacket. When I played it, I was absolutely taken with it. The beauty, the impressions that came from Song of Wind and Molten Glass. The hip late night groove of Follow Your Heart. Hearing this I was forever changed. I'd grown up, to the age of about 12 at this point, having been turned on to jazz by my Uncle Alan who used to hang out at Birdland and other NYC haunts. He'd played a lot of great stuff for me when I was little. But this Joe Farrell Quartet recording propelled me even further into the world of music. I have become more and more involved with music ever since, and this recording was of the greatest importance. I love this recording. I listened to it yesterday as I took a stroll out in the rather heavy rain. It hasn't changed. It is still one of my favorite things. I recommend it to all. The Quartet was made up of Joe Farrell, Chick Corea, Dave Holland + Jack DeJohnette with special guest John McLaughlin, who appeared only on Follow Your Heart. This is a must have.

Old Friends, New Friends - Well Kept Secret

Here again we find Norma singing standards we know and love. Music here by Ellington, Kern, Rogers and Hart... BUT do not miss "The Peacocks!" " A Timeless Place" is Norma's version of "The Peacocks." A piece written by her pianist on this date, the distinguished Jimmy Rowles. A piece I first heard years ago when I first discovered the Bill Evans recording "You Must Believe in Spring." Bill Evans is smiling somewhere. And I think Billy Strayhorn would be happy with the performance here of "A Flower is a Lovesome Thing." Nice work if you can get it.

Norma Winstone

Old Friends, New Friends - Cathexis

Welcome back Dear Friends,

Dear Readers.

A million years ago,

or so it seems today,

I picked up yet another brilliant 

ECM recording,

and discovered 

a new talent.

When I saw that Charlie Haden 

was playing duo 

with a pianist,

I knew I had to have a copy. 

It was in 1983 

on 

Time Remembers One Time Once 

that I discovered

Denny Zeitlin. 

Loved the album,

and loved the find.

Denny played beautifully,

but honestly,

and uncharacteristic of me,

I lost track of him for all these years.

How is it possible 

that I didn't seek out 

everything this fascinating

artist created?!

After all,

we both grew up in Highland Park Il.

And Denny went on to duel careers,

as a clinical professor of psychiatry,

and as jazz pianist 

with many fine recordings to his name. 

Bill Evans 

recorded

Zeitlin's tune

Quiet Now.

Leonard Feather 

called Zeitlin

"the most versatile young pianist to come to prominence in the early 1960s".

Zeitlin wrote and performed the music for 

Sesame Streets

Jazzy Spies

series.

And he wrote the score 

for the 1978 

remake of 

Invasion of the Body Snatchers!

Denny wrote all this great stuff,

and twice won

The Down Beat International Jazz Critics Award,

and I lost track of him anyway?!

As they say...

My bad. 

My loss. 

Well I'm back!

I stumbled upon 

Cathexis

a few weeks ago 

and I am glad I did!

I am hooked!

You will be too.

Denny plays with 

Cecil McBee & Frederick Waits 

on this fine recording. 

Repeat,

the opening track,

 is a rollicking,

Bud Powell -esque

romp.

I-Thou

is a cool, crisp, breeze of a tune

that will remind you of 

Bill Evans. 

And 

Stonehenge

brought a young and only slightly less thunderous

McCoy Tyner 

to mind. 

Cathexis 

is a treasure chest

packed to the gills

with glimmering gems.

Gems 

that you 

will want to take out

and show off

as often as you can.

A Little Secret!

Isn't it wonderful 

when you stumble upon 

a great piece of Art 

unexpectedly!

This is precisely what happened to me last night

when I watched the movie

Waste Land.

Run! 

Do not walk!

Get a copy of this 

poignant film!

Here's what the New York Times had to say about it:

From a Universe of Trash, Recycling Art and Hope

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

Published: October 28, 2010

“We are not pickers of garbage; we are pickers of recyclable materials,” Tião, an impoverished Brazilian catadore, or trash picker, declares to a talk-show host in Lucy Walker’s inspiring documentary “Waste Land.”

Tião, like the other catadores profiled in the film, is far from an emaciated beggar living out a miserable existence on the way to an early death. But he is humble and has few expectations of earthly glory. Although a social outcast, he organized an association of pickers who live and work in Jardim Gramacho, one of the world’s largest garbage dumps, and likes to think of himself as an environmentalist.

The film — co-directed by João Jardim and Karen Harley, and photographed by Dudu Miranda — observes this giant landfill from every perspective. Viewed from a distance, the pickers resemble insects crawling and slipping over the mountains of trash while scavenging birds circle overhead. What appears from afar to be chaos, however, is really a little universe unto itself. Most of the workers, who earn $20 to $25 a day combing through the refuse, live at Jardim Gramacho, which receives 70 percent of Rio de Janeiro’s trash.

Sorted into categories, the garbage is sold to a network of wholesalers and middlemen; recycled metal, for instance, eventually becomes buckets and car bumpers. Tião, whose organization has established a recycling center and a medical clinic as well as day care and skills-training centers for the catadores, boasts about the amount of garbage that is recycled. Zumbi, a board member of the association and its resident intellectual, has turned his shack into a community lending library of discarded books.

Tião is the most prominently featured of several pickers profiled by the film. Their lives are changed forever when they are chosen to collaborate with the artist Vik Muniz, a São Paulo native who is now based in Brooklyn and is well known for his re-creations of famous artworks using unusual materials. Those pieces include two Mona Lisas — one made of peanut butter, the other of jelly — and a “Last Supper” made of chocolate syrup. For his Sugar Children series, he took snapshots of children on a plantation in St. Kitts and copied the images by layering sugar on black paper and photographing the result.

The film observes the creation of his recent monumental series, Pictures of Garbage, for which Mr. Muniz, who grew up poor, returned to Brazil. For the piece “Marat (Sebastião),” a rendition of the Jacques-Louis David painting “The Death of Marat,” Tião is photographed in a discarded bathtub found in the landfill, striking the same pose as Jean-Paul Marat in the 1793 painting. In his nearby studio, Mr. Muniz blows up the picture and projects it on the floor as a magnified outline. Using a laser pointer, he directs from a scaffold as the pickers fill in the images with refuse from the landfill. A photograph of the finished assemblage, taken from the scaffold, is the final work of art.

“Waste Land” is more interested in the subjects of Mr. Muniz’s pieces than in the artistic process, which is barely described. They include Irma, who stirs up stews from the freshest ingredients she can find in the dump, and Suelem, an 18-year-old mother who takes pride in her work because she is not selling her body or dealing drugs.

Mr. Muniz, who seems manically happy throughout the film, expresses his amazement at how “the educated elite really believe they’re better than other people.” He has a mystical faith in the artistic power of transformation, as one thing becomes another and garbage is turned into art. He fervently believes that he is changing his subjects’ lives for the better by “showing them another place,” even if they never make it out of Jardim Gramacho.

When he takes Tião to an auction in London, where “Marat (Sebastião)” sells for $50,000, the young man weeps uncontrollably. Other subjects, confronting images of themselves at an exhibition in Rio, are overwhelmed. It is the first confirmation from the world outside the dump that their lives matter.

Directed by Lucy Walker; co-directed by João Jardim and Karen Harley; director of photography, Dudu Miranda; edited by Pedro Kos; music by Moby; produced by Angus Aynsley and Hank Levine; released by Arthouse Films

Music That's For The Birds

The winter chill is gone.

And while I might not mind another blizzard,

I fear that I am in the minority on that. 

I must admit that it's hard not to like these temperatures

in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. 

Sitting in my dining room, 

or driving with the top down, 

it has been wonderful 

 to hear that the birds are back,

and full of song.

And in this calm and serene setting, 

I am reminded of particular pieces of music,

pastoral works that seem just right for the time. 

For some reason,

and perhaps you can tell me why,

I think of the British.

I've been listening to Vaughan Williams and his

The Lark Ascending,

as well as his

The Lake in the Mountains,

and Six Studies in English Folksong,

which has been perfect.

I think Delius'

atmospheric

Florida Suite

and 

A Village Romeo and Juliet

would be nice too.

Master Designer - Tapio Wirkkala

Tapio Wirkkala

is the kinda guy I'd want to have over to 

my imaginary dinner party. 

Afterall,

what couldn't he do?

As much at home 

in the world's most cosmopolitan cities

 as in 

the heart of Lapland,

Tapio

is one of the Gods of 

Scandinavian

and 20th Century Design.

He could build tools

and beautiful flatware.

Gorgeous Venini Glass.

Sculptural pieces.

Finnish currency.

Furniture.

I eat on his Iittala plates,

drink out of his Iittala glasses,

and my espresso sits

cozily in his 

fantastical demi tasses,

until devoured. 

This Iceberg Vase 

is the piece that I lust after.

When I was in Helsinki last,

I found one for around $1500 if I remember correctly. 

Sadly,

my finances at the time prevented me from grabbing it. 

I really should've just charged it. 

Then again...

perhaps I'll just have to venture back to this 

wonderful city 

where I'll bath in Sibelius and Aalto...

stroll the Esplanade in the afternoon

where I'll be sure to stop in to the Iittala store

for more Wirkkala,

and those soft pappardelle like ribbons of 

sea salt sprinkled licorice 

laying there 

innocently

beside the cash register.