Jazzy Blue Fruit

A bowl of winter fruit all in blue -- it didn't start out that way. My photo was a straight forward picture in yellow and reds. But with some digital magic, it is now rather jazzy looking and certainly more interesting. You can see it in its full presentation here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MoxyFoxDesigns

This is Oscar Peterson's jazz version of "Girl Talk" ... just the right tune for the calmness of blue. Peterson was one of my dad's favorite jazz pianists. I grew up knowing his music very well.

Complicated? You Bet!

Every man will say women are so complicated.  Okay, so we use our brains in different ways than men do.  We don't look like men -- so what did you expect? 

Here's a cool video of Pomplamosse to demonstrate the theory of complication:

They Put Me on the Table

My dad loved jazz long before I was born. As a little kid I knew who all the jazz pianists were and could sing the songs. I remember my grandparents putting me up on their dining room table where I would dance and dance. They laughed and clapped their hands for me.  I was probably two -- wouldn't you call that "positive reinforcement?"

Here is a spectacular jazz performance by Anita Baker and James Ingram.

Kitchen Man

I took this photo in my kitchen after hearing the saucy, sassy lyrics of the  song “Kitchen Man” recorded in 1929 by the legendary jazz and blues singer Bessie smith.


Here an excerpt from a recording for the Public Radio series "Riverwalk Jazz," featuring The Jim Cullum Jazz Band and guests—singer Catherine Russell and pianist Dick Hyman at Pearl Stable, San Antonio, TX, May 2010. 


Halfway through the video Catherine Russell sings.







Madam Bucks
Was quite de-luxe;
Servants by the score,
Footmen at each door,
Butlers and maids galore!

But one day Dan,
Her kitchen man,
Gave in his notice, he's through!
She cried, "Oh Dan, don't go,
It'll grieve me if you do."

I love his cabbage, crave his hash,
I gotta have me some of that succertash,
I can't do without my kitchen man!

Wild about his turnip tops,
Like the way the man warms my chops,
I can't do without my kitchen man!

Anybody else could leave
And I would only laugh,
But he means that much to me,
And you ain't heard the half!

Oh, his jelly roll is so nice and hot,
Never fails to hit the spot,
I can't do without my kitchen man!

His frankfurters are oh so sweet, 
How I like his sausage meat.
I can't do without my kitchen man!

Oh, how that boy can open clams,
Nobody else will ever touch my hams,
I can't do without my kitchen man!

When I eat his doughnuts,
All I leave is the hole!
Any time he wants to,
Why, he can use my sugar bowl!

Oh, his baloney's worth a try,
Never fails to satisfy,
I can't do without my kitchen man!

Straighten Up and Fly Right

So the BP Oil guys think they can fix the gusher! Popular pre-bop jazz crooner Nat King Cole wrote the song “Straighten Up and Fly Right”. The lyrics are totally appropriate for the BP crew.


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1919-1965. Crowned long before Elvis. The King Cole Trio was a popular pre-bop jazz group (with the definitive "Route 66"). He had huge pop success as a crooner of the 50s/60s: "Ramblin' Rose", "Nature Boy", "The Christmas Song"... "Send For Me" was great rock and roll, but he didn't pursue that road. His 50s NBC variety show was controversial, not for its innocuous fare, but because he was black. Father of Natalie Cole, who duetted on "Unforgettable", via the alchemy of digitalia.