Man...lost two idols today. One from my childhood, Earl Weaver. And the other from my Dad's childhood, Stan Musial. Baseball, moreover the world, lost two of the best people today...
I grew up watching Earl Weaver on TV. Not only did I watch him on TV, I heard about all of the other great years as manager, before I was even born. He was a fireball of a manager, and his winning percentage is one of the best ever in the major leagues. No one manages the way that he did anymore. There are a lot more primadonnas in baseball now than there were when he managed. I don't know if anyone could manage that way anymore at all. Sparky Anderson had a similar style. "The Earl of Baltimore" was a treasure of the city, and his name will live proudly within its annals for a very long time to come. I didn't know much about Stan Musial as a child. However, my Dad would talk about this player that he just loved watching play when he was a kid, and listened to him on the radio too. Known as "Stan the Man," he was one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Not only was he a great player, but he stayed local to the city of St. Louis, where he played for over 20 years. He also did a lot for that city as well as for the game of baseball after his career was over. One of my most prized possessions is a 1958 Stan Musial baseball card that was one of the first that I ever purchased with my own money as a kid. There isn't a player these days that was as much of a gentleman as he was, let alone that will ever play 22 years for the same team, or be able to touch his career stats without being juiced... Just a sad day to be a baseball fan, a very sad day indeed.
0 Comments
WOW! Just wow...
I had the great fortune tonight of seeing one of the best pianists that I've ever known in concert. Today is Cyrus Chestnut's 50th birthday, and as part of the celebration he was playing two sets at An Die Musik in downtown Baltimore. My Dad accompanied me, and we didn't know from the website if he was playing solo or with a group. Either way, we really didn't care either. For $20 it was a steal no matter what. Upon arriving for the second set, it was surprisingly crowded. I say surprising because unfortunately jazz doesn't garner near the attention it deserves, especially locally. If you go to a jazz club in NYC, there is almost always a packed house. Locally, it's a different story. There was a birthday cake event in between sets to celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately, it delayed the second set a bit, but in the end it didn't matter. The music was fantastic! My first exposure to Cyrus Chestnut was roughly 17 years ago when I say him perform in NYC as part of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. I was heading to NYC as part of a trip for the weekend, with the art department at Towson University (in my day Towson State). I noticed in the New Yorker magazine that there was a concert at Lincoln Center, featuring the JLCO, with a battle of the trumpets and the saxes. Luckily I was able to get tickets last minute to attend. I'm so glad I did, because it was an incredible evening, one I'll never forget for many reasons. One was my first exposure to Chestnut. Plus I was able to meet him and many of the other musicians that night, including Wynton Marsalis, Jon Faddis, Reginald Veal, Roy Hargrove, etc. I even shared a cab ride with some of the musicians back to Midtown. Well, back to Chestnut in Baltimore. Which by the way, he's a native Baltimorean. The concert was great. You can tell he's a classically trained in pianist in many ways. His hand position and posture to me are the first tell-tale signs. But he was constantly bringing in classical influences in his improvisations and his own compositions. It was truly a sight to see. It's something you really have to see in person to believe or understand it. And the way he could mix the both classical and jazz, and even pop/R & B was just amazing. I swear I heard some Lionel Richie in one number he played, I believe it was Hello. Either way, another fantastic night of music. I had a chance to go back in time a bit last evening. I attended a concert at Rams Head Live in Downtown Baltimore. It was a concert commemorating the 20th anniversary of a local band, Jimmie's Chicken Shack. I was familiar with the band and the whole local music scene in the mid '90s. Some of my friends in college were in a local band called Slight Return. I would go to see their shows with other friends in college, and seeing them exposed us to other local bands. There were some really good bands back then, Rakshasa, Rebel Amish Radio, and of course Laughing Colors and JCS. It was my friend CJ first turned me on to the Shack. It was a lively scene in those days, and there were plenty of clubs to see music. Now, not so much. Many of the venues I would attend in those days are now gone, turned into bars or all DJ spots. I spent many nights with friends walking from venue to venue in Fells Point, or other areas in Baltimore or Towson. And there would always be a "Locals Only" stage at the yearly WHFStival held in Washington DC (or Baltimore). Ahh those were the days...
Well, when I first saw the concert blasted in an email alert, I immediately thought of going. I also thought of CJ (from childhood) and my friend Corey (from college) since I would most often attend the old JCS shows with them. What made the show really attractive was that all members of the band (past and present) were going to be there. So not only would they have the original lineup when they first began, but anyone who was a member since as well. In addition, they were going to play their first album in it's entirety, plus the second one. From there they would intersperse other tunes of theirs and covers. And considering it was only $12, I couldn't resist. The opening bands weren't great to say the least. I actually haven't attended many concerts where the opening band(s) lived up to my expectations (or even played anything I even remotely enjoyed). But after that was all through, the JCS show was great. They played every song that I ever knew and then some. It was nice to see the original lineup, as well as the second one, and on down the line. It was truly a walk down memory lane with two great friends. I just saw this and thought I'd pass it on to share. Please read and pass it on as well. It's a worthwhile undertaking and I hope it catches on...
http://turnaroundarts.pcah.gov/ |
B.D.SchmittHusband, Father, Archives
November 2015
|