Tag: Philadelphia

  • Debussy’s Birthday & My “Flaxen Hair” Moment

    Debussy’s Birthday & My “Flaxen Hair” Moment

    Following a leisurely walk through Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia about 30 years ago, I sat down at a keyboard in my studio apartment, hoping to recapture the hazy, haunting music that had flitted around the periphery of my consciousness. I smiled with relief and satisfaction, when I knew I had finally gotten it down. I was proud of myself to have created something so beautiful! It was only later that I realized it was “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair.”

    Claude Debussy, always stealing my thunder. Happy birthday, mon vieux!


    Here it is, performed by flaxen-haired twins in a field full of wild flowers.

  • Bob Perkins WRTI Legend to Podcast

    After over a quarter century on the WRTI airwaves, BP is taking his GM to the PC.

    Anyone who listens to jazz on the radio in Philadelphia is familiar with broadcast legend Bob Perkins’ shorthand. “BP with the GM” is “Bob Perkins with the Good Music,” naturally.

    Perkins eased into semi-retirement last year, going from full-time hosting on WRTI to anchoring its “Sunday Jazz Brunch.”

    The “PC” is my own unauthorized addition to Perkins’ lingo. It stands for podcast. At 89, Perkins will be taking the leap into producing fresh digital audio content. You can learn more about it at the link.

    During my time at WRTI, we crossed paths occasionally, if I happened to be filling in on an afternoon classical shift. Knowing his sly sense of humor, I offered once, “It’s not every day that British Petroleum meets American Oil Company” – a play on BP and Amico (Amoco).

    I wish Bob the best. With a lifetime of experience in jazz and the media, the man himself is living history. And of course he’s always had impeccable taste. Whether it’s Yusef Lateef’s “Love Theme from Spartacus” or Dakota Staton’s “The Late, Late Show,” I’ve always enjoyed his GM.

    https://www.wrti.org/wrti-spotlight/2023-03-29/as-bob-perkins-signs-off-at-wrti-a-broadcasting-legend-looks-ahead?fbclid=IwAR0GnvcZ-hHUhffcgm0ZI5RlZOd47j3KjAC9zKjMAvxLTkfwt5yP7c6Q2XA

  • Jerry Blavat Philly’s Geator Rocks On R.I.P.

    Jerry Blavat Philly’s Geator Rocks On R.I.P.

    Broadcast legend Jerry Blavat, the Geator with the Heater, the Boss with the Hot Sauce, is dead at 82. My roommate and I used to call in to Blavat’s request program in Philadelphia back in the mid-1980s. Already, he seemed as if he had been around forever, but of course he was only in his 40s. On one memorable occasion, we got into an on-air contest of matching Woody Allen character names with their respective movies. These were simpler times, before the very mention of Woody stirred controversy. Of course, the Geator himself was not without his complexities. The Boss was saucy to the end, with his annual oldies all-star concert at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center pending. As Jerry proclaimed in the title of his autobiography, you only rock once. R.I.P.

    Obituary in The Philadelphia Inquirer

    https://www.inquirer.com/obituaries/jerry-blavat-dies-82-philadelphia-geator-with-the-heater-20230120.html

    Talking Sinatra, the mob, and music in Philadelphia Magazine

    https://www.phillymag.com/news/2020/04/04/jerry-blavat-interview/

    With my editor, Dan Aubrey, in the Princeton weekly U.S. 1

    https://www.communitynews.org/news/legendary-dj-jerry-blavat-still-spinning-at-80/article_cf5b452a-ba38-5e2d-a45d-a6401b71050d.html


    PHOTOS: (left) The Geator strikes a characteristic pose; and (top to bottom) spinning discs at his club, Memories; with James Brown; and on “The Monkees”

  • Philly Jazz Raymond Scott & John Williams’ Dad!

    I remember, when I was broadcasting overnight jazz in Philadelphia, I started off the new year once with this curio by Raymond Scott (at the link). That’s film composer John Williams’ dad on drums. Don’t be scared. It’s just the last of 2022!

  • Philadelphia Pops Loss

    Wow. As a rule, “pops” isn’t really my thing, but it was one more way to entertain the folks when they came to town, and they put on a good show. David Charles Abell is the current music director, but undoubtedly the orchestra will always be associated in most people’s memories with Peter Nero, who directed the ensemble for 35 years. At a point, Marvin Hamlisch had actually been signed, but he died before he could take over its leadership. My sympathy to the musicians, many of whom cobble together a living by playing in the city’s ballet and opera orchestras. This is yet another loss for Philadelphia.

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