"All the Noise, Noise, Noise, NOISE!!"

Yes, sad to say, but I tend to get a little Grinchy this time of year. Mostly it's due to the drudgery of Christmas shopping. It's not that I don't want to buy gifts for family and friends, mind you, it's just that I end up having a tough time trying to find stuff that I think they will like. In fact, it always seems that I see all sorts of books, CD's and DVD's that I'D like instead! So it does feel like I'm trekking through many a store over and over before I settle on the right gifts to buy for others.

But my main complaint about Christmas shopping is making my way through the overcrowded malls and having my ears assaulted by all of the crappy contemporary Christmas songs! I'm afraid that my tastes in music have always been a lot closer to my parents' generation than that of my own, and in fact as a teen I always preferred the records my Dad played around the house far more than what my peers were listening to at the time. As such, I never did develop a taste for the rock music of the day, although a lot of the pop/rock on the radio back then certainly was a lot more tuneful than what's on nowadays. Which brings me to my complaint.

Why do all of the untalented, similar sounding, young pop/rockers of today feel that they need to release their crap versions of Christmas songs? They all seem to sound the same, as their trilling crap voices meander around the notes without ever really hitting their target, adding in a lot of inane "Yeaaahhh"s to fill in any pauses between the lyrics. And then there are the mindless rappers who have cut melody out of the equation altogether, trying to force in ten times as many words (most of them unintelligible) than the original composers had written in the first place. And all of this tuneless, appalling crap is being blasted at high volume out of every clothing and electronics store that I am forced to pass by.

Now to be fair, there are a few stores and restaurants where I can hear old chestnuts from glorious Christmases past sung by the likes of Bing, Frank, Dino, Sammy, Ella, Peggy, and Nat, but even then there still seems to be a few contemporary crap songs thrown into the mix just to rankle my nerves. Incidentally, why is it only at Christmas that the great singers of the past are allowed to be heard in public at all before being placed in the box of mothballs again for another year? If one didn't know better, one might assume that Bing Crosby had recorded "White Christmas" and nothing else during his entire career!

So there you have it - the reasons for my annual Grinchy demeanor. Please let it be Sinatra singing as I sit down to a plate of roast beast...(sigh)

And speaking of Frank and Dino, here's some fun Christmas music by the all time kings of cool - a surefire remedy for curing Grinchiness:

Oscar Peterson

I was very sad to hear that jazz legend, Oscar Peterson passed away a week ago. Though I make no claims to be an authority on jazz, I would describe myself as a casual fan of the genre, as my taste for 50's/60's swing vocalists is certainly closely related. My preference in jazz has been for the lighter, melodic practitioners, and particularly those who cover the standards of The Great American Songbook. Certainly Oscar Peterson covered his share of the songs I love in his own inimitable style.

Born in Montreal, Oscar was certainly a source of pride to we Canadians for having become a jazz pianist of world renown. And unlike so many Canadian performers who move to the U.S. once they hit the big time, Oscar Peterson chose to remain in Canada, settling into a typical suburban neighbourhood here in Mississauga Ontario, the city where I also currently reside. In fact, it has been something of a thrill to know that the great man lived less than 10 miles away from my house. I remember looking him up in a celebrity address directory I bought awhile back and had always intended to drive over to his street in the hopes of getting a glimpse of him. Alas, I never did get around to it and, since Oscar had been in poor health and mostly confined to a wheelchair these last several years, I regret that I never went to try and meet him back when I might have had a chance to. I was happy to read in the articles since his death that he was very much an average guy who was quite social with his neighbours, ever a kind and modest man.

I recalled I had a videotaped concert from the early 90's on Oscar, so I played it recently in order to get this caricature of him. Though I had hoped to take it to finished ink and colour like most of what I've been posting, I actually kind of like the energy in this rough sketch, so I've decided to post it as is. Since jazz itself is often spontaneously played, I think it maybe makes sense to show this equally spontaneous rough drawing of Oscar. However, I do intend to finish it up in due time and may post up the finished piece later.

I've got a number of Oscar Peterson's albums on CD. My favourite is his "Canadiana Suite", which is all his own compositions. There's also a great team-up with him and vibraphonist, Lionel Hampton, on the Verve label that is quite wonderful. I really should try to get the album he did with Count Basie, whom I also really enjoy. Anyway, on a final note, here is a clip of the great Oscar Peterson that looks like it dates back about 10 years prior to the source of my caricature of him. For such a giant of a man, it is amazing to me just how nimble those fingers were - Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Gene Kelly!

This is just a simple dedication to the late, great Gene Kelly, who was born this day in 1912. These are a couple of pieces I did about 7 years ago or more for wall hangings at a Paris themed ballroom dancing event I took part in. I figured what would make a more appropriate decoration than an image from the classic musical, "An American in Paris", starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, especially since it ranks up high on my list of favourite films. These figures stand about two and a half feet tall, brush inked on poster board and painted with transparent concentrated watercolours. They currently are just tacked to my wall here in my den at home, along with all sorts of movie-related collectibles.

In retrospect, I think I drew Gene's hands a little bit big, but other than that I still kind of like it. The caricature of Leslie Caron I still like a lot, and I would really like to try making a little sculpture based on this art. Anyway, I just thought it would be fun to post this today. Happy Birthday Gene - we miss you!