Latest news with #Was
San Francisco Chronicle
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Why was comedian Paul Reiser at the 2025 SFJazz gala? It's a wild story
It casts no shade on Don Was's impressive musical career to acknowledge that it wasn't his instrumental prowess that led to his SFJazz Lifetime Achievement Award. A founding member of the zany but hard-grooving Detroit band Was (Not Was), he's been tearing up stages lately with the stylistically omnivorous Pan-Detroit Ensemble — when he's not holding down the bass chair with Bob Weir and the Wolf Bros. But throughout the SFJazz Gala concert Thursday, June 12, at SFJazz Center, Was was celebrated not as a player but for his work as a producer and president of Blue Note Records, jazz's most respected and consequential label since the late 1940s. On a program overflowing with incandescent talent, almost every featured performer had recorded for Was at Blue Note since he took over and revitalized the label in 2012. With longtime Bay Area resident and actor Delroy Lindo serving as emcee and SFJazz Executive Artistic Director Terence Blanchard detailing the accomplishments of his longtime friend, Was was hailed for his vision of jazz as inextricably tied to a welter of kindred idioms. 'He honors jazz without putting it in a box,' Blanchard said. In the jazz world — so accustomed to being overlooked, misunderstood and generally neglected in popular culture — there's a sense of gratitude for Was's exemplary stewardship of Blue Note. Having produced dozens of albums for artists like Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, the B-52s and Bonnie Raitt, he probably left a good deal of money on the table by devoting so much of his life to jazz. Video testimonials offering heart-felt congratulations from Keith Richards, Ringo Star, Rosanne Cash and Raitt, who hailed him as a 'big brother' opening new doors for her, emphasized the larger musical pool he swims in. But perhaps one of the most endearing tributes came from an unlikely collaborator, who showed up in person to razz the honoree. Comedian and actor Paul Reiser recounted the improbably spontaneous late-night recording session that resulted in 'The Final Frontier,' the theme song to his '90s sitcom 'Mad About You' — composed, arranged and produced by Was on a day's notice. Though initially hesitant about the theme — which he playfully sampled for Thursday's audience on piano — Reiser went on to explain how it became a quiet hit with an unexpected afterlife. 'The coolest thing? NASA used it. It was the wake-up call on Mars,' he said. 'It wasn't the biggest hit on Earth, but on other planets, it's quite significant. It was the most popular tune on the planet of Mars.' Laughs aside, Reiser shared his main takeaway from that collaboration, which echoed the evening's deeper celebration of Was's ethos. 'I learned from Don, like, that's how you should try to be — just keep saying yes. Just do it. Don't say no, and don't be scared of going into business.' If Reiser's story captured the spirit of Was's creative generosity, the Grammy-winning producer's own remarks revealed where that spirit was born. During his acceptance speech, Was described how he discovered the transformative power of jazz as a cranky 14-year-old by happening upon tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson's newly released 'Mode For Joe' in the summer of 1966. Drawn in at first by the angst he heard in Henderson's horn, he felt unburdened as the band started swinging fiercely, realizing 'you've got to groove in the face of adversity,' he said. Whatever else he pursued, jazz remained part of his calling because it 'helps listeners make sense of the confusion of the human situation.' At a time when so many arts organizations are struggling, the gala projected confidence and a sense of mission amidst requisite appeals for support, particularly for SFJazz's educational programs. Hailing an art form steeped in African American culture and history, SFJazz Board Chair Molly Coye described the music as a source of resistance and 'a voice for freedom and beauty.' The evening was also dedicated to Zakir Hussain, the tabla maestro who played a central role at SFJazz for decades before his death last December at 73. With SFJazz Collective members serving as the house band there wasn't a less than riveting performance, and the highlights tended to be the quieter, more intimate moments, like a long solo introduction by Oakland trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire that hovered in the horn's middle register. Vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa, a San Francisco State University grad now living in New Orleans, gave a ravishing preview of her upcoming debut album for Blue Note with an ache-filled version of the 1960s Italian pop song 'La Notte Dell'Addio' (The Night of Farewell) as a duo with pianist Edward Simon. And guitarist Bill Frisell's quintet rendering of Thelonious Monk's sumptuous ballad 'Crepescule With Nellie' with Akinmusire and tenor saxophonist Chris Potter unfurled with intensely compressed drama. Frisell stayed on stage for Lisa Fischer's transcendent version of the Rolling Stones 1971 hit 'Wild Horses,' which garnered the evening's first standing ovation. A sound sculptor, she was the only featured artist who hasn't recorded for Blue Note, though she collaborated with Was on one of his albums and a Stones project. The evening's two themes, celebrating Was and honoring Hussain, converged at the end with a sublime set by Charles Lloyd's Sky Quartet featuring drummer Eric Harland, which headlines opening night of the San Francisco Jazz Festival on Friday, June 13. Lloyd and Harland toured and recorded with Hussain in the group Sangam, and the tenor sax legend seemed to recapitulate Was's insight as he flowed from an anguished version of Billie Holiday 'Don't Explain' into a poetic spoken word tribute to Hussain and concluded with a high-stepping carnival beat, grooving in the face of adversity.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ye Says He ‘Dreams' of Apologizing to Jay-Z
Ye (formerly Kanye West) regrets what he's said about mentor and former collaborator Jay-Z. Over the weekend, the controversial artist took to X to say that he often 'dreams' of making amends. 'All my dreams have been about apologizing to Jay Z,' he wrote. More from Billboard Ye Says He & Jay-Z 'Fought' Over MAGA Hat Lyric on 'Donda' Joe Jonas Reflects on Infamous 'South Park' Episode: 'I Was the Only Brother That Loved It' Peter Murphy Cancels 2025 Tour Dates Due To Ongoing 'Health Issues' In another deleted post back in April, he said he was 'sorry' for his past transgressions, specifically when he insinuated that Jay and his wife's Beyoncé's young twins Rumi and Sir Carter have mental disabilities in a rant on X a month before in March. 'I'm sorry Jay Z,' he tweeted on April 10. 'I be feeling bad about my tweet but I still feel I gave my life to this industry and thought so many people were my family but when I needed family on some real sh– none of these rap n—as had my back.' Later during the month of April, Ye revealed that he and Jigga had a falling out over a bar referring to his red MAGA hat on the song 'Jail' from Ye's 2021 album Donda, where he floated the idea that their supergroup The Throne may be able to make a return to glory. 'Stop all of that red cap, we goin' home,' Jay rapped. 'Not me with all of these sins, castin' stones/ This might be the return of The Throne.' Ye was in the news earlier Monday when another former collaborator, Pusha T, addressed their current relationship — a relationship Ye recently said that he wants to fix. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Wichita Thunder Goaltender Comes Up Big In Edmonton
'I Was Sure It Was In': Golden Knights Shock Oilers With Rare Last-Second Game-Winning Goal The Vegas Golden Knights shocked the Edmonton Oilers and their fans in the final second of Game 3.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Golden Knights' McNabb Good To Go After Maintenance Day; Stone Considered Game-Time Decision For Game 4
'I Was Sure It Was In': Golden Knights Shock Oilers With Rare Last-Second Game-Winning Goal The Vegas Golden Knights shocked the Edmonton Oilers and their fans in the final second of Game 3.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hear Tate McRae Join Morgan Wallen on Intimate Ballad ‘What I Want'
Morgan Wallen has dropped his new album, I'm the Problem, which includes the highly-discussed collaboration with Tate McRae. The crooning ballad sees the pair sharing vocals as they sing about a temporary relationship between two broken people. Wallen announced the duet last month, causing McRae's fans to criticize her decision to work with the country singer. 'If McRae had a country-pop pivot in mind, there were plenty of options that wouldn't place her next to one of country's most radioactive stars,' Rolling Stone wrote at the time. 'She's stepped into the hazard zone, but it's unlikely to completely derail her rising star — it might just bring her to an audience that doesn't care much about morals as long as the music is good. It'll have to run its course.' More from Rolling Stone Morgan Wallen Explains Abrupt 'SNL' Exit: 'I Was Just Ready to Go Home' Morgan Wallen Radio Coming to SiriusXM Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat, Burna Boy, Rosé, and More Feature on 'F1' Soundtrack I'm the Problem features 37 tracks, including collaborations with Post Malone, Eric Church, and Ernest. 'We recorded around 50 songs for this album and ended up cutting 13,' Wallen explained in a statement. 'I feel like we accomplished what I had in mind, and a huge shoutout to my close collaborators on this too. They came in ready and fired up every single day, and they inspire me as much as anything else.' In support of his new album, Wallen will hit the road for his I'm the Problem tour across North America and will kick things off in Houston, Texas, at NRG Stadium with Corey Kent and Koe Wetzel on June 20. Other special guests planned for the stadium run include Brooks & Dunn, Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Ella Langley, and Anne Wilson. McRae's latest LP, So Close to What, arrived earlier this year and went to No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. She is currently out on her global Miss Possessive Tour, which continues through September. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
