There once was a time when celebrities needed the press to get their stories out. Now, of course, they have blogs, websites, podcasts, and other social media detritus, so who needs nosy reporters? Back in the day, writers such as Rex Reed, Albert Grossman, Nora Ephron, and others (many of whom became celebrities in their own right) spent hours – even days – with their celebrity subjects and the golden age of the celebrity interview was on. What Makes Sammy Jr. Run: Classic Celebrity Journalism Volume #1 1960s and 1970s (The Stacks Reader Series), edited by Alex Belth, contains 18 absolutely delicious, juicy, engaging, fascinating interviews with the likes of singers James Brown and Sammy Davis, Jr., actors Ava Gardner, Warren Beatty, and Lauren Bacall, novelists Philip Roth, Jacqueline Susann, and Truman Capote, comedian Jerry Lewis, baseball player Reggie Jackson, disco diva Donna Summer, publishing pioneer Helen Gurley Brown, and others. The subjects in each case really let their hair down and communicate the deepest darkest secrets of their souls – via words and actions – like no celebrity today ever would. I can’t wait for Volume #2.
ZZ Top rampaged its way through a solid set of originals (plus its seething cover of Sam & Dave’s 1968 “I Thank You”) to precede the ending fireworks of the 41st annual Musikfest, from August 1 to August 11, during the largest non-gated music fest in the country. Taking place on the 50 combined acres of two sites with traffic curtailed within Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for 10 days, over a million visitors from 48 states and 10 countries roamed the grounds soaking up the vibe, porkin’ up bigtime on some international cuisine, and grooving to the hundreds of free daily shows of every imaginable genre. Despite searing heat and torrential downpours, the eleven paid shows on the big stage sold 54,786 tickets – a Musikfest record – for such acts as Greta Van Fleet, Sugar Ray, Better Than Ezra, Slash, Black Eyed Peas, Ludacris and others. Fifteen stages of free shows hosted 422 musicians with an additional 86 street performances.
Singer-Songwriter-Guitarist Albert Castiglia had just gotten off the road with labelmate Mike Zito on the award-winning Blood Brothers tour when the blues came a-callin’ in the form of Zito’s suggestion to Castiglia to make his next solo album a super-session of sorts. Thus, Righteous Souls (Gulf Coast Records); joining his big nine-piece band (seasoned liberally with some harpsichord and sax), is Popa Chubby on opener “Centerline,” Alabama Mike on Snake Boy Johnson’s “Get Down To The Nitty Gritty,” Kingfish Ingram on Willie Dixon’s “You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover,” Joe Bonamassa on Rick Danko’s “All Our Past Times,” Josh Smith on Buddy Guy’s “The Dollar Done Fell,” and six more. This is a rockin’ party of big bad ball-busting blues and soul to the max!
To hear alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin channel one of her heroes, John Coltrane, on the opening “Trane” is a thing to behold. Her sound is full, expansive, expressive, and filled with both urgency and daring. Last year, she wowed critics and fans alike with one of the best jazz albums of 2023, Phoenix. Now, she revisits that masterpiece with Phoenix Reimagined (Live) (Ropeadope) as recorded live in-studio at Brooklyn’s The Bunker. In another nod to Coltrane, she takes from the 1959 Broadway musical The Sound Of Music for “My Favorite Things” (just like ‘Trane did in 1961) and lets her inner avant-garde shine. Guitarist John Scofield, trumpeter Randy Brecker, and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts add the star power, but she doesn’t need it. The gal’s star is so bright at this point that you need sunglasses just to look at the album’s cover.
