Music

NoteWorthy Art Book, 2024- Es Devlin…Lady Gaga, Kiss & Me

This site is Free & Ad-Free! If you find this piece worthwhile, please donate via PayPal to support it & independent Art writing. You can also support it by buying Art & books! Details at the end. Thank you.

Written & Photographed by Kenn Sava (*-unless otherwise credited)

Though I just teased some big names, I begin with the least known. There I was, in year 2 of my 5 on the road with a band, refugees from the disco mania which was sweeping all live Music and Musicians aside, all the way down in the Cutler Ridge section of Miami, FL. We pulled into the parking lot outside of this good sized venue, the Esquire Club, went it, met Al the owner, and began bringing in our gear. As we set up for what would be an extended stay, the assistant club manager came up, saw our stage clothes and my platform boots (Handmade by Jumpin’ Jack Flash, NYC, who had made Kiss’s legendary boots. Mine were a half-size too small, leading to permanent foot damage, an ever-increasing problem. Another Rock n’ Roll suicide.). Realizing that we were something different from what they had been presenting, he chatted me up about our “stage show.” Then, he suggested we add “flash pots” to our presentation.

Flash pots? 

He went away and came back with 3 pieces of wood, each about a foot and a half long by about 3 inches wide and 2 inches deep, some electrical cord and a few plugs. First, a rectangular cup about 3 or 4 inches long by a little less than 2 inches wide was cut into the top center of the wood. Next, he attached the the wire so the stripped bare end was in the hole. Then, he had me cut one side of the wire and install an on/off switch. Electricity, with a bare wire on a dark stage? Hmmmm… Then he showed me a grey, cylindrical container. Gunpowder. 

Gulp.

He scooped some of it and put it in the cutout. Plug in the wire and when I flip the switch? WHAM. Flash pot! The band covered by a cloud of smoke, and hopefully, only smoke! Ooohs and aahhs all around.

“Messiah,” Live at the Esquire Club, Miami, 1977. Left to right, T. Lavitz, keyboards, who would go on to fame after he joined The Dixie Dregs (aka The Dregs) the year after this was taken, before launching a successful solo career, Steve Smith, guitar, Bob Donzella, sax & vocals, Mark Smith, drums & vocals, and yours truly, Kenn Sava, bass & vocals. It’s about at this moment that I’d be tripping the flash pots. Gee, I wonder if that carpeting was fireproof… *-Photographer unknown. The pictures in this piece are thumbnails. Click any for full size.

We made three of them, each laid 1/3 of the way across the stage, all under my control, to be tripped at particularly “dramatic” moments during our set. Needless to say, never having done anything like this, especially while playing, it was a bit unnerving. Luckily, I managed to set them off a few times, without disastrous result. Phew! After a week or so, the regulars had gotten to know us, and everybody relaxed, so we dispensed with the “special effects,” or, they ran out of gunpowder, I forget. (The Esquire Club was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in August, 1992.)

Yours truly, Kenn Sava, lve at the Esquire Club, Miami, FL. This is the first time I, or a former I, have appeared in the pages of  NighthawkNYC.com in its 8 1/2 years! *-Photographer unknown- a friend of Mark’s. I’ve grown quite fond of this picture as it shows me about as happy as I’ve ever been in my life, in spite of all we were dealing with at the time, including the poverty typical of bands like ours.

Such was “stage craft” in prehistoric times. Fast forward to January 20th, 2010.  

The Big Time. Radio City Music Hall, NYC, January 20, 2010. The night of Lady Gaga’s homecoming; her first NYC concert. Prior to this, she’d performed in clubs & bars, like I did.

There I am in the balcony for the NYC concert debut of an up and coming Artist who’s new hit singles, “Just Dance” and “Poker Face,” were all the rage, and her album, The Fame, was screaming up the charts. Intrigued, I managed to get a ticket for Lady Gaga’s New York homecoming show of her Monster Ball Tour at Radio City Music Hall, January 20, 2010, her first concert in her hometown1.

Down in front! Seated as far away as I was wasn’t ideal for picture-taking. Before it started, I took this because I was fascinated by the stage. Looking around the standees, you’ll notice a box-like frame and there’s a screen in front of it. Both things I hadn’t seen to that point.

As far as I know there hasn’t been an officially released video of what was the Monster Ball Tour, 1.0 that this show was a part of. I can only find pictures and videos shot by my fellow concert-goers, like this one of the opening. Poor quality, but it gives you a sense of it. ( Someone has posted a complete video of another stop on the tour. Again, it’s a far from ideal audience recording, but until something better appears, it’s the only record I know of of the complete show.)

The show began with a matrix-like grid on that screen shown earlier with a filmed Lady Gaga (LG) projected on it revolving while warping time and space, apparently free of gravity, along with a 1 minute countdown clock to the show’s beginning. As it ticked down, the crowd amped up by the second. 00:00:00:00, and there she was behind the matrix screen, live, alone on the big stage in her hometown, wearing an outfit with lights on it and performing her classic, “Dance in the Dark.” Quite a moment. “Find your Kubrick,” indeed. Stefani Germanotta had escaped the clubs & bars and arrived in the big time, in full effect. 

“Just Dance.” LG performs with a Roland Shoulder Synth (I believe) on a riser extending to about 10 feet over the base of a rotating cube. The area around the black disc she’s standing on is open. Watch your step! Note the frame-like border.

“Dance in the Dark” segued into her mega-hit, “Just Dance,” without pause. The screens on the sides seen above covered the band, something I’d never seen before, leaving a large performing area. Looking back from 2024, it might be easy to look at this show and not see it as all that “revolutionary” given what’s come since. At the time, I’d seen nothing remotely like what I saw that night. It still remains a unique experience. Meanwhile, the irresistible “Just Dance” got the balcony moving up and down so wildly as hundreds of concert goers jumped in time that I was worried it might well come down! How do they test for that kind of stress? When the show ended without catastrophe, as I was walking to the subway to the sound of my fellow concert-goers bursting out in spontaneous chants of “Oh oh oh oh oh…Caught in a bad romance,” over and over and over from near and far…the one thought on my mind was “SOMEONE involved in staging that show has a DEEP knowledge of Art history!”

“Paparrazzi” with LG’s hair fastened to the overhead pole on both sides by rings while two dancers hold the ends of the pole.

Time and again, I felt the influence of numerous Artists and Paintings. First, and foremost, the great Joseph Cornell was channeled as the entire stage was framed creating a box-like setting for the performance, as I show in “Just Dance.” Mr. Cornell, a revolutionary in a number of Artforms, is, perhaps, best known for his “Boxes.” The Cornell references continued during “Paparazzi” where Gaga’s hair was fastened to a horizontal pole with rings(!) while the dancers holding the ends moved/danced in step with the slightly helpless LG as she sang, right out of numerous Cornells that include a horizontal pole with rings attached, like Lunar Level #1, and Sun Box, below, among others. Joseph Cornell at a Lady Gaga show? Dali, Giorgio de Chirico, Magritte and Leonardo da Vinci also came to mind as the show went on. Of course, being Lady Gaga’s show, first and foremost, the credit goes to her.

Sun Box, (1956) by the incomparable Joseph Cornell, 1903-1972. One of many Cornell Boxes that include a horizontal bar (or two) with rings attached. Lady Gaga’s entire show felt to me like it was taking place inside a box.

Then, I saw her,  again, in July, 2010, at her Monster Ball Tour 2.0 at Madison Square Garden (her first MSG show); another big deal. It was a completely different show! It was very nice, very effective, but minus all the Art references. I assume that having a stage in a huge indoor arena called for a completely different presentation. Still, I missed the show I saw at Radio City, and at that point it made me realize how special it was. I was determined to find out more about it.

“Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say),” at Radio City. LG in a quasi-“gyroscope.” All those bars were continually in motion around her. A bit like Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man?

I found out that Lady Gaga had worked on the Radio City show, and her Monster Ball 1.0 Tour it was a part of, with a stage designer named Es Devlin. 

Who?

It tuns out that Esmeralda (“Es”) Devlin, born in London in 1971, is nothing short of a polymath, who, apparently, never sleeps. While I had been sleeping on her, in the interim, her reputation grew, then exploded. Meanwhile, the press had upped the hype quotient to seemingly impossible levels-

“Modern Britain’s answer to Leonardo da Vinci,” The Sunday Times (of London).

Leonardo?? I can’t say that in all my years of looking at and studying Art and Art history I’ve ever heard that said of ANY Artist.

Perusing her website, I discovered the roster of world-famous Musicians, bands, opera companies, playwrights, and corporations who have entrusted her with their stages is about as “A List” as it gets, and extraordinarily long. Oh, and the Super Bowl Halftime and the Olympics are on it, too. As for those Artistic deep waters, she’s staged a number of Shakespeare’s plays, including Hamlet, and a few of Mozart’s operas, including Don Giovanni, perhaps his ultimate opera. Snippets of all of these and more can be seen on esdevlin.com. I also discovered that Ms. Devlin did not do the stage design for that 2010 Lady Gaga Monster Ball Tour 2.0 MSG show. Hmmm…

But, Leonardo? One of the supreme geniuses in Art and world history, and one of my personal “Ultimate Artists?”

Back into the fast forward machine to 2024, Es Devlin is now the subject of a mid-career Retrospective at NYC’s Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Museum of Design. To accompany it, she, Cooper Hewitt and Thames & Hudson have combined to use the show as an opportunity to publish her first book, An Atlas of Es Devlin. When I first spotted a copy on a shelf with only “ES DEVLIN” in silver on its 2 1/2 inch thick(!?) white spine, I felt a tingle of anticipation. Suffice it to say, given all I’ve seen- in person and via research, and the weight of that Leonardo reference, my expectations couldn’t have been higher.

What we have is, well… I’ll let the Thames & Hudson PR staff tell you-

“An Atlas of Es Devlin is a unique, sculptural volume of over 900 pages, including foldouts, cut-outs, and a range of paper types, mirror and translucencies, with over 700 color images documenting over 120 projects spanning over 30 years, and a 50,000 word text featuring the artist’s personal commentaries on each art work as well as interviews with her collaborators including Hans Ulrich Obrist, Bono, Benedict Cumberbatch, Pharrell Williams, Carlo Rovelli, Brian Eno, Sam Mendes, Alice Rawsthorn, and Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye. Each book is boxed and includes a die-cut print from an edition of 5,0002.”

PHEW!

HERE was the moment of truth. Will her body of work hold up to the close scrutiny such a comprehensive book provides?

“The instinct to fill a void with art is, to me, fundamental.” Es Devlin, hand-written reproduction inside the cover.

Ever see a resume like this? Inside the cover, the list of Musicians she’s worked with, left, and Playwrights & Librettists, right, surrounding Es in the middle after more pages of credits and thank yous.

Holding a copy in my hand, it was immediately obvious that the book is a duality. At once it feels crafted with care at every turn, mirroring the personal feel of a very limited edition, yet it’s a mass-produced object published by a big publishing company. The cover, shown earlier, and the first 8 pages are die-cut to look like we’re peering into a camera lens. On each of these the opening is surrounded by credits, and there are many of them. They lead to a picture in the center (the aperture) of the Artist, herself, on the 9th page, standing obliquely between a white cityscape and white clouds, dressed in red; the “focus” of her own show, for once!

The Table of Contents opens up to the 4 page list of projects arranged chronologically- 1995 at the top, 2023 on the bottom. Those in the center in black are included in the book. Others, to the left in grey, are omitted. It’s shocking how many projects are listed. It took two pictures to get them all in.

Then we get the title page, the table of contents, which opens to a double gatefold listing her projects from 1993-2023. (Has she really been creating for THIRTY YEARS already?) Moving forward into the book proper, I quickly realized that the design was, yes, unique, and yes, stellar. Impressive for a first book, but, I’m here for more.

Each project typically get 2 full pages delineating its genesis, though many have inserts that range between 2 and 40 additional pages.

Her innumerable projects get small chapters of their own (small because there are A LOT of them), and many feature a variety of half pages, fold outs, inserted booklets, and what have you, making them different and fresh from each other. Then, there is a large section of color Photos of the actual performances, followed by the texts mentioned by Thames & Hudson earlier.

One of the world’s most remarkable Artists. What srtikes me about this Photo of Es Devlin in her studio is that she’s virtually surrounded by hand-written notes & Drawings. *-Photo by Tibby762

I was shocked to see that reproductions of countless Drawings on paper are included, which showed me that even Artists who’s work involves cutting-edge and innovative technologies continue to rely on Drawing on paper (something I have long considered to be an essential life-skill for everyone- whether it be on paper or digitally. I’m serious.) Then, another reveal- she relies on handwritten notes, which also fascinates me. When Sheena Wagstaff, the former Met Chair of Modern & Contemporary Art at The Met sat down next to me during a Nareen Mohammedi Symposium, I couldn’t help but notice that she, too, was taking notes by hand. Both commit their important notes and sketches to paper- not to a digital medium. (This is not mentioned as a criticism in any way of either highly esteemed lady.)

In the projects section inserts of all kinds are the norm, as in a hand-made book. The numbers “306 345 412 418-9” reference pages in the color Photos section where the realized project is pictured in its live performance.

That’s not all. In addition to her devotion to Drawing, another pillar of her craft is reading. Page after page of An Atlas references something she read inspiring that project in some way. Reading this, I was struck with one overriding question-

“The woman is so incredibly prolific, creating project after seemingly impossible project steeped in infinitely complex details (in addition to having a family and a life): WHERE DOES SHE FIND THE TIME TO READ, and read so much?”

Deep into the concept section, titled “A Selection of Works, 2012-2022,” as my mind is melting over as each project passes in the form of sketches, models or in-progress images as I page turn, I begin to wonder- “Did she really get this made? What did this look like for real?” After the concepts, the large section of color photos shows each project as it was realized. Historic proof each existed. Oh! And get this- MOST of the Photographs included in this NINE HUNDRED page magnum opus are by, you guessed it: Es Devlin, herself.

Taking it all in, the thing that strikes me is that stage design is fleeting. It takes an immense amount of work to conceive, design, and create, but once the performance is over, it’s gone, probably for good, living on in the memory of those, like me, who witnessed one of her productions. There aren’t even that many videos circulating of them! In creating An Atlas, Es Devlin has struck back against this impermanence with a lasting record of her process in creating these works and their singular results.

Taken as a whole, An Atlas of Es Devlin is a staggering achievement- like many of her productions are. Es Devlin has burst forth onto the Art Book world with a debut monograph that will be hard to top: on many levels. It’s destined to find itself on the reference book shelves of Artists, Playwrights, Authors, Opera Directors, Stage Designers, Graphic Designers, Book Designers, as well as Art historians and her fans, for years to come.

“A New Renaissance Woman.” Donatien Grau of the Louvre, no less, is on to something, I think.

Of his almost innumerable areas of exploration and invention, stage design was not one of Leonardo’s skills (as far as I know. Far be it from me to put ANYthing past him!). So, I wonder what he would make of Ms. Devlin and the Sunday Times’s comparison. We’ll never know. But, I can make this comparison- Leonardo did leave us some of the most astounding books any human ever created: his Notebooks. Though unpublished in his time, and no doubt created for his own use, they have subsequently become eternally important, extraordinarily prophetic and endlessly influential. Es Devlin has now published her Atlas. While I would never compare Arists, or say one is “greater” than any one else (such comparisons are meaningless), it would be endlessly fascinating to have Leonardo’s Notebooks next to a copy of Es’s Atlas, so one could page through both. While you would certainly feel the passage of time going back and forth, I have a feeling that you might still find some commonalities between Leonardo’s “books” and Es’s book. Endless imagination, endless creativity, the fruits of handmade marks on paper, and endless beauty, to name four; each steeped in a study of the craft of Art making and an insatiable curiosity to know more, to explore what’s possible and to take that next step forward. For those reasons, instead of Leonardo, if I were to compare Es Devlin to any Artist, living or dead, it would be Robert Rauschenberg. Each of her creations is THAT unique, one work from the next (and from what anyone else has done), and also THAT endlessly creative and innovative.

So, how’s THAT for a first book?

Es Devlin in the midst of creating, left, and a sealed Die-cut Print seemingly based on it, or a similar work, included with the first edition, right.

And, oh? The Lady Gaga show I saw at Radio City 14 years ago that wowed me so barely gets 4 pages of coverage out of the 900 in the book. THAT’S how vast Es Devlin’s work and achievement is. And she’s only in her mid-career.

Watch out, Leo!

An Atlas of Es Devlin is a NighthawkNYC.com NoteWorthy Art Book of 2024.

NighthawkNYC.com has been entirely self-funded & ad-free for over 8 1/2 years, during which 320 full-length pieces have been published! If you’ve found it worthwhile, PLEASE donate by PayPal to allow me to continue below. Thank you, Kenn.

You can also support it by buying Art, Art & Photography books, and Music from my collection! Art & Books may be found here. Music here and here.

Written & photographed by Kenn Sava for nighthawknyc.com unless otherwise credited. To send comments, thoughts, feedback or propositions click here. Click the white box on the upper right for the archives or to search them. Subscribe to be notified of new Posts below. Your information will be used for no other purpose.

  1. Prior to this, her two 2009 shows at Terminal 5 were her largest NYC shows ↩
  2. Apparently, two printings of it have now sold out, so the total edition size remains unknown to me. It’s also to be re-released in the USA in May so put those edition size numbers down in pencil. ↩

Forgotten Songs I Will Love Forever #3: Yes- Close To The Edge

This site is Free & Ad-Free! If you find this piece worthwhile, please donate via PayPal to support it & independent Art writing. You can also support it by buying Art & books! Details at the end. Thank you.

Written & Photographed by Kenn Sava.

Part 3 of an occasional series. #1 is here. #2 is here.

“Close to the Edge,” as performed by Yes on the classic album of the same title from 1972. Written by Jon Anderson & Steve Howe.

1- “The Solid Time of Change” (the sections of this piece are named after the 4 sections of “Close to the Edge.”)

When I was a kid I was passionately into exploring Art & Art history. Before 3rd grade started, the school asked students if they wanted to learn an instrument. For some unknown reason my best friend at the time, Doug, chose trombone. Not to be left out, I did, too. Huh? A serious accident just before school began that year forced me to miss the first 3 months of lessons. This included all the basics on the instrument and how to read Music! The teacher refused to go back or help me make up what I missed. Somehow, I managed to go on and play in every group, orchestra, and band from grade 3 through high school graduation without knowing how to read Music1. And, no one ever found out! I was first in line when the high school marching band entered the stadium for Saturday football games. It was quite a feeling not knowing for certain if anyone was behind me. Also, while on the soccer team, I once got kicked in the face, which made me unable to play the trombone. The band teacher refused to let me miss a game because they needed my spot in the formations on the field.

As a high school junior, Doug announced he was starting a band, Already a loner, I could already feel myself being cut off. I decided to take up bass and another friend of ours, Rich, transferred from clarinet to drums. It turns out Doug was very into Blues (Robert Johnson, BB King, Muddy Waters…great stuff). Having delved into Music, I began casting a typically wide net. I quickly discovered Jazz, which I found much more interesting for a bassist (I thought, unfairly selling the Blues short. Actually, I had discovered Jazz years earlier, but I’ll save that story for another time.) While I explored Jazz, and he, Blues, Doug and I did agree on the English band Cream. He, an Eric Clapton fan, and me a big fan of the exceptional, late bassist Jack Bruce (who went on to make his own mark in Jazz and experimental Music after Cream). 

The 12-bar structure of the Blues felt limiting to me at the time (yes, short-sighted. Hey, I was 15.). This led me to explore further. I discovered the so-called “Progressive” bands- Genesis, with Peter Gabriel (I saw them on their first U.S. tour after Foxtrot was released.), the amazing and sadly overlooked Gentle Giant, and Yes. I fell so hard under the spell of Yes that it felt unescapable at the time. The amazing bassist, Chris Squire, became the focus of my listening with his unique sound on the Rickenbacker 4001 bass. I managed somehow to get one in beautiful cherry red. 

My LP worn out, I replaced it with this copy of the 1st release on CD. The striking background gradient for the cover Art by Roger Dean reminds me of Ed Ruscha’s Bouncing Marbles, Bouncing Apple, Bouncing Olive, from 1969, just three years earlier. Coincidence? Hmmm…

2- “Total Mass Retain”

“A dewdrop can exalt us like the music of the sun”*

The peak of Yes’s brilliance for me (which many Yes fans will challenge) remains their epic, Close to the Edge, from 1972. Its 18 minutes and 50 seconds filling the entirety of Side 1 of the now classic album of the same name. Even Genesis, who were fond of stretching and breaking the limits of the traditional song-form hadn’t as yet gone that far. One of the peak Musical monuments of the 70s, earning the awe of all the Musicians I knew, it’s in a bit of eclipse these days. Singer Jon Anderson has said he co-wrote Close to the Edge (with guitarist Steve Howe) with Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha, a novel loosely based on the life of the Buddha, in mind. I read it around the time the album came out and it inspired me to check out Eastern Philosophy for the first time. In it, Siddhartha achieves an enlightenment while sitting along the banks of a river. “Close to the edge, down by a river,” the chorus goes.

“Two million people barely satisfy
Two hundred women watch one woman cry, too late
In charge of who is there in charge of me
Do I look on blindly and say I see the way?”*

Along the way, it’s mystical lyrics seem to cover a lot of ground, from war to inequality to the duality of life (“I get up, I get down”), to spiritual awakening.

“A seasoned witch could call you from the depths of your disgrace
And rearrange your liver to the solid mental grace.”*

Reaching your “higher self” by way of your liver, considered the seat of emotions in the middle ages (according to an annotation on genius.com)- “The Solid Time of Change”, the title of  section 1 of “Close to the Edge” indeed. Somehow, in spite of everything going on in the world, it all comes back to mastering ones self, is my take. No wonder it took almost 19 minutes to get it all in!

In 1975, I left the Manhattan School of Music to join a band and wound up going on the road with them for 5 years. When I first joined, they were covering Yes, among others. That was always a show-stopper. People couldn’t believe we were covering them. We did “Roundabout” and  “I’ve Seen All Good People.” Along the way, Yes covers have largely disappointed me. Perhaps it’s because I realized the shortcomings in my own performances. Even post-1972 Yes disappointed me compared to what had come before. Why?

Yes, c.1971-2, in their greatest iteration in my opinion. Clockwise from upper left, Jon Anderson (vocals), Bill Bruford (drums & percussion), Eddy Offord (producer), Steve Howe (guitars & vocals), Chris Squire (bass & vocals), and Rick Wakeman (keyboards) Photographed, presumably, at the Close to the Edge recording sessions as seen in the booklet.

Before their follow-up to Close to the Edge, Tales From Topographic Oceans, their extraordinary drummer, Bill Bruford, left the band. He’s reported to have said in an interview when asked why he left, “After Close to the Edge, what was left to do?” The rhythm section of he and Squire were something the likes of which I had never heard before- even in Jazz. Together, they were masters of the odd time signatures (time signatures in other than 4/4. Much of Close to the Edge is in 6.), locked in step while finding unexpected syncopations at every turn that left every other rock band of the time (except Gentle Giant) behind, even impressing Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page in the process. I regret to this day never having gotten to hear Bruford and Squire together with Yes. (I saw Yes shortly after Tales From Topographic Oceans came out with Alan White on drums, and Bruford with King Crimson in Atlantic City when they recorded the album of the same name). Bill Bruford went on to play with a number of great bands, including Genesis, before forming his own small jazz group, Earthworks, which toured and recorded extensively.

3- “I Get Up, I Get Down”

“Close to the edge, round by the corner.
Close to the edge, just by the river.
Seasons will pass you by.
I get up, I get down.”*

So, to say I was EXTREMELY impressed when I came across this video of Band Geek and Chris Clark (from Brand X) covering Close to the Edge, the album in its entirety(!), is to put it mildly. (Though this piece is focused on the “song,” which is track 1 on the album, ending around 17:50 on the video above. Then, “And You And I,” and “Siberian Khatru” follow “Close” completing the album.) Regarding that track, Band Geek or Band Geeks are they are alternatively known, not only have managed to transcribe the entire piece (and album)- no mean feat given how incredibly hard it is to hear the parts when the Music gets dense (or, they found someone who has), they perform it with superb expertise & total faithfulness to the original. Listening carefully to every part, every detail sounds there to me. When I was playing covers, we always “made the song our own,” putting our own spin on it. Still, in Music this complex, playing it faithfully is akin to what Classical Musicians do in their performances of Music by the great composers, referred to as “playing it as written,” which is what Band Geek are doing here. In fact, shortly after Close to the Edge came out, I told a Musician friend of mine that in 50 years orchestras would be playing Yes. They did, and it happened earlier!

Bassist/producer Richie Castellano’s comment on why they did this says in part- “We are hardcore Yes fans and this video is not about conquering a song or doing it better than anyone. It’s about the joy of indulging our inner teenagers and being lucky enough to get the opportunity to play our favorite music.” With all the hours I spent in my room trying playing along to Yes, then playing some of their Music on stage, I can certainly relate to that. My hat is off to them- Ann Marie Nacchio (vocals), Chris Clark (keyboards), Andy Grazaino (guitar & vocals), Richie Castellano (bass & vocals), Andy Ascolese (drums & vocals) and Jarret Pressman (Foley FX).

A comment I read somewhere said that “Yes without Jon Anderson is karaoke.” Given various incarnations of Yes over the years that included him, then didn’t, it’s hard to argue with that, though singer Ann Marie Nacchio more than holds her own in very deep water. It turns out that Jon Anderson heard the Band Geek cover and was also suitably impressed. So impressed, he rang them up(!), and he and Band Geek went out on tour(!!), as you can hear here in this audience recording from Baltimore, May 6, 2023 (the video starts at 2:00 after the excerpt from Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite which Yes always used to introduce their concerts)-

4- “Seasons of man”

I gradually lost interest in my favorite rock band at the time after Bruford left. Genesis’s The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway came out in 1974, a year after 1973’s Topographic Oceans. Lamb has become my favorite rock album of all-time. So, hearing Jon with Band Geek brings me back to the Yes I love since drummer Andy Ascolese does a terrific job of recreating Bill Bruford’s singular drum parts.

Not only has Band Geek mastered Close to the Edge, but Yours Is No Disgrace, Perpetual Change, Heart of the Sunrise, I’ve Seen All Good People, and Roundabout, among others from the classic Yes catalog they performed live with Jon Anderson in this two+ hour concert, part of their 2023 tour. Getting Jon Anderson’s blessing & approval, backed up with his in-person collaboration (at 79 at the time), says it all. Band Geek were living the dream every young musician/Yes fan had as a kid in their room…And? Making us all damn proud.

“Now that it’s all over and done
Called to the seed, right to the sun
Now that you find, now that you’re whole
Seasons will pass you by
I get up, I get down
I get up, I get down”*

“Close to the Edge” is Music for all seasons. Band Geek is paying Yes forward. Great Music has no expiration date.

*-Soundtrack for this piece is “Close to the Edge,” written by Steve Howe & Jon Anderson, performed by Band Geek, above.

Previous installments in this occasional series may be found here- #1, Ricki Lee Jones’s “Last Chance Texaco,” is here. #2, Steely Dan’s “Deacon Blues,” the theme of NighthawkNYC.com, is here.

NighthawkNYC.com has been entirely self-funded & ad-free for over 8 years, during which 300 full-length pieces have been published! If you’ve found it worthwhile, PLEASE donate to allow me to continue below. Thank you, Kenn.

You can also support it by buying Art, Art & Photography books, and Music from my collection! Art & Books may be found here. Music here and here.

Written & photographed by Kenn Sava for nighthawknyc.com unless otherwise credited. To send comments, thoughts, feedback or propositions click here. Click the white box on the upper right for the archives or to search them. Subscribe to be notified of new Posts below. Your information will be used for no other purpose.

  1. I subsequently taught myself to. ↩

NighthawkNYC.com Is 8! A Look Back…

This site is Free & Ad-Free! If you find this piece worthwhile, please donate via PayPal to support it & independent Art writing. You can also support it by buying Art & books! Details at the end. Thank you.

Written & Photographed by Kenn Sava.

As the world continued to emerge from the horrors of the pandemic, it was business as usual for the galleries while the museums breathed a sigh of relief as they welcomed back the numbers they had seen pre-covid, though foreign tourists have not returned to NYC in their pre-pandemic numbers. That probably won’t last forever. There was a steady stream of very good and excellent shows throughout the year. In case you missed some, I’ll look at some of those that stood out for me and that I wrote about here, and everything else I covered, as I take a look back at Year #8 of NighthawkNYC.com: July 15, 2022- July 14. 2023…

Through the glass darkly to revisit Year 8…You’d need a telescope to see The Gulf Stream, center, from the show’s entrance, which announces it as the centerpiece for the entire exhibition. There were a lot of very good Paintings before, and after, you got to it.

Not Your Father’s Winslow Homer – Published on August 8, 2022. An expansive show big enough to show the American master’s broad accomplishment while delving into his themes- well-known and lesser-known, beginning with the Civil War and its aftermath. Incalculably influential during his life and after, Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents at The Met showed the relevance of his Art continues.

Louise Bourgeois’s Guarantee of Sanity – Published on August 25, 2022. One of the final shows mounted under Sheena Wagstaff as The Met’s Chair of Modern & Contemporary Art, Louise Bourgeois Paintings proved to be a worthy culmination to a very memorable tenure. For those, like me, only familiar with her Sculpture and Installations, her Paintings proved every bit as compelling. The question for me became how have they been so overlooked for so long?

William Klein: A Thousand Times YES – Published on September 21, 2022. One of the most influential Photographers of our time and one of the most endlessly curious, William Klein’s long career (1948-2013. 65 years!) as seen in ICP’s William Klein: YES was continually fascinating. In such a long career, landmarked with classic PhotoBooks, great and/or important Films1, and countless indelible images, what I love most is that he began as a Painter. His Paintings are rarely seen, so, in addition to EVERYTHING else he did that was on view, this was a wonderful chance to see some of them.

Hughie Lee-Smith, Self-Portrait, 1964, Oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches.

Hughie Lee Smith: Leaving History Behind – Published on September 30,2022. The “history” of Art is written way too quickly in my view. It takes at least 100 years for the dust to settle and for those looking to really appreciate what’s been done. As seen at Karma’s Hughie Lee Smith, Hughie Lee Smith is a classic example of someone who was overlooked in the initial rush to judgment. As a result, I expect his name will heard more and more often as time goes on and more people see his work. As a result, his place in the 20th century Art history books will then be secured.

You’re a Painter. You’re 32. Your Yvonne and James II, 2021, Oil on canvas, was bought by, and is hanging in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, directly opposite Kerry James Marshall’s show-stopping Untitled (Studio), 2014 in their largest Modern & Contemporary Art Gallery, #915. If that’s not a “Wow,” what is?  June 18, 2022.- My caption as it appears in the piece.

Jordan Casteel: Surviving the Buzz – Published on October 20, 2022. It’s been a while since a new Contemporary Painter shot to the level of universal acclaim that Jordan Casteel has during the pandemic. Her New Museum show, Jordan Casteel: Within Reach took the Art world by storm. Heady times for any Artist, let alone one barely 30 at the time. Needless to say, the NYC Art world turned out in numbers to see what she would do next. I attended the opening of her first show since Within Reach, Jordan Casteel: In Bloom at Casey Kaplan, something I don’t often do, for a look-see myself.

Detail from Untitled (That’s the way we do it), 2011/2020 Digital print on vinyl wallpaper, seen at David Zwirner. Over the past 50 years Barbara Kruger’s style has become iconic to the point where now A LOT of people wish they could design like Barbara.

Barbara Kruger: Red & White and Read All Over – Published on November 1, 2022. Though her influence is, literally, everywhere you look these days, her Art is not shown all that often in NYC. After I got over the disappointment that the MoMA PS1 half of the show, a retrospective, had been canceled due to covid, I made do with the MoMA Atrium installation of a new site-specific work, and her concurrent David Zwirner show, spread over 3 of their galleries.

Diane Arbus At 99 – Published on November 10, 2022 – I’ve seen numerous Diane Arbus shows over the years going back to the incredible Diane Arbus: Revelations at The Met in 2005, one of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen (DON’T MISS the Revelations Exhibition catalog! Either in The Met’s original edition or the recent Aperture reprint), but I hadn’t written about Ms. Arbus because pictures were not allowed to be taken in any of her shows. Finally, for the recreation of the legendary 1972 MoMA Retrospective at David Zwirner, they were. Many years of looking, and thinking about her work, had been simmering leading up to it.

Jane Dickson at the opening for her show at James Fuentes, April 7, 2022, while her work was also starring in the Whitney Biennial.

Jane Dickson: The Artist Laureate of Times Square – Published on December 8, 2022. Jane Dickson is something of an urban legend. By that I mean that she & her Art have been known for many years but it’s been a well-kept secret. Her latest show opened at James Fuentes while her work was starring in the Whitney Biennial showing that the word is finally getting out.

Endless compositional variety. Installation view of Jean-Michel Basquiat: Art and Objecthood @ Nahmad Contemporary.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: Now You See It, Now You Can’t – Published on December 22, 2022. One of the most amazing things about the Art of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s enduring popularity in 2022, for me, is that you can’t actually see his Art in person! Very, very few museums have him in their collections- still(!), and shows are infrequent. Curious to see if the real thing lived up to the hype, I’ve taken every chance I’ve had to see his Art in person going back a decade, now. In fact, I’ve now written about Mr. Basquiat more on NighthawkNYC than I have any other Artist! In 2022, I saw 2 more big shows of his work, Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure and Jean-Michel Basquiat: Art and Objecthood, bringing my total to 9 shows seen. In this piece I ponder “where to” with the Art of Basquiat in 2022, and the future.

Jeanine Heveaux and Lisane Basquiat, Jean-Michel’s sisters, at the book release in NYC on April 12th.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, At 62 – Published on December 22, 2022. The biggest Basquiat show of the past decade, by the number of pieces on view, 200, Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure marked the first time his family, who inherited his estate, showed their collection. While it included a few major pieces, most of the work on view was not quite up to that level (in my opinion). That’s not all that surprising since the Artist sold so much of his work right after he created it. Still, it was an important show for anyone with an interest in Basquiat, and very well installed. In the lead up to the opening, I met both of Jean-Michel’s sisters.

Business, as usual. A local record store in action.

What’s Left Unsaid About Remixed Classic Albums – Published on January 19, 2022. Records labels have a license to print money when it comes to reissues. Bonus extra tracks and other goodies are added to the package to get buyers, including many who already own the record, to buy it (again)! But, what exactly are you getting? I think more attention needs to be paid to just WHO is doing the remixing of classic albums, and even why! The Artists signed off on the original versions, and as time goes on, fewer and fewer of them are left to sign off on remixes or reissues! And, there’s little they can do about it if they’ve signed the rights to the recording over to the record company. This is my look at all of this: our Musical cultural heritage is at stake!

Kerry James Marshall: Return of the Mastr – Published on February 9, 2023. Kerry James Marshall returned with his first solo show after the legendary Kerry James Marshall: Mastry, which I wrote about here, the Painting show of the decade among those I saw.

If you don’t think he’s an “Artist,” try imagining The Little Prince without Saint-Exupéry’s Art.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: Artist – Published on March 21, 2023. Two shows at the Morgan Library made me wonder why no one even mentions Saint-Exupéry’s Art when discussing his timeless classic, The Little Prince. In honor of the 80th Anniversary of its publication, I look at just that.

Remember The Light: On The Passing of Wayne Shorter – Published on April 7, 2023. Wayne Shorter has been one of my Musical Gods for most of my life. I was lucky enough to see him perform quite a few times, and each was indelible. My thoughts on the passing of one of the great Musical geniuses of our time.

Rod Penner at his easel at work in the early stages of what would become Buy Pecans Here/San Saba, TX, in 2021 as seen in the book.

NoteWorthy Art Books: Rod Penner: Paintings, 1987-2022 – Published on April 7, 2023. 35 years coming, Rod Penner FINALLY gets a full-length book worthy of his Art. Not just that, it includes EVERYTHING he’s Painted. I took the first in-depth look at it anywhere!

Room in New York, 1932. Remember that song, “Eyes without a Face?” Well, this is “faces without eyes!”

Edward Hopper’s Impressions of New York – Published on May 5, 2023. I visited the Painting show of Year 8, Edward Hopper’s New York. at the Whitney Museum, fourteen times. As a result, it took three pieces, written over 9 months, to cover. Part 1 focuses on my problems with Edward Hopper’s Art being termed “realism.” I don’t see it that way. If the faces in Room in New York, above, don’t have eyes, how “real” can they be?

Early Sunday Morning, 1930. A block in my neighborhood 93 years ago. I now see it as an ominous warning.

Edward Hopper: The Last Traditionalist Faces Change – Published on June 5, 2023. Part 2 focuses on what I see when I look at Hopper now after seeing Edward Hopper’s New York.

Night Shadows, 1921, Etching. One of the first pieces by Hopper to speak to me. Looking at it, I wonder- who is the lonelier? The man walking on the street, or the observer? A similar experience is to be had with Nighthawks.
I chose this piece because it seems to me there are shadows encroaching on the Art of Edward Hopper in 2022-23. Seen at Edward Hopper’s New York.

Edward Hopper At The Whitney: Troubling Choices – Published on June 8, 2023. My 3-part Edward Hopper series concludes with a look at some troubling decisions the Whitney has made regarding the Art of Edward Hopper and the Josephine Hopper Bequest, the most extraordinary gift an American Painter has yet made to an American museum.

Performing Scarlatti…in a motorcycle jacket on the harpsichord. And, performing his 555 Sonatas(!) extraordinarily, with HIV.

Scott Ross: The Modern Ancient – Published on June 7, 2023. My look at the late Scott Ross, a true renaissance man and individualist, who’s best known for his marvelous recordings of Baroque Music…on the harpsichord, no less.

Filled with a lifetime’s fruits of observations, insights, and revelations. No Art lover should be without it, in my humble opinion.

Kenn Sava’s Desert Island Art Books – Published on July 12, 2023. After Months of agonizing over the final cuts, here they are! The Art books that have held up for me, while continuing to inform & inspire, that I can’t live without.

Counting this piece, I wrote TWENTY-ONE full-length pieces in Year 8! My Thanks to everyone who has read one, or more, of them, and my special thanks to all those who have book Art, books and Music from my collection, which I am selling off to help keep this site going. Your support is VERY appreciated, and still needed!

NighthawkNYC.com has been entirely self-funded & ad-free for over 8 years, during which 300 full length pieces have been published! If you’ve found it worthwhile, PLEASE donate to allow me to continue below. Thank you, Kenn.

You can also support it by buying Art, Art & Photography books, and Music from my collection! Art & Books may be found here. Music here and here.

Written & photographed by Kenn Sava for nighthawknyc.com unless otherwise credited. To send comments, thoughts, feedback or propositions click here. Click the white box on the upper right for the archives or to search them. Subscribe to be notified of new Posts below. Your information will be used for no other purpose.

  1. imdb lists him as the Director of 24! ↩

Scott Ross (1951-1989): The Modern Ancient

This site is Free & Ad-Free! If you find this piece worthwhile, please donate via PayPal to support it & independent Art writing. You can also support it by buying Art & books! Details at the end. Thank you.

Written by Kenn Sava (Photographs from Discogs.com)

Today, as NYC Pride Parade goes on outside, the late Scott Ross has been on my mind. For those who may not know him, Mr. Ross was a harpsichordist who was one of the great interpreters of Baroque Music of our, or any, time. He almost single-handedly, using two hands, brought the harpsichord back into the conversation from decades of neglect in Classical Music.

Scott Ross died of HIV/AIDS-related causes in June, 1989, but it never defeated him.

Born in Pittsburgh in 1951, he moved to France with his mother after the death of his father in 1964, Living in France the rest of his life, he never became a citizen, and had stopped making U.S. Social Security payments, a combination that conspired to leave him not eligible for medical care. He was forced to look to his circle for support and to care for him at home until he died.

Scott Ross appeared on the Music scene at a perfect moment. Beginning in the 1960s, a group of dedicated Baroque Musicians and scholars had been making waves in the world of recording by performing the Music of the Baroque masters on instruments that existed at the time they wrote their Music. This upset the apple cart of tradition where the world had gotten used to hearing this Music played on modern instruments, including the piano (and the modern orchestra for that matter), which didn’t exist at the time of the earlier composers. They had written their Music for the “Klavier,” usually a harpsichord. As the piano was perfected over hundreds of years it assumed the central place in Music-making, leaving the harpsichord to museums, until the synthesizer came along to make the piano take a back seat. So, Scott Ross, at once, continued this “original instrument” movement in Baroque Music, and was, again, something entirely new. Most modern listeners had little, if any, experience with hearing the harpsichord. The surprise was furthered by his “natural” appearance at his concerts. He showed up dressed as he was, as you can see on his album covers shown in this piece.

Beyond all of this, however, Scott Ross always put the Music first. He was a brilliant interpreter of every composer he turned his talent to, whose recordings stand up against anyone else’s- before, during, or after his lifetime. Even those of Glenn Gould, who I love, and Mr. Ross had problems with.

“When all you do is play music from morning till night you end up unable to hear it properly. It is extremely important to think about other things, to have other interests, in order to bring a new vision to your work. Discovering new things gives meaning to my life and when I become interested in something there are no half-measures. For example, the interest I had as a child in pebbles goes back as far as my interest in music, and it has never left me,” Scott Ross quoted in the liner notes to The Art of Scott Ross, CBC Records.

In addition to his Musical gifts, Mr. Ross was a passionate grower of orchids who was fascinated with “strange ones,” not the type you’d see in a flower store. He created an early computerized database of those he cross-bred. He was also a Photographer with his own dark room, an authority on edible mushrooms; volcanoes and minerals, cooking and home renovation and carpentry, were among his many other interests as something of a true “renaissance man.” 

Today, and for much of his life, he was and is, perhaps, best known for his first-ever recording of the complete Sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti. After first showing symptoms of HIV in 1983 (just two years after the identification of the virus and in the infancy of treatment), he realized that he had a fatal illness. Yet, he kept working and producing remarkable results. Somehow he found the strength & fortitude to enable him to achieve something never before done. He undertook ninety-eight recording sessions, producing 8,000 takes, between June, 1984 and September, 1985 in Paris, Avignon and Château d’Assas recording the first-ever collection of Scarlatti’s compete keyboard sonatas which were released on THIRTY-FOUR CDs.

“An heroic achievement,” BBC Music Magazine. Seen here is the cover of the 2014 Erato reissue.

That’s just staggering to consider- for someone in perfect health. We’re talking about FIVE HUNDRED FIFTY-FIVE sonatas! Today, almost 40 years later, they are still widely considered “definitive” recordings. In the time since Mr. Ross recorded his cycle only one other complete cycle by one Musician is known to me. (One other cycle features different pianists on each disc.) Even more remarkably, he revealed in an interview- “When I suggested this marathon undertaking to Erato and Radio France, I simply did not know most of the 555 sonatas. I had to work like a madman. I was anxious to make the recordings quickly, not only because of the three-hundredth anniversary (of Scarlatti’s birth in 1685) and the broadcasting requirements of Radio France, but also in order to stay in the spirit of Scarlatti. It is very likely that al the sonatas were written quickly1.”

Mr. Ross was notorious for breaking boundaries and doing things his own way. His “natural appearance” at concerts was something never before seen in an austere classical concert hall: be it in a leather biker jacket, or wearing flannel, looking  a bit like John Lennon, or in a knit cap, as he is below in his final concert, the Soundtrack for this piece, performing Rameau’s “La Livri” in Rome on April 6, 1989, just 8 weeks before he died.

It’s absolutely amazing to me that his skill remained undiminished right to the end in spite of all he was going through, as you can see and hear below in one of his few video performances, which is also evidenced on every one of the recordings he made. A true testament to his strength and perseverance. Even AIDS couldn’t overcome his brilliance.

 

NighthawkNYC.com has been entirely self-funded & ad-free for over 8 years, during which 300 full length pieces have been published! If you’ve found it worthwhile, PLEASE donate to allow me to continue below. Thank you, Kenn.

You can also support it by buying Art, Art & Photography books, and Music from my collection! Art & Books may be found here. Music here and here.

Written & photographed by Kenn Sava for nighthawknyc.com unless otherwise credited. To send comments, thoughts, feedback or propositions click here. Click the white box on the upper right for the archives or to search them. Subscribe to be notified of new Posts below. Your information will be used for no other purpose.

  1. Interview in the booklet in the Scarlatti CD set ↩

Remember The Light- On The Passing of Wayne Shorter

This site is Free & Ad-Free! If you find this piece worthwhile, please donate via PayPal to support it & independent Art writing. You can also support it by buying Art & books! Details at the end. Thank you.

Written & Photographed by Kenn Sava.

I was very deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the incomparable Wayne Shorter at 89 on March 2nd. As a saxophonist, a composer, a band-leader…as a Musician, he was one of the supreme Musical talents in any kind of Music, ever. I am confident that is how posterity will come to think of him.

A classic Francis Wolf Photo from the 1960s of Wayne signed by him in London in 2008. From my collection.

I wrote about Wayne’s oeuvre and recommended a few of his albums in my 2018 piece celebrating his 85th Birthday, here. His body of work is so deep, so full of richness, surprise, endless innovation, exquisite taste, awareness and humanity, it defies categorization as “Jazz” or even Music. It’s aural Art. In thinking about Wayne, a word continually comes to my mind: teacher- one who shone his light on others. A very deep thinker, Wayne endlessly explored an extraordinarily wide realm of life: from physics & cosmology to literature, to science fiction, to Buddhism, and of course, Music of all kinds. He was a personal witness to much of Jazz history. His stories could make your jaw drop. He saw Charlie Parker and countless other earlier legends. He and his friend(!) John Coltrane spent hours practicing together. The night Bud Powell came to his hotel room very late when he was in Paris for a festival. And of course, the Miles Davis stories….

Wayne’s one-of-a-kind brain knew no boundaries or limits. Of course, this is demonstrated, for all time, on his records. It’s not a coincidence, or in passing, that one of his pieces was titled “On the Milky Way Express.” Concepts like space-time regularly appeared in his interviews.

When asked for his definition of “Jazz,” Wayne’s famous answer “Jazz means I dare you,” defines more than Jazz, in my opinion. It characterizes how he lived his life. Wayne dared continuously throughout his career. He dared to defy the expectations (earning the wrath of critics of his brilliant album High Life who wished he’d continued remaking his classics), broke boundaries by guesting on other Musician’s records in an extremely wide range of genres-  from Carlos Santana, Norah Jones and Steely Dan, to Don Henley and Joni Mitchell, one of the first Jazz Musicians to do so, and by writing and performing with so-called Classical ensembles, culminating with his opera, Iphigenia, which debuted in 2021. 

Wayne performs “In a Silent Way,” with its composer, Joe Zawinul, for the last time the two friends & legends would perform together before Joe’s passing in 2007. They cofounded the legendary band Weather Report. Joe wrote “In a Silent Way” for Miles Davis, who made it a classic on an album of the same name. I was lucky enough to meet Joe in the 1990s when my friend, the late Mark Ledford, was playing in his band. I can still feel his strong hand shake.

One never knew what to expect from a Wayne Shorter album or performance- except the unexpected. Without a Net is the apt title of one of his later albums, and that sums it up. In the spirit of the immortal Miles Davis Second Great Quintet, of which he was a key member, he and the Wayne Shorter Quartet always “went for it:” in the studio or live in concert. Along with the unexpected, one can trace on his recordings how he continually evolved over his long career.

Here is one example of his evolution over 40 years in 3 versions of his composition “Children of the Night,” of which I am certainly one, perhaps the Wayne composition I’ve played more than any other. The richness of its lines never ceases to amaze me, and different details emerge on each version. Originally written for Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, it appeared on their 1962(!) album, Mosaic–

Note Wayne’s tenor sax playing. He would leave Blakey a few years later and join Miles Davis in Miles’ Second Great Quintet, one of the greatest groups in Music history. (My “shortlist” of recommended Miles Davis albums is here.) As a result of his time with Miles, the ultimate master of using space in his playing, Wayne’s own playing became sublimely tasteful. 33 years after Mosaic, Wayne reprised “Children of the Night” as the opening track on his 1995 classic High Life, which Marcus Miller brilliantly produced, completely remaking it!-

Then, in 2002, “Children of the Night” was heard in an arrangement for big band on this wonderful live performance with his now immortal Quartet (with pianist Danilo Pérez, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade, who Wayne performed with for about 15 years of this century), and the NDR Big Band, shown below, 40 years after the original version was released1. This version strips away the production to reveal the intricacies and gorgeous counterpoint of his composition. Note the difference in Wayne’s playing on this version compared to that in the 1962 original! That sublime economy gained through 45+ years of experience and performing live at that point; the knowing what NOT to play…a hallmark of a Master. He starts out playfully until things get serious at 1:45…I also love how, at a number of points, he can’t resist joining in and playing some of the section parts (parts he wrote for the ensemble). Something you never hear a soloist do, and something I can’t recall Wayne doing elsewhere. In fact, he does relatively little soloing on this version (mostly at the end), especially compared to the 1962 version. Throughout, Danilo, John and Brian follow him like the fingers of a glove…

After the Wayne Shorter Quartet stopped performing live around 2014-5, the other members, Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade continued touring, calling themselves “The Children of the Light.” I tip my hat to whoever came up with that name. There are countless other non-members of the group out there, like me, who now consider themselves members of that family.

Imagine the sound. Moments before I took this, as everyone around me was standing and applauding, the Wayne Shorter Quartet had just finished lifting the roof off of Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater in 2012. John Patitucci’s Bass rests on the floor behind Wayne’s soprano & tenor sax.

Though in all of his Art there are riches to last lifetimes, these past few weeks since his passing, I’ve thought as much about the lessons of Wayne’s life and example…

“I dare you,” I can hear him say, “to break out of the expectations and boundaries in your life.”

*- The soundtrack for this piece is “Children of the Night” by Wayne Shorter.

For Benjamin J. Arrindell

NighthawkNYC.com has been Free & Ad-Free for over 7 years, during which over 275 pieces have been published! If you’ve found it useful, I need your support to continue.
I’m pleased to announce you can now support it by buying Art, ArtBooks and PhotoBooks! I’ve curated a selection of 400 books & pieces of Art from my collection, offered through my partnership with eBay seller GallerieK. Featured items of particular interest to my readers may be seen here. The complete selection is here now!

Or, you can donate by PayPal to help keep NighthawkNYC.com online & ad-free below. Thank you!

Written & photographed by Kenn Sava for nighthawknyc.com unless otherwise credited.
Comments, thoughts, feedback or propositions? Click here
Click the white box on the upper right for the archives or to search them.
Subscribe to be notified of new Posts below. Your information will be used for no other purpose.

  1. My guess is that Wayne Shorter arranged what we hear in this concert, perhaps based on the charts for High Life, but no arranger is credited in the video. ↩

What’s Left Unsaid About Remixed Classic Albums

This site is Free & Ad-Free! If you find this piece worthwhile, please donate via PayPal to support it & independent Art writing. You can also support it by buying Lps & CDs, Art & Art books from my collection! Details at the end. Thank you.

Written & Photographed by Kenn Sava.

It’s 2023. Do You Know What Your Remix Is?

One of the monuments of modern western culture. An early Parlophone CD release (1987) of The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s. At the moment, there are 1,099 DIFFERENT versions of Sgt. Pepper’s listed on Discogs. This one sells for about $5. If I wanted a CD version, this might be one I’d recommend. Why? Read on. Lps, CDs & DVDs shown are from my collection.

In my prior life as a musician and Music producer, as now, I have always respected the wishes of the Artist across whatever medium he, she or they worked in in the visual or aural Arts. Yet Artists, being human, have finite lives. Art, doesn’t.  As time has gone on, a lot of Music has outlived its creators. But, new listeners, even new generations of them, are continually discovering Music of the recent or distant past. The record companies are then faced with a dilemma. Do they keep reissuing the exact recordings that were originally issued?  Or, do they “update” the original recordings using the latest technology?  This has turned out to be an age-old question over most of the past 100+ years of sound recordings. It’s big business for those who own the recordings and/or the rights to them. Imagine making a product once, then being able to re-sell it to people over, and over, and over, and over again. 

The immortal Duke Ellington began recording in the 1920s in mono, of course, stereo being invented in 1931, but adapted slowly after. RCA, Decca and Columbia recorded him early on. Here in the first 20 volumes of their The Complete Works of Duke Ellington Lps, RCA has reissued their recordings from 1927-1943 in mono pretty much untouched except for the covers and the Lp format. Leaving aside the dated cover art, I believe this is the right way to do it.

After the Artist hands in the master recording on whatever format (i.e. tape or audio file), the label then takes that, packages it and releases it. After an indefinite while, the label decides to repress or rerelease the record. Then, the questions begin. Represses of vinyl or compact disc albums usually involve minor changes- a different pressing plant, perhaps, etc. These changes that no one except the dedicated fan or collector would notice are usually only documented on Discogs.com and on fan and collector sites.

Up to 1948, all sound recordings were mono, meaning everything was recorded on one track. In 1949, guitarist Les Paul invented multi-track tape recording, “sound on sound,” he called it1. This opened up a gigantic world of possibilities that was brilliantly explored by The Beatles and their Producer, Sir George Martin, among others. The amount of tracks you had to record on grew from 1 to 2 to 4 to 8 to 16, and on and on, and so did the possibilities.

If you see this message in GarageBand, it’s time to mix down some tracks to make room for more!

Today, everyone with Apple’s GarageBand app can have a whopping 256 tracks right at home! 48 tracks was the most I ever recorded on in my studio days, and even back in the early-mid 1990s, very few NYC recording studios had equipment to handle that many. After recording all the parts on to however many tracks, the Musician/Artist and their producer and engineer would “mix” the tracks together, adding equalization and effects, and placing each instrument within the aural space, to create the final sound of the piece. They would do this for every piece of Music to be released on an album. They would then make a 2-track stereo master tape of the finished album from start to end and hand that in to the record company as the finished, final product, to be manufactured and released to the public.

My copy of Miles Davis, Round About Midnight, Columbia CKS 8649, originally released in 1957, in the 1977 “Re-channeled for Stereo” reissue. More recently, Sony has begun to remix his immortal 1960s, and 70s albums that were originally recorded in stereo and produced by the legendary Teo Macero. Buyer beware!

When a record company decided to reissue an album, the changes to it may be small, or extensive. Some companies opted to reissue the original recordings, more or less the same, though there were caveats to that. Were they using the original materials- i.e. the original master tapes (in the tape era)? Or, were they working with a second, third, or fourth generation copy of the original?

As you move further and further away from the date of the original recording, tape begins to disintegrate. Copies had to be made. Uh oh! You’re then relying on the expertise of those making the copies doing a good job2  Later on, as stereo became all the rage, many earlier mono recordings were “electronically rechannelled” to mimic stereo, with varying results.

Charles Ives in Quad??? Wow, I’ve got to hear this! it turns out there are two types of Quadrophonic sound- both using 4 speakers arranged around the listener- Discreet, which featured different instruments coming from each speaker, and SQ, which this is, which artificially mixed the sound to mimic Quad, and “better suited” to be played on regular stereo equipment.

Next, it was quadrophonic sound, and some older recordings were, once again, processed to imitate quad, though they were originally recorded in stereo. More recently, there has been no shortage of technical innovations for the enterprising record companies to use as a reason (or excuse) to reissue older recordings. It’s gotten to the point that, according to Discogs.com, to date there are 1,099 versions of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band!

Roll over Beethoven. Tell Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky the news.

In my opinion, if you want to hear The Beatles records as THEY intended their Music to be heard go to the source. Get the original releases. Seen here on the verso of the Parlophone CD I showed up top the key information is lower center. Only Producer George Martin (who died in 2016) & Engineer Geoff Emerick (deceased in 2018) are listed in the technical credits. Meaning this CD was made from the master tape without someone else, who wasn’t involved in the original recording sessions, remixing them.

How many copies of it do you have? Why did you buy each of them? There are a heck of a lot of people out there who own more than one copy of Sgt. Pepper’s. And, probably, a heck of a lot of people who own more than one copy of other albums. Extra tracks, on many albums, and/or added documentation are a draw, in addition to so-called “technical improvements.”

What’s rarely mentioned in the rush to market the latest reissue is respecting the Artist’s wishes!

Recently, the record companies have started going back to the original multi-track master tapes and remixing them! Sometimes, reiusses are done under the direction, involvement, or at least the approval of the Artists. Other times, it’s hard to tell if that’s the case or not. As time goes on, fewer and fewer Artists or members of a group, may be living. Eventually, no one who was directly involved in the recording is left. Then what? There is big money at stake in the issuance of product by countless name Musicians or groups for the record companies. Of course, few bring in as much money as The Beatles, and given their enduring popularity, I used them as an example, but my thoughts apply to every recording Artist. Having been a musician, an independent record producer and a record aficionado for over a half century, a few things are clear to me- First, ONLY THE ARTIST knows what they want their Music to sound like. Everybody else who wasn’t involved in the original recording is guessing!

Rock and Jazz aren’t the only Music being rereleased of course. Here is a reissue one of the towering monuments of recorded Music- Glenn Gould’s 1955 recording of Bach’s The Goldberg Variations. His very first album. The 1955 recording was in mono, so much less to mess up here. Ironically, his final album was also Bach’s Goldberg Variations in 1981. The two performances are night and day different! If I could only have one album with me on a dessert island, it would be his 1981 recording. (Last year, Sony rereleased that album with all existing unreleased recordings in a box set to pair this with one, which I have not seen as yet.)

They may be making educated guesses, but they are guessing none the less. Artist’s ideas often evolve over time. Listen to both recordings of Glenn Gould performing Bach’s Goldberg Variations, for example, for proof. They are completely different. Who’s to say what Artist X would do in remixing an album he/she or they made 20 or more years ago? Basing a remix on what someone did before ignores this fact because NO ONE who is not the Artist knows for sure.

Second, when an Artist approves a Musicial “product,” that’s it. It’s finished. Done. The end of the story. It’s not subject to modification at some later date. How many Painters go back and alter a Painting years later? A few. maybe. Not most of them. But, someone else modifying a Painting greatly affects what it is, and opinions about it. It lessens that work in the eyes of Art historians! WHY isn’t that the case with Music remixed by others?

Glenn Gould was a perfectionist, in addition to being eccentric & unique. I’m left to wonder how he would have handled these reissues of his Goldberg Variations recordings, and IF he would have permitted the extra material, which was rejected in the first place, to be released at all! Surrounding his original masterpiece with 6 other CDs of rejected material may serve to diminish the effect and impression of the final album. The material should be preserved for historians, but releasing it to the public is highly questionable in my opinion.

Third, If someone who wasn’t part of the original recording remixes an album, it’s their vision of the Music, in my view. Their interpretation. If I want to hear The Beatles, I go to the original recordings they themselves made and were involved with producing and mixing (with Sir George Martin). Period.  

I bet no Musical Artist working in the 1960s, say, was ever approached with the following questions- “Is it ok with you if, at some later date, we remix your Music?” “Is it ok with you if, at some later date, we “electronically modify” your Music?”

What do you think the answers would have been?  “IF I’m involved in it, and personally approve the results,” might be the answer I would expect to hear most often. A LOT of time, work & care went onto getting things just right in making that original final mix and final master. To let someone else change it later? In my opinion, it’s outrageous. 

The reasons that these questions aren’t foremost on the minds of most Music listeners is, first, the Artist’s name is on it. It’s easy to assume the Artist approved anything with their name on it. That’s increasingly becoming up for debate! Then, in my view, some are too busy worrying about things that, frankly, are not as important! Be it CD vs Vinyl, or the new 40th anniversary edition with extra tracks and a 200 page book, with new mixes by the son of someone who was involved on the original record. Even how “good” something recorded in 2022 sounds compared to something recorded in 1999, 1969, 1959 or 1929. (Yes. I don’t think that’s as important.) Meanwhile, the original version, the one the Artist’s created & approved slips into oblivion, only to be found in the hands of astute collectors who spend time and money seeking out the original version.

IS THIS WHAT IT’S COME TO?

Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece, Brazil, in the Director Approved Special Edition DVD set from the Criterion Collection.

In books, 1st editions are the copies most valued. In Film, companies are issuing “Director Approved” versions and they receive the highest respect. This doesn’t always happen in Music. Why?

Simon & Garfunkel, Old Friends compilation and rerelease with extra tracks. I’m showing this without condemning or recommending it as an example of the difficulty the buyer faces in trying to understand just exactly what they’re buying.

When you buy an album, CD or digital album, look carefully at the fine print. You often have to look VERY long and hard to find out exactly who created the copy you hold in your hands. The Artist’s name may be on the front of it, but it’s the “other names” on the back, or inside who produced it and mixed it that are important, too, in my view. In 1995, I recorded a live Jazz quartet: alto sax doubling on flute, piano, bass and drums. When I shopped it to record labels, one very respected Jazz label (run by a Musician) offered me a considerable sum for it. On one condition. They wanted to replace the drummer. The drummer happened to be a “name” in Contemporary Jazz who won a Playboy Poll a few years earlier and had 11 solo albums out under his name. The Music was recorded in, basically, a one room studio with baffles set up to allow separation in the recording. The album was recorded live in the studio! The sax was in a separate booth, but there was still bleed from each instrument into the mics of the others. HOW was this label going to extract the existing drum track and substitute heaven knows whatever they had in mind? I refused out of hand. Frankly, it was the most ridiculous thing I ever heard! Their wanting to put “their stamp” on it was the only reason I could ever come up with. In the end, the label the drummer had been recording for subsequently picked up and released the album.

Detail of the hype sticker on the upper right of Old Friends. Read it carefully.

Now, I wonder…What will the record companies be re-releasing in 50 years? “New mixes by the son of the son of someone who knew a guy who was next door when they made the record?”

All the while, the most important thing is being lost. As time goes on, it becomes harder and harder to find those original mixes- the mixes the Artist’s created and/or personally approved.  Pick an Artist. Now, look for their original recordings, on whatever format you prefer. If you are into “vintage vinyl,” it’s easier to find them. Most pop/rock records in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and 1980s were initially released on vinyl. Look for the first release and you’re gold.  If you listen to CDs, it begins to get tricky.

Notes from the Old Friends reissue producer who wasn’t involved in the original recordings.

There was an initial outrage when CDs came out because many of them sounded inferior to the original vinyl release. They usually retained the original mixes because the remix fetish hadn’t taken hold yet, but they often used 2nd, 3rd, or 4th generation 2 track master tapes to produce the CD with, resulting in inferior products. Whatever format you’re buying, spend a moment to look for the technical credits. It should be spelled out somewhere in the liner notes or credits. You have to compare the credits side by side (or listen to them A-B) to know for sure. 

The fine print. Rerelease credits on Page 34 of the Old Friends Booklet. According to Discogs, Vic Anesini has been at Columbia Records since 1988. Simon & Garfunkel’s last studio album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, was released in 1970.

In my view, there is a lot to be said for finding the original mixes. Most importantly, THEY ARE WHAT THE ARTIST INTENDED WE HEAR! If you love that Artist, in my opinion, you should respect their wishes and seek out what they created.

Legendary Blue Note Recording Engineer Rudy van Gelder was so involved in all steps of a record he often inscribed his name in the dead wax of Blue Note Lps as evidence of his involvement. He has done so here, on a copy of Andrew Hills’s classic album, Judgement. Many years ago I wrote to Mr. Van Gelder to see if I could work for him. He never replied.

Age is a fact of life. Every one and every thing gets older. Nothing stays new forever. Sooner or later every piece of Music ever recorded is going to sound “old” compared to the latest technology. The record companies are selling “new” in the face of this. With each passing day, every record ever made gets older. There’s nothing anyone can do about that. Listener priorities need to change. Technical limitations are not the point. Expensive audio equipment will make these recordings sound as good as possible, but they may pale alongside recordings made in 2023. Of course, recordings made today should sound “better,” but in all honesty, due to the mastery of the brilliant producers and engineers of the past, like Sir George Martin, Rudy van Gelder, or my Grammy Award winning friend, Engineer Benjamin J. Arrindell, they often don’t, at least to me.

Three version of an etching by Rembrandt. Over time, he was fond of changing his Prints, as you can see here, particularly in the backgrounds. This also highlights an Artist’s changing view of his work over time! Rembrandt’s etching plates survived him and some are now in private hands, 350+ years after his death in 1669! Suffice it to say that prints made now from Rembrandt’s plates are not taken seriously by Art historians. I believe that once the dust settles and people assess what’s going on, the same will be true of remixed albums made by folks who had nothing to do with the original recording. Seen here shown in a darkened gallery to protect the light-sensitive Prints at Rembrandt’s Changing Impressions, in 2015 at Columbia University.

My concern is that these changes will start to erode the cultural legacy these Artists have created. How many pieces can you add to, say, Michelangelo’s David, before you diminish what it was? Even adding a fig leaf did that. Record companies are playing to the desire for “new releases” by Artists who may be long dead. I remember the day Jimi Hendrix died and, along with the towering loss of the man and his genius in his prime,  the incredible sadness that there would be no more new Hendrix to go with the 3 studio albums he recorded and released by the time of his death. You wouldn’t know that from looking at his catalog now! A steady stream of releases have come out under his name ever since, and no doubt will for Prince, too. Personally, I’m not sure any of them have added to his stature. In my opinion, the release of material possibly already rejected for release by an Artist can serve to diminish their overall accomplishment.

It also brings up a bigger question- DID JIMI HENDRIX, or any Artist this has happened to, WANT THIS MATERIAL RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC?

So, LET THE BUYER BEWARE! There are many albums reissued each year. Every case is different and needs to be carefully assessed. For me, I’ll listen to the Artist approved recordings & mixes on the best equipment I can, and I’ll be perfectly happy with it because I’m listening for the Music. Everyone else can decide what their priorities are and make educated decisions accordingly.

Business, as usual. A local record and book store in action, 2023.

“Industry rule number four-thousand-and-eighty; Record company people are shady So kids, watch your back ‘cause I think they smoke crack I don’t doubt it, look at how they act.”*

*- Soundtrack for this piece is “Check the Rhyme,” byPfife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest from their classic album, The Low End Theory, 1991.

I’m pleased to announce that you can support NighthawkNYC by buying Lps and CDs from my personal collection 40 years in the making! Mostly Jazz Lps are listed here. Mostly CDs of all types of Music are listed here. Art books & Fine Art from my collection may be seen here. NighthawkNYC.com has been entirely self-funded & ad-free for over 7 years, during which over 275 full length pieces have been published! If you’ve found it worthwhile, PLEASE donate to allow me to continue below. Thank you, Kenn.

Written & photographed by Kenn Sava for nighthawknyc.com unless otherwise credited. To send comments, thoughts, feedback or propositions click here. Click the white box on the upper right for the archives or to search them. Subscribe to be notified of new Posts below. Your information will be used for no other purpose.

  1. He had been experimenting with multi-track recording using discs in the 1930s. ↩
  2. More recently, in the digital era, this is less of an issue, but it still is one. Digital copies are supposed to be exact copies. People assume the digital master copy, which won’t disintegrate but it is subject to shortcomings of its own, was made from the original master tape. In many cases in the CD era, it has come to light later that in the rush to market it wasn’t. ↩

NighthawkNYC.com Is Seven! A Year In The Life Of…

Written & Photographed by Kenn Sava.

In honor of its 7th Anniversary, July 15, 2022, I decided to take a look back at Year Seven of NighthawkNYC.com, my most challenging year yet.

Lying in the hospital in November, I seriously doubted I’d be able to continue NighthawkNYC.com and get through Year Seven. Then, things got a bit worse…

During Year 7-
-The galleries that survived (alongside the countless galleries, stores, restaurants and businesses that didn’t) reopened, with restrictions, after the covid shutdown.
-The museums moved closer to full schedules (though not completely), with restrictions.
-Cézanne, Alice Neel, Jennifer Packer, Jasper Johns were each given blockbuster shows. Richard Estes, who like Jasper Johns also turned 90 this past year, was not. I wrote about all of them this year.

Along with this, this past year was a very hard year for me, personally. I hit year 15 free of cancer, but dealt with a mysterious illness that I still don’t have an answer for, then suffered a devastating financial setback. In spite of ALL of it, I created & published TWENTY-FIVE full-length pieces in those 52 weeks! 20 of them while I was working on the 3 Richard Estes pieces that took me 11 months to finish.
See for yourself-

Published on NighthawkNYC.com between July 15, 2021 and July 14, 2022, Year Seven, interspersed with personal “highlights” of my year-

August 1, 2021- “The Met’s Alice Need Love Letter To NYC” (Clicking on the title in each white box below opens the piece so you can revisit it.)

The Met’s Alice Neel Love Letter To NYC

August 21- “Don’t Call Chuck Close A ‘Photorealist'”

The last time I saw Chuck Close, I ran into him while we were both out gallery crawling late one Thursday eve in October, 2017, here in a small basement gallery in Chelsea. It was fascinating to watch him study Art he (or I) had never seen before and hear his comments.

Don’t Call Chuck Close A “photorealist”

September 10- “Remembering 9/11”- For the very first time, to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of that that horrific, indelible day, I shared my memories of 9/11 and the Photos I took before, on 9/11, and immediately after.

Just unimaginable. The view from my window shortly after 9:05am on 9/11/2001 showing the North Tower, 1 World Trade Center, on fire. I’ve never shared any of the Photos in this piece before.

Remembering 9/11

On September 15th, I began having spells of lightheadedness. I immediately went to the doctor, who tested me and couldn’t find anything wrong. 

September 21- “Cézanne’s Other Revolution”

The Murder, 1874-75, Pencil, watercolor, and gouache on paper. In this tiny work, the knife is held high amidst an idyllic scene, with an ominous cross lurking above.

Cézanne’s Other Revolution

October 23- “Art Is Back In Chelsea”

Metro Pictures on West 24th Street. I have seen many memorable shows here, including the fine Louise Lawler show that’s up now. They said they decided to close because of the globalization of the Art market, which doesn’t suit their model. I’ll miss it.

Art Is Back In Chelsea

November 7- “Tyler Mitchell: Bringing Joy Back To Art”

Tyler Mitchell

Tyler Mitchell: Bringing Joy Back To Art

At 4:30pm on November 9th, I nearly fainted crossing 8th Avenue. Wearing all black in the dark, I’m sure I would have been killed if the light had changed. I staggered to the other side then managed to get in a cab and go to the Emergency Room. After 10 hours, they decided to admit me. I was in the hospital for 3 days and saw 27 doctors. None could tell me what was wrong. I walked home (about 2 miles) after being released feeling just like I did when I went to the E.R. .

November 19- “John Chamberlain’s Twisted Dreams.” A nurse chastised me for working on this piece while I was in the hospital.

John Chamberlain’s Twisted Dreams

At 4:30pm on November 20th, the day after I published the John Chamberlain piece, I had another near fainting spell. I went back to the Emergency Room where I spent another 7 hours. Again, they couldn’t find a cause. This time I was released and walked home. To this minute, I still don’t know what was wrong. I was subsequently put on medication for a heart problem discovered during testing. The lightheadedness seemed to largely get better. The doctors I informed of this said it didn’t make any medical sense. 

November 27- “NoteWorthy PhotoBooks, 2021”

Zanele Muholi, the catalog for her show at, and published by, the Tate, London.

NoteWorthy PhotoBooks, 2021

December 28- “NoteWorthy Art Books (And Bricks), 2021”

Toyin Ojih Odutola, The UmuEze Amara Clan and the House of Obafemi

NoteWorthy Art Books (and Bricks), 2021

January 14, 2022- “NoteWorthy Music Book, 2021- Paul McCartney: The Lyrics”

From The Lyrics: Throughout the text Sir Paul regularly registers a very wide range of literature. Art is not left out. Left, we see him visiting Willem de Kooning, and right, one of his own Paintings from 1991.

NoteWorthy Music Book, 2021- Paul McCartney: The Lyrics

On January 20th, I suffered a devastating financial loss that leaves me having to focus on my survival full-time. To that point, I had worked on NighthawkNYC full-time for 6 1/2 years for no money, while other costs, besides my labor, have been quite substantial. 

February 4-  “Jasper Johns: Contemporary Art Begins Here”

Jasper Johns, Untitled, 2021, Acrylic and graphic over etching on paper. As strong as ever- at 90!

Jasper Johns: Contemporary Art Begins Here

February 19- “Cancer, +15”  Going in to cancer treatment, I had a 20% chance of getting through year 1 without additional treatment. Hard to believe I’m alive 15 years later…There are no words to express my Thanks. I hope sharing my experiences may help others…

Cancer, +15

February 21- “Jennifer Packer Arrives”

Jennifer Packer @ The Whitney. The word is out. The crowds are beginning to show up. December 28, 2021.

Jennifer Packer Arrives

March 21- “The Sculptural Photography of Vik Muniz”

Vik Muniz with his Nameless (Woman with Turban) after Alberto Henschel, 2020, Archival inkjet print, 90 by 59 inches, One of a kind.

The Sculptural Photography of Vik Muniz

April 4- “Nick Sethi’s PhotoBook Release In Canal Street”

Mind the meter. Nick Sethi takes it to the streets.

Nick Sethi’s PhotoBook Release In Canal Street

April 7- “The Brutal/Smells Like Teen Spirit Mashup” (Olivia Rodrigo meets Kurt Cobain)

Screencap of “Good 4 u,” Directed by Petra Collins.

The Brutal / Smells Like Teen Spirit Mashup

April 14- “Highlights of the Whitney Biennial: Matt Connors”

Matt Connors, One Wants to Insist Very Strongly, 2020

Highlights of the 2022 Whitney Biennial: Matt Connors

April 22- “Caslon Bevington’s Counterfeit Weather”

Caslon Bevington, Frictions (Variations A), 2022, Acrylic on panel, 16 x 20″

Caslon Bevington’s Counterfeit Weather

May 9- “Alec Soth: A Pound of Pictures”

Alec Soth: A Pound of Pictures

May 16- “Ahndraya Parlato: Magic, Mystery, Love & Death”

The cover of Who Is Changed and Who Is Dead

Ahndraya Parlato: Magic, Mystery, Love & Death

May 22- “Richard Estes: Painter. With No Prefixes”

Richard Estes even took over my banner for his 90th. Double Self-Portrait, 1967, from near the beginning of his mature career, seen here behind me.

Richard Estes: Painter. With No Prefixes.

June 6- “Richard Estes Art: What I See”

Richard Estes, Times Square, 2004, This may be the most technically astounding Painting I’ve ever seen, along with any Painting by Jan van Eyck. Having stood on this spot before, during and after 2004, I can certainly verify the overwhelming visual noise that still is Times Square, something that has never been more faithfully realized than it is here.

Richard Estes Art: What I See

June 19- “Richard Estes: Two ‘Manifestos'”

Self-Portrait, 2013

Richard Estes: Two “Manifestos”

June 29- “Learning to Think like David Byrne”

Learning To Think Like David Byrne

July 11- “Thank You, Sheena Wagstaff” I’ll miss the recently departed Chair of The Met’s Modern & Contemporary Department. I close out Year Seven of NHNYC with a look at what she’s given me, NYC, and the world this past decade.

Sheena Wagstaff looking at a very large work by Ursula von Rydingsvard at Galerie Lelong & Co., April, 2018, when I happened upon her when we were both making the rounds of galleries one afternoon (independently, of course).

Thank You, Sheena Wagstaff

P H E W!
I can’t begin to tell you how much work all of that was. Oh, and I got through it all, and spent all of the year, alone. Every minute of it for the second year in a row. Trust me. You don’t want to try it.

On July 15, 2015, I started this site to share my passion for Art and what I’ve seen in the NYC Art world with those everywhere else. In the past 7 years, I’ve published about 275 full-length pieces- 275 in 364 weeks! I have created everything you see on this site for free, and it’s been FREE to access for all!

Well, sooner or later something had to give. Nothing is truly “free” on the internet, though. It means that all the expenses incurred in creating, running  and maintaining NighthawkNYC.com have fallen on me. For the past 7 years, I’ve managed to keep this site ad-free. To defray some of the high costs, I experimented with Amazon links for 3 pieces, then abandoned them. I’ve considered using Patreon, I’ve been told I should put up a pay-gate like other similar sites use.

I’ve decided that first, I should see how much support there is for what I’ve been doing.

If you like what I’ve been doing, if you find this site useful, if you’ve discovered an Artist you previously didn’t know and now are interested in, or a book you’ve taken to, or you want to support Independent Art writing- your support has never been needed more than it is right now. THIS is the time to help.

Donate to keep it up & ad-free below. Thank you!

As always- Thank You for reading my pieces.

*-Soundtrack for this Post is “New York Minute” by Don Henley from The End of the Innocence, 1989 performed here by Eagles, unplugged in 1994-

Written & photographed by Kenn Sava for nighthawknyc.com unless otherwise credited.
To send comments, thoughts, feedback or propositions click here.
Click the white box on the upper right for the archives or to search them.
For “short takes” and additional pictures, follow @nighthawk_nyc on Instagram.

Subscribe to be notified of new Posts, if any, below. Your information will be used for no other purpose.

For L.

Learning To Think Like David Byrne

Show Seen: David Byrne: How I Learned About Non-Rational Logic at Pace Gallery

David Byrne has never been bashful about stepping out. First, as the the very strange, gangly, guy you couldn’t take your eyes off of with the legendary band Talking Heads, then by himself as a solo, or in collaborations with Brian Eno, Twyla Tharp, and St. Vincent, among others; in Films along the way (as an actor, director, or Oscar-winning composer), as a Photographer in his overlooked PhotoBook, Strange Ritual, and most recently in an acclaimed & successful one-man Broadway show, American Utopia.

Phew!

Me too. I spent a decade drawing every day and going to The Met to draw 3 times a week, even though I had a full-time job nowhere close to The Museum. It’s solitary, but rewarding in more ways than one.

As if that’s not enough, while American Utopia was still running on Broadway, came something else- a “mini retrospective” of his Drawings titled David Byrne: How I Learned About Non-Rational Logic, that ran from Feb 2 through March 19th, already his 8th show at Pace. The show included a selection of work dating back about 20 years, including a group of his Tree Drawings from the early 2000s, as seen in his book Arboretum, a group of Chair Drawings from 2004-7, and a group of Dingbat Drawings Mr. Byrne did during the pandemic. Some of his Dingbats were shown in a 2020 online show of that title. Always interested in what Mr. Byrne is doing, and what I can learn from it, and an eternal lover of the Art & essential skill that is Drawing, I took the elevator to the top floor of Pace’s new mega gallery on West 25th to take a look.

The show coincided with the release of his latest book, the astonishingly popular A History of the World (In Dingbats); a collection of 100 Drawings. Not to be confused stylistically with his earlier Drawings, the Dingbats are more “traditional” Drawings that range across a wide variety of subjects, IF you can call ANYTHING David Byrne does “traditional.”

Swim Inside My Head, 2020, Ink on paper.

The show’s title, How I Learned About Non-Rational Logic, sounds like an open invitation to learn how to think like Mr. Byrne. The range of styles on view gave the viewer the chance to approach that from a few directions that ranged from the apparently quite accessible to obtuse. I guess that’s saying there was something for everyone. On a wall near the entrance was something of an Artist’s Statement, quoted in part-

Installation view.

Cloud Chair, 2006, Ink on paper.

Installation view of 3/4 of the show.

I Dreamed of the Art Trap, 2007, Ink on paper.

A series of “Chair” Drawings from 2006, Ink on paper. The piece on the far right, Cloud Chair, is shown earlier.

A fascinating way to think. If you’re intrigued by it, check out Arboretum.

“I’m an ordinary guy
Burning down the house1“

After all he’s done to this point, it appears that David Byrne is David Byrne’s greatest creation. So, how to think like he does? I think you start by taking the essence of yourself, then throw out everything that’s too derivative of what someone else has done (“Stop Making Sense?”), and then emphasize what makes you unique. Along the way you can put down in Music, Film, on stage or on paper, things you see that no one else does. At least not in your own unique way!

Like these-

The Evolution of Eating Utensils, 2003, Pencil on paper.

Consensual Absurdities, 2003, Pencil on paper

Between his Music, his Films, his Photography, his stage work, and now his Art, as time has gone on, we’re continuing to see there is more…much more, to David Byrne than anyone could ever imagine when that very strange, gangly guy walked on stage with Talking Heads at CBGB in 1977. I hope he continues to amaze and puzzle us for decades to come.

BookMarks-

The most succinct thing to say about David Byrne is that I can think of nothing he has done to not recommend. Some may not be as big fans of The Catherine Wheel, or his album The Forest, but that’s splitting hairs. As the late, great Jaco Pastorius once told me when I told him I liked his work with Joni Mitchell “better” than her earlier work- “Hey man. You either like an Artist or you don’t.” The man has had an important career and written innumerable great songs. Since the surprise hit show American Utopia is introducing him to many new fans, I’ll just give a quick rundown here-

The 8 Talking Heads studio albums chronologically.

Starting from the beginning, ALL the Talking Heads albums are classics in my book. I gave it some thought and really couldn’t pick one to start with. Remain in Light? Fear of Music? The Dual Disc reissues with added tracks are particularly recommended, if you can find them reasonably priced. The complete Dual Brick of all 8 studio Lps on CD/DVD Dual Disc currently goes for $200 to $250 being out of print. Though you’ll gain more Music, the sanctity of the original album should be kept firmly in mind (which is included on the DVD in 5.1 Surround Sound, overseen by Jerry Harrison), though it’s hard to replicate the impact it had when each were released, now. In the midst of punk, Talking Heads seamlessly walked the line between punk and New Wave, if they did not singlehandedly define the latter. I remember it well. I wound up in a New Wave band the year after Talking Heads ’77 came out!

Stop Making Sense is a must-see concert Film. True Stories…I haven’t seen in a while, but it’s on my list to see again.

His work with Brian Eno has many fans.

I thought his collaboration with St. Vincent, Love This Giant. was wonderful. After they got it out on the road with punchy arrangements (I started out as a horn player, and there’s still nothing like the sound of live horns for me!), it sounds even better-

And then there are his countless solo albums. I’m still working my way through them. One thing I can say is those I’ve heard don’t sound dated.

Personally, I really like his PhotoBook Strange Ritual, though I advise you to take a look through it before deciding to buy. It’s not for everyone.

Arboretum is Artistic while showing a different way of thinking. I think the concept, a sample shown above and in other works in the show, works very well throughout. I think it’s a book that’s going to remain sought after.

How Music Works is a uniquely down to earth look at Music & the business of. As much a “field guide” for the working Musician as it is a book for listeners and his fans. Most books like it are written by Music business people or lawyers. Uggh. This one is written from the REAL inside by someone who counts- a Musician who’s done it all AND succeeded at all of it!

It includes sketches of CBGB’s, a club that Mr. Byrne helped make immortal, seen here before, left, & after its remodeling, right. I spent many, many a night on the right, a few on the left..In the mid-1990s, I booked Music into CB’s Gallery, another Music club CBGB later opened in the space to the right where the Drawing is labelled “CBGB” and “CBGB “Remodeled'”

A History of the World (In Dingbats) is one of those Art Books that may seem easy to write off at first, but then keeps surprising & intriguing you. I’ve been amazed watching it sell out everywhere. Say what you will about it- it’s speaking to a wide range of folks. Almost ANY book of Drawings that reaches people these days is probably going to be a book I am fond on. This one counts.

*-Soundtrack for this Post is “Born Under Punches” by David Byrne & Talking Heads from their album Remain in Light, 1980.

NighthawkNYC.com has been entirely self-funded and ad-free for over 6 years, during which over 250 full length pieces have been published. As I face high expenses to keep it going, if you’ve found it worthwhile, please donate to keep it up & ad-free below. Thank you!

Written & photographed by Kenn Sava for nighthawknyc.com unless otherwise credited.
To send comments, thoughts, feedback or propositions click here.
Click the white box on the upper right for the archives or to search them.
For “short takes” and additional pictures, follow @nighthawk_nyc on Instagram.

Subscribe to be notified of new Posts below. Your information will be used for no other purpose.

  1. “Burning Down The House,” Speaking in Tongues, 1983 ↩

The Brutal / Smells Like Teen Spirit Mashup

Written, and with a Photograph, by Kenn Sava

I’ll never forget the first time I heard Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in full effect. I was with a date on the (uncharacteristically) not-packed-for-a-moment dance floor of the legendary NYC club, Area, in 1991 when its opening guitar chords were suddenly overwhelmed by Dave Grohl’s drums bringing the band in hit us like howitzer shells exploding from the speakers over our heads. I’d heard it before, but under this mega-system, it literally lifted me out of my skin.

Screencap of the opening scene of the “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Music video, 1991, Directed by Samuel Bayer, includes cheerleader with pom poms in a school gym.

“Hello, hello, hello, how low”*

Though Nirvana had been making great Music on record since their debut Lp, Bleach, in 1989, that was the opening “Hello” of the biggest movement in Rock since Punk. It exploded countless millions of times everywhere on planet earth that year, and Rock was never the same after…

The Music video, also appearing in heavy rotation, was a work of Art every bit on the level with the song, and just as revolutionary, paving the way for “Grunge,” Music & fashion. Recently, Nirvana dummer, now Foo Fighters leader, Dave Grohl, credited the video with having a bigger impact than the record1. The video adds a bit of another dimension to the lyrics and helps center them.

Besides love & sex, Rock has been about nothing if not teen angst, anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, and depression, alongside a yearning to rebel or break free, these past 70 years. “Teen Spirit” felt like the ultimate Musical expression of teen angst.

“I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us”*

In 1994, Kurt told Rolling Stone that he was “trying to write the ultimate pop song,” saying he was strongly influenced by the Pixies in writing “Teen Spirit2.”  On more than one level, he succeeded, in my opinion. On other levels, like everything else involving Kurt Cobain, it’s pretty complicated. “Pop” Music is supposed to be light and disposable, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” who’s title may a possible reference to a popular woman’s deodorant of the time that a one time Kurt girlfriend may have worn3, is anything but. For some, it was a call for a revolution- a rejection of what had become staid, overly processed and boring- in Music and beyond, and one that certainly happened in Rock Music and fashion over the rest of the decade in its wake.

I only got this ticket thanks to a friend who worked at Geffen, the band’s label. Enduring thanks, that is!

When I saw Nirvana in what turned out to be their final NYC show at Roseland on July 23, 1993, they didn’t play it, by far their biggest hit, during their set, unheard of for just about any other band. I found out later that Kurt was growing tired of playing it, and the expectation that they would play it. They played it as the encore, to the relief of everyone in the sold out house. I grew up playing in garage bands, and Nirvana was certainly the ultimate garage band. Seeing them was not just about their raw power. The nuance of their performance and the power of their lyrics took them to an entirely other level, one that very few bands have ever matched. Of the thousands of shows I’ve seen in my life, I count myself extremely lucky to have seen them that night.

Fast forward 30 years from 1991…to 2021. I couldn’t help having much of the same reaction watching another remarkable Music video- that for Olivia Rodrigo’s “Brutal,” directed by the ground-breaking Photographer Petra Collins, even though I’m far from my teenage years, and not female. Though so much has changed in those intervening 30 years since “Teen Spirit”, the things young people go through and how they feel about them, hasn’t changed at all. If anything, it’s only gotten more complicated. 

As I thought about it, I couldn’t escape thinking about the parallels between both songs, and their videos, on a number of levels.

First, some basic stats-
Kurt Cobain, B. 2/20/1967 (D. 4/5/1994- 8 months after I saw Nirvana at Roseland). “Teen Spirit” released in 1991, when Kurt was about 24.
Olivia Rodrigo, B. 2/20/2003. “Brutal” released in May, 2021, when Olivia was 17 or 18.

Breaking out! Screencap from the 8 1/2-ish final scene of “Brutal.” I can’t help wondering if the ballet dancers are autobiographical on the part of Director Petra Collins, who started out to be a ballet dancer.

“They say these are the golden years
But I wish I could disappear
Ego crush is so severe
God, it’s brutal out here.”^

“Brutal” begins with a video game player selection screen over a repeated power synth line that could have been straight out of a 1990s video game, that in some ways is a 2021 equivalent of Kurt’s immortal opening power guitar riff on “Teen Spirit,” and serves much the same purpose. The scenes quickly change from showing her insecurities in ballet class and collapsing to the floor grabbing her ankle4, to a pseudo news broadcast, before taking us to a school classroom and corridor. Both songs feature the soft/loud dynamic, that Kurt Cobain said he took from The Pixies, to aural, lyric and visual dramatic effect. The whole things ends up on a freeway parking lot and a pretty cool “homage” to the beginning of Fellini’s 8 1/2 that ends the “Brutal” video! We see Olivia “breaking out” by getting out of her car and walking over the cars in front of her, a bit like 8 1/2′s hero who flies above the parked traffic in front of him in that classic opening scene that announces a masterpiece to follow. Nirvana’s video famously takes place in a gym auditorium, and features cheerleaders in pleated skirts with pom poms. In “Brutal,” Olvia wears a pleated plaid pleated skirt for much of it. Then, in the video for “Good 4 u,” which is also Directed by Petra Collins, she wears a full cheerleader’s outfit and much of it takes place in a school gym!

Screencap of “Good 4 u,’ also Directed by Petra Collins in 2021. A cheerleader’s outfit in a school gym and pom poms…Hmmm….

Kirt Cobain, Nirvana, and Frederico Fellini? Pretty heady company for any 17 or 18 year old.

Then, I took a closer at the lyrics to both songs. I decided to mash them up. The results are below.

“Brutal,” by Olivia Rodrigo & “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Kurt Cobain/Nirvana
A Mashup By Kenn Sava

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” on this margin-

“Brutal” on this margin-

[Chorus]
With the lights out, it’s less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us

[Verse 1]
I’m so insecure, I think
That I’ll die before I drink

[Verse 2]
I’m worse at what I do best
And for this gift, I feel blessed

And I’m so caught up in the news
Of who likes me and who hates you
And I’m so tired that I might
Quit my job, start a new life
And they’d all be so disappointed
‘Cause who am I if not exploited?

And I’m so sick of seventeen
Where’s my fucking teenage dream?

If someone tells me one more time
“Enjoy your youth,” I’m gonna cry

[Pre-Chorus]
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello

[Chorus]
With the lights out, it’s less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us

And I don’t stick up for myself
I’m anxious, and nothing can help
And I wish I’d done this before
And I wish people liked me more

[Chorus]

I’m worse at what I do best
And for this gift, I feel blessed
Our little group has always been
And always will until the end

All I did was try my best
This the kinda thanks I get?
Unrelentlessly upset (Ah-ah-ah)
They say these are the golden years
But I wish I could disappear
Ego crush is so severe
God, it’s brutal out here

[Outro]
A denial, a denial
A denial, a denial
A denial, a denial
A denial, a denial
A denial

And lately, I’m a nervous wreck
‘Cause I love people I don’t like
And I hate every song I write
And I’m not cool, and I’m not smart
And I can’t even parallel park

“Got a broken ego, broken heart
And God, I don’t even know where to start”^

*- Soundtracks for this Post are *”Smells Like Teen Spirit,” by Kurt Cobain from Nevermind by Nirvana and ^”Brutal,” by Olivia Rodrigo from the album Sour.

NighthawkNYC.com has been entirely self-funded and ad-free for over 6 years, during which over 250 full length pieces have been published. If you’ve found it worthwhile, you can donate to keep it going & ad-free below. Thank you!

Written & photographed by Kenn Sava for nighthawknyc.com unless otherwise credited.
To send comments, thoughts, feedback or propositions click here.
Click the white box on the upper right for the archives or to search them.
For “short takes” and additional pictures, follow @nighthawk_nyc on Instagram.

Subscribe to be notified of new Posts below. Your information will be used for no other purpose.

 

  1. Here. ↩
  2. Here. ↩
  3. https://genius.com/Nirvana-smells-like-teen-spirit-lyrics ↩
  4. Interestingly, Director Petra Collins started out to be a ballet dancer before an injury led her to go into Photography. ↩

NoteWorthy Music Book, 2021- Paul McCartney: The Lyrics

Written & Photographed by Kenn Sava

Sir Paul McCartney, larger than life, and in actual size front and center stage, performing at Yankee Stadium, in July, 2011, on his iconic Hofner “Beatle Bass.”

Having looked at NoteWorthy PhotoBooks of 2021 and NoteWorthy Art Books of 2021, no discussion of NoteWorthy Books on the Arts published in 2021 would be complete without a look at Paul McCartney: The Lyrics, one of the most important Music-related books published this century.

“…one of greatest songwriter of all time…” From the hype sheet on the back. Paul McCartney, who didn’t write this, doesn’t strike me as a man who would go around calling himself “the greatest.” But if he did, how many could argue with him?

Having spent the early part of my life as a working musician and then working in the Music business, truly great songwriting was something I learned about from very talented composers & songwriters and I developed an ear for it as time went on. Great is one thing, but I will reiterate that I don’t believe “the best” or “the greatest” exists in the Arts. Whatever criteria you use to arrive at them is subjective. Still, if someone else wants to host the conversation about “Who is THE greatest songwriter of all time?,” even I would agree that Paul McCartney has to be in the discussion. It’s a conversation that might well include Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Hugo Wolf, Charles Ives, the Gershwin Brothers, Cole Porter, Rogers & Hart, Burt Bacharach, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Morrissey & Marr, and Smokey Robinson. Cases can be made for others, including John Lennon, who was cut down far too young, and George Harrison, just among Sir Paul’s associates. Yet even compiling the short list is subjective! IF at the end of such a (pointless & meaningless) discussion, the “winner” was decided to be Paul McCartney, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. After all, arguing against his selection is even more daunting than deciding who should be in the conversation to begin with!

So, the release of Paul McCartney – The Lyrics this fall is a major event- in Music and in publishing. Beyond the event, it’s a book that lives up to the man, and more importantly, the timeless Music he’s given us with The Beatles, Wings and as a solo Artist. Sir Paul has given us a book that is his way of answering the repeated cries for an Autobiography. It’s brilliantly conceived, written and complied, but, when all is said and done, disappointingly only adequately realized in my opinion.

“Let’s all get up and dance to a song
that was a hit before your mother was born.
Though she was born a long long time ago
Your mother should know.
Your mother should know.
Sing it again.”*

Yes, sing it again. At first glance, a book of lyrics by Paul McCartney may seem unnecessary. After all, generations of people, now, have been listening to his songs non-stop since he wrote them, and many have their lyrics committed to memory. How many do you have memorized? Consciously, or subconsciously.

Putting the question of total lyric recall aside, in its generous two large hardcovers in a slipcase the reader will find the lyrics, yes, accompanied by a wealth of material including reproductions of many hand written original lyrics (if they have been written in the time of omnipresent computers, it would have been history’s unending loss), drafts and notes, a huge number of vintage Photographs (a good number by the terrific, late, Photographer, and his wife and band-mate, Linda McCartney), among other ephemera, but as wonderful as all of this is to see (much of it will be new to 99% of readers), make no mistake about it- it’s Paul McCartney’s text that is the star here.

Over the course of 960 pages, Sir Paul sets out to prove exactly what he means by that quote above about the import of his lyrics. We get a plethora of background insights into both the genesis of the songs, their details, and more. Contemporary people, places and events are recalled and discussed. Writing in a matter-of-fact way, as the books unfold, he also sets the record straight as he sees it on everything Paul McCartney-related, and does it in the context of discussing his songs! His true feelings about Yoko “invading” The Beatles’ recording sessions? His post-Beatles “spat” with his childhood friend, John? How he feels about Queen Elizabeth? And on and on and on and on. At times, his frankness shocks, and someone else might have saved them to be published posthumously, yet it quickly becomes obvious his thoughts and feelings have been carefully considered for years, and more often, for decades. The book reads like he’s talking to the reader much of the time, and talking for the record all of the time. The insights are revelatory, and historic. Given Paul, and The Beatles, lasting import on our time and the recent past, it quickly becomes apparent that this is a book for the ages- a primary reference on The Beatles and/or Sir Paul forever more. His part of The Lyrics is extremely well done- It’s hard to imagine what Sir Paul has given us being any better, making The Lyrics a dream come true for any fan or Music lover.

Genius at work. “Penny Lane” original manuscript lyrics. Posterity will be grateful it wasn’t written on a computer!

In the end, what comes shining through for me is the revelation of the depth and scope of Sir Paul’s intellect and his Artistic interests. It’s too easy for many to denigrate pop songs (and those who write them) as trite. The text of The Lyrics continually tells another story entirely. Time and again, he mentions being influenced by this writer of prose or that, this classic of literature or that, in addition to real life influences for many of his songs, which must be shocking to those who think that lyric writing is just about clever rhyming. Along with this, the extreme care (i.e. craft) Sir Paul puts into his words is compelling, and on as full display here as we’re likely to get. “The great ones always make it look easy,” might be one way of saying it, but in that “ease” often lies great effort and a lot of thought. It becomes apparent to me that these influences were role models for Paul McCartney as he evolved. He speaks of what he learned from each, and he learned their lessons so well that his name will be spoken alongside any and all of them forever more. I’m not denying that some, many, even most pop songs are trite. But, it’s apparent now, 60 years on, that The Beatles songs are Art, and will remain such, I believe, from here on.

Throughout the text Sir Paul regularly references a very wide range of literature, but Art is not left out. Left, we see him visiting Willem de Kooning, and right, one of his own Paintings from 1991.

In particular, a visit to Willem de Kooning’s studio on Long Island proved revelatory for the former Beatle. He recounts the effect as liberating, for both his own Painting and his Music. Besides Sir Paul’s text, the accompanying material is a constant joy and offers its own revelations at every turn. It feels like looking through a Beatles/Sir Paul McCartney Museum. It, too, gets top marks. 

For me, it ends there. 

“The first time I saw John Lennon was on the bus. I didn’t know him then, so he was just this slightly older guy with a sort of rocker hairdo, lots of grease, black jacket, sideburns.” P.557.

Getting into the actual books as books, the paper (sourced from managed forests, and which I assume is acid-free) is adequate, but nothing special to the touch. Ditto the binding (the books are printed in China). It seems to be holding up in the numerous display copies I’ve seen which always get rough treatment. The covers (the dust jackets & the boards) for the two individual volumes are quite nice, but the sparse design for the slipcase, which seems to be sturdy enough, puzzled me. My immediate reaction was to wonder if it’s supposed to be in “Apple green?” Then, in the section on the immortal “Penny Lane,” Sir Paul shows us a picture of a Liverpool bus from the “Penny Lane” Music video, which looks quite a bit like this one, and leads me to suspect it is the source for the color of the slipcase. An ode to Liverpool? Fine. Then, he mentions the first time he saw John Lennon was on one of these busses… Yet, the big negative for me is the book design. It’s pedestrian at best. A real opportunity has been lost to make a book that looks, feels and reads as special as its content is. What this tells me is that Triboro Design, who designed this book, tried very hard to just stay out of the way. Instead, they failed to even do that by making their lackluster design continuously noticeable, and in the end distracting from the content, in my opinion.

“How on earth am I going to meet the right person with these billions of people teeming about the planet?” One of the most remarkable things about The Beatles, for me, is that they met. Never before in Music history (or Art history) have two geniuses collaborated for an extended period. I have marveled about the miracle of their finding each other for decades. Here, on page 555, Sir Paul confesses wondering about it himself as a young man.

If you want to see REALLY terrible design, check out, (or DON’T check it out if you don’t!), the eBook version of The Lyrics. While the state of eBooks continues to mystify me, if there was ever a shining example of why they haven’t made a dent in the Art Book or PhotoBook market, the ebook of The Lyrics is it. It’s so bad the book loses quite a bit of its charm in the translation to the electronic format. It makes me wonder if Sir Paul saw it before it was released. Stick with the hardcover set.

Sir Paul addresses why he became a bassist, something very interesting to me as a former bassist myself, though what he says about the traditional bassist is news to me.

Paul McCartney – The Lyrics is a set you can sit down and read through, or you can skip around in it, and enjoy every bit as much. It is, however, laid out alphabetically by song title and not chronologically, which can be a bit jarring as you move back and forth over 6 decades from song to song. However, its shortcomings shouldn’t stop you, it’s a set for the ages. Even better, it will send you running back to the Music. It might even make you hear the songs anew. There’s not much higher praise for a Music book than that.

Have your turntable ready (If you have one). You’re gonna wanna dig out your Beatles/Sir Paul sides after digging into this one.

At this point, it would take a pretty good sized room to hold all The Beatles related books that have been published since the early 1960s. Paul McCartney – The Lyrics, along with the other books by the actual Beatles, Yoko Ono’s Memories of John Lennon, and Sir George Martin and Geoff Emerick’s books, are the only books that get you inside the Music. 

In the end, like love, they’re all you need. 

Buy it here.

*Soundtrack for this Post is “Your Mother Should Know,” by John Lennon & Paul McCartney, as recorded on Magical Mystery Tour.

NighthawkNYC.com has been entirely self-funded & ad-free for over 7 years, during which over 275 full length pieces have been published! If you’ve found it worthwhile, PLEASE donate to allow me to continue below. Thank you, Kenn.

You can also support it by buying Art, Art & Photography books, and Music from my collection! Books may be found here. Music here and here. 

Written & photographed by Kenn Sava for nighthawknyc.com unless otherwise credited. To send comments, thoughts, feedback or propositions click here. Click the white box on the upper right for the archives or to search them. Subscribe to be notified of new Posts below. Your information will be used for no other purpose.