Dear Friends,
I admire Denzel Washington, but not only for the 10 films for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. I also enjoyed following his career in his smaller early films.
My father owned one of the first VCRs in Washington, D.C., back before there were video stores there from which one could rent movies. He would “check out” films from the TV station where he worked. In retrospect, I don’t remember now if those films were taped from TV broadcasts (likely with commercials), or if they were copied from other sources without permission.
Either way, in 1984, we rented and watched the murder mystery A Soldier’s Story, featuring Washington in a supporting role. That film was itself nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture.
Not nominated for Best Picture, but still fun to watch, was the 1991 psychological thriller Ricochet, with John Lithgow playing the role of the vengeful psychopath, territory he had also explored in Blow Out (1981, with John Travolta) and Cliffhanger (1993, with Sylvester Stallone). My dad delighted in seeing Lithgow’s success, for as the son of one of my father’s acting professors at Antioch College, he was known by my dad when he was but a youth.
My favorite of all these early Denzel films was Mo’ Better Blues (1990), where Denzel played the lead character of Bleek Gilliam, a talented but sometimes self-destructive jazz trumpeter.
That Spike Lee film and other jazz-centered films such as ‘Round Midnight (1986) and Bird (1988), and, much later, the Oscar-winners Whiplash (2014) and La La Land (2016), have inspired my own interest in the quintessentially American form of music.
Since “Life is a lot like jazz… it’s best when you improvise” (as George Gershwin says), and since “Jazz is about being in the moment” (as the Buddhist maestro Herbie Hancock says), then jazz has also infused the work I do as a teacher or as a meditator.
Mostly I agree with the actor and musician Nat Wolff: “Jazz is smooth and cool. Jazz is rage. Jazz flows like water. Jazz never seems to begin or end. Jazz isn’t methodical, but jazz isn’t messy either. Jazz is a conversation, a give and take. Jazz is the connection and communication between musicians. Jazz is abandon.”
As I have written about previously, my favorite jazz critic is Will Layman, who writes for Pop Matters. Back in 1984 when A Soldier’s Story was released, Will was also my high school literature teacher. Because mine was a small private school in Washington D.C., Will also taught me trigonometry and coached a sport. A year later, classmates and I would see him play John Adams in a production of 1776. Will could likely have played all the instruments in the orchestra accompanying this musical.
Every December, Will publishes his list of the best jazz albums of the year, and then I stream all those albums as I grade papers, write newsletters, or sip a NA beer. Will reminds me and all his lucky listeners that jazz is not merely a retrospective art. Like Denzel Washington and John Lithgow, jazz is still alive today and ready to entertain those who would be receptive to their charms.
The temperatures will be downright chilly at Sudwerk tonight, but I’m sure some of you will bundle up with bonus layers, and perhaps blankets, and join me for the outdoor show on the patio. Even though we expect no rain, some of you will want to head inside. Also, I plan to move the quiz along quickly, entirely possible because it is only 954 words long.
Congratulations to The Dwingin’ Six for winning last week’s Pub Quiz!
In addition to topics raised above, especially Denzel, tonight’s pub quiz will feature questions on wallets, mice, Africa, holidays, World War II verbs, literary spiders, Zippos, beverages, French words, surfaces that are difficult to orient, insects, hornets and tomcats, trains, cast members, Drew Barrymore as interlocutor, financial formations, inventors, prognosticators, Mars, World Cups, ancient settings, relatively wealthy countries, different metals and what they mean to musicians, green zones, pay packages, fruits, distant places that can be barely incomplete musical heroism, imagined, umlauts, Oakland, semiaquatic mammals, walkers, Oscar winners, astronomy, current events, books and authors, and Shakespeare.
For more Pub Quiz fun please subscribe via Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/yourquizmaster.
Thanks to all the new players joining us at the live quizzes and to all the patrons who have been enjoying fresh Pub Quiz content. We have over 60 members now! Thanks especially to new subscribers Tamara, Megan, Michael, Janet, Jasmine, Joey, Carly, The X-Ennial Falcons, and The Nevergiveruppers! Every week I check the Patreon to see if there is someone new to thank. I also thank The Original Vincibles, Summer Brains, Still Here for the Shakesbeer, The Outside Agitators, John Poirier’s team Quizimodo, Gena Harper, the conversationally entertaining dinner companions and bakers of marvelous and healthy treats, The Mavens, who keep attending, despite their ambitious travel schedules and the dropping temperatures and the cost of avocado. Thanks in particular to Ellen. Thanks to everyone who supports the Pub Quiz on Patreon. I would love to add your name or that of your team to the list of pub quiz boosters. I appreciate your backing this pub quiz project of mine!
Best,
Dr. Andy
P.S. Three questions from last week:
22. Film. For what 2024 film was Zoe Saldaña nominated for an acting Oscar?
23. Youth Culture. To be released July 25th, the first Phase Six film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has the subtitle “First Steps.” What are the first three words of the films’ title?
24. Countries of the World. What was the first country ever to leave The European Union?
P.P.S. Our next Poetry Night is February 21.