Join Me in L.A.
The Big Sleep, Vibrato, Warren Zevon, Jared Goff, Professorial Picture
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This week’s issue includes five songs my brother David performed in L.A. on Saturday, Raymond Chandler’s first novel featuring L.A. private investigator Phillip Marlowe, an L.A. jazz club serving great food, a singer who was “the soul of L.A.,” the former L.A. Rams quarterback who had the fans in Detroit chanting his name, and a weighty subject. I hope you like the picks and pics.
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A year ago, I wrote about my weekend in Los Angeles, borrowing Randy Newman’s I Love L.A. as the title. On Saturday, Barb and I visited the city to dine and catch my brother David’s concert. This week, I am using the late Warren Zevon’s Join Me in L.A. for the newsletter title. We will return to L.A. this Saturday to see Jill Andrews perform, and you are welcome to join us in L.A.
Fave Five 69: Join Me in L.A. Chandler’s Characters (The Big Sleep), Jazz Joint (Vibrato Grill), Poetic Pianist (Warren Zevon), Lions’ Leader (Jared Goff), and a Professorial Picture.
Fave Five List: Songs from David Garfield’s Vibrato Show
In a show filled with a wide range of wonderful originals and covers, here are my five favorites from my brother’s first set on Saturday night.
Human Nature (Steve Porcaro and John Bettis)
Let’s Stay Together (Al Green, Willie Mitchell, and Al Jackson Jr.)
Lovin’ You (Minnie Riperton and Richard Rudolph)
In a Sentimental Mood (Duke Ellington)
Song For My Father (Horace Silver)
Honorable Mention: Evil Ways (Clarence "Sonny" Henry) - David has not yet recorded this song, so here is the late Willie Bobo’s version, which was released before Santana’s hit recording. David got his start in L.A. playing salsa music with Willie.
Book Best Bet
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
In the spring quarter of my freshman year at Northwestern University (1972), my friend Bill Sterling and I took the class “Film and Literature.” This novel, set in Los Angeles, was one of the memorable books we read for the class.
From Best Books About Los Angeles: A master of the 'hard-boiled' detective novel, Raymond Chandler introduced readers to Philip Marlowe, a streetwise and heroic private eye, in his first novel, The Big Sleep. With his articulate and literary writing style, Chandler won over a wide audience, from the everyday person to the intellectual elite. This book will keep you on your toes from the very first sentence.
From Amazon: The renowned novel from the crime fiction master, with the "quintessential urban private eye" (Los Angeles Times), Philip Marlowe.
A dying millionaire hires private eye Philip Marlowe to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, and Marlowe finds himself involved with more than extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, seduction, and murder are just a few of the complications he gets caught up in.
Chandler seems to have created the culminating American hero: wised up, hopeful, thoughtful, adventurous, sentimental, cynical and rebellious. — The New York Times Book Review
From Wikipedia: The Big Sleep (1939) is a hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler, the first to feature the detective Philip Marlowe. It has been adapted for film twice, in 1946 and again in 1978. The story is set in Los Angeles.
The story is noted for its complexity, with characters double-crossing one another and secrets being exposed throughout the narrative. The title is a euphemism for death; the final pages of the book refer to a rumination about "sleeping the big sleep".
In 1999, the book was voted 96th of Le Monde's "100 Books of the Century". In 2005, it was included in Time magazine's "List of the 100 Best Novels".
Raymond Chandler
From Wikipedia: Raymond Thornton Chandler (born July 23, 1888 in Chicago; died March 26, 1959 in La Jolla, California) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Great Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in 1933 in Black Mask, a popular pulp magazine. His first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939. In addition to his short stories, Chandler published seven novels during his lifetime (an eighth, in progress at the time of his death, was completed by Robert B. Parker). All but Playback have been made into motion pictures, some more than once. In the year before his death, he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America.
Chandler had an immense stylistic influence on American popular literature. He is a founder of the hardboiled school of detective fiction, along with Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain and other Black Mask writers. The protagonist of his novels, Philip Marlowe, like Hammett's Sam Spade, is considered by some to be synonymous with "private detective". Both were played in films by Humphrey Bogart, whom many consider to be the quintessential Marlowe.
The Big Sleep placed second on the Crime Writers Association poll of the 100 best crime novels; Farewell, My Lovely (1940), The Lady in the Lake (1943) and The Long Goodbye (1953) also made the list. The latter novel was praised in an anthology of American crime stories as "arguably the first book since Hammett's The Glass Key, published more than twenty years earlier, to qualify as a serious and significant mainstream novel that just happened to possess elements of mystery". Chandler was also a perceptive critic of detective fiction; his "The Simple Art of Murder" is the canonical essay in the field. In it he wrote: "Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor—by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world."
Parker wrote that, with Marlowe, "Chandler seems to have created the culminating American hero: wised up, hopeful, thoughtful, adventurous, sentimental, cynical and rebellious—an innocent who knows better, a Romantic who is tough enough to sustain Romanticism in a world that has seen the eternal footman hold its coat and snicker. Living at the end of the Far West, where the American dream ran out of room, no hero has ever been more congruent with his landscape. Chandler had the right hero in the right place and engaged him in the consideration of good and evil at precisely the time when our central certainty of good no longer held."
Restaurant Recommendation
Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Grill , Jazz, etc. 2930 Beverly Glen Circle, Los Angeles, CA 90077
Barb and I met my Tenafly High School classmate Cheyenne Wilbur to have dinner and enjoy my brother’s concert on Saturday night. The food was delicious, and David’s show was fantastic. After the set, Cheyenne said he was now David’s number one fan.
Barb ordered:
Chicken Parmigiana: over house made tagliatelle, marinara, mozzarella, fontina, micro basil
We shared:
Truffle Fries: shoestring fries, truffle salt, herbs, garlic, Dijon aioli
Little Gem Caesar: parmigiano Reggiano, crispy quinoa, anchovy vinaigrette
I ordered:
Lamb Tagine: Israeli couscous, onions, mint, parsley, feta, harissa tahini, toasted almonds
For dessert, we shared:
Impossible Confection: red velvet cake, traditional flan, slivered almonds, seasonal berries, dulce de leche
From the restaurant: Herb Alpert’s Vibrato Grill is L.A.’s premier live jazz and dining experience. Managed by business partner and daughter, Eden Alpert, Vibrato offers world-class music and outstanding contemporary American cuisine. It’s the perfect place to enjoy a night of live music, expertly prepared cuisine, and incredible cocktails in a sophisticated yet inviting atmosphere.
Vibrato Grill hosts some of the top music talents in the world. Whether you’re hanging out at the bar, celebrating your special occasion at one of our sweetheart tables, or just having a fun night out with friends, there will always be top-quality live music playing to make it an evening to remember.
Marvelous Musician
Warren Zevon was born on this date in 1947. My friend Arnold Kling introduced me to his music. My favorite songs are "Werewolves of London," "Lawyers, Guns and Money," "Keep Me in Your Heart," "Desperados Under the Eaves," and the four that Linda Ronstadt covered: "Carmelita," "Poor Poor Pitiful Me," "Mohammed's Radio" and "Hasten Down the Wind."
From Wikipedia: Warren William Zevon (born January 24, 1947 in Chicago; died September 7, 2003 in Los Angeles) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner". All three songs are featured on his third album, Excitable Boy (1978), the title track of which is also well-known. He also wrote major hits that were recorded by other artists, including "Poor Poor Pitiful Me", "Accidentally Like a Martyr", "Mohammed's Radio", "Carmelita", and "Hasten Down the Wind". Along with his own work, he recorded or performed occasional covers, including Allen Toussaint's "A Certain Girl", Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", Leonard Cohen's "First We Take Manhattan", Steve Winwood's "Back in the High Life Again", and Prince's "Raspberry Beret".
Zevon's early music industry successes were found as a session musician, jingle composer, songwriter, touring musician, musical coordinator and bandleader. Despite all this, Zevon struggled to break through in his solo career until his music was performed by Linda Ronstadt, beginning with her 1976 album Hasten Down the Wind. This launched a cult following that lasted 25 years, with Zevon making occasional returns to album and single charts until his death from mesothelioma in 2003. He briefly found a new audience by teaming up with members of R.E.M. in the blues rock outfit Hindu Love Gods for a 1990 album release, although no tour followed. Known for his dry wit and acerbic lyrics, he was a guest numerous times on Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Show with David Letterman.
‘The soul of L.A.’: 20 years after his death, the stars are aligning for Warren Zevon by Mikael Wood
“I think his self-titled album is the defining document of mid-’70s Southern California music,” says Andrew Slater, who directed the 2018 documentary Echo in the Canyon about the previous decade’s Laurel Canyon scene. “Warren was exploring the shadowy underbelly of L.A. and its excesses — the idea of the bohemian-cowboy guitar player-slash-gunslinger — with his razor-sharp, sardonic sense of humor.”
Zevon filled his songs with seedy L.A. references: the heroin addict in “Carmelita” going to meet his dealer “down on Alvarado Street by the Pioneer Chicken stand,” for instance, and the guy in “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” who meets a woman at the Rainbow who asks him “if I’d beat her.” And by all accounts — including that of his ex-wife, Crystal Zevon, who wrote an unsparing 2007 biography, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead — Warren Zevon lived the experiences he chronicled.
Bill Joel said, “I thought he exemplified the soul of L.A. — if there is one.”
“Warren got the attention of every established artist in L.A., and he completely won them all over,” says drummer Russ Kunkel, who played on Zevon’s 1978 Excitable Boy album and with Joni Mitchell, Carole King and dozens of others. “He could be gruff if you caught him on a bad day. His persona was kind of edgy. But to see that much talent in one person — there was no way anyone could deny it.”
Lawyers, Guns & Money
Keep Me In Your Heart
My Playlist
Sports Star
The Lions’ playoff run continues on Sunday when they travel to San Francisco to face the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. Many football fans in Santa Barbara root for the team in northern California, so we are among the few Lions fans here. It’s been fun, and we hope that the underdogs can continue their playoff run by pulling off the upset.
Jared Goff, Detroit’s quarterback, has been a big reason for their success. When he has had time to throw behind the Lions’ excellent offensive line, the passing game has been outstanding. They will be missing their left guard, Jonah Jackson, and that has proved problematic earlier this season. Kayode Awosika will likely be his replacement, and he will need to play the game of his life against the 49ers’ tough defense.
Goff is from Marin County, California and played his college ball at Cal Berkeley. So this will be a homecoming for him. After leading the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl, Goff was traded to the Lions. His career has been revived in Detroit, and he has become a team leader, beloved by his teammates. In the first two playoff games, the home fans have chanted “Jar-ed Goff” to show how much they appreciate him.
If Goff can continue his recent success, the Lions will have a chance to win on Sunday. This would result in the previously unthinkable: their first-ever Super Bowl appearance.
From Wikipedia: Jared Thomas Goff (born October 14, 1994 in San Rafael, California) is an American football quarterback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears, setting Pac-12 Conference season records for passing yards and passing touchdowns. Goff was selected first overall by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2016 NFL Draft.
After an unsuccessful rookie season, Goff rebounded in his second year when he helped lead the Rams to their first winning season in 14 years and their first playoff appearance in 13 years. Goff oversaw further improved fortunes for the Rams in 2018, which saw the team reach Super Bowl LIII, the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance since 2001. He also received Pro Bowl honors in both seasons. Amid a production decline during his next two years, Goff was traded to the Lions in 2021 and received a third Pro Bowl selection the following year. In 2023, he led the Lions to their first division title since 1993 and first playoff win since 1991.
Jared Goff throws 2 TD passes, Lions advance to NFC title game with 31-23 win over Buccaneers by Larry Lage
Jared Goff is good enough for Detroit, as his coach recently reminded him. Cast away by the Los Angeles Rams three years ago in a trade for Matthew Stafford, the quarterback was welcomed by the Lions and has since become a fan favorite at Ford Field, where the crowd chanted his name during a second straight home playoff triumph for the long-downtrodden franchise. Goff threw his second touchdown pass with 6:22 left and the Lions beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 in the divisional round on Sunday, lifting Detroit into the NFC championship for the first time in 32 years and just the second time in franchise history.
He took a knee on three straight snaps to run out the clock, giving him a chance to enjoy the sights and sounds as fans stood, screamed and twirled white towels. “I knew it would be the last one in front of our home fans this year, and I took it all in,” Goff said. The Lions (14-5) won two playoff games in a season for the first time since 1957, the last year they won the NFL title, and had two postseason games at home for the first time.
Goff finished 30 of 43 for 287 yards and directed an efficient second-half offense for the Lions, who had long touchdown drives on three consecutive possessions. “Goff in that fourth quarter, he really showed up and made some big throws,” said Coach Dan Campbell, who told Goff he was good enough for Detroit last week when he gave him a game ball after beating his former team in a wild-card game.
Jared Goff's 4 most improbable completions in the Divisional Round
Jared Goff Press Conference Jan. 24, 2024
Picture Pun
How much does a professor weigh?
Over 500 pounds.
No way!
Way.
