The Royal Wedding – What Else?

My takeaways from the larger than life event:

England looks amazing. I need to go to there…

Brits pronounce the letter “H” hay-ch as opposed to the Yanks version ay-ch. Having heard it, I want to start pronouncing it that way because it makes so much more sense. But, where will it end? I’ll need to pronounce the affluent town a few miles south of me as Green-which, CT rather than Gren-itch, and start sprinkling herbs over my freshly cooked po-tah-toes, not erbs on my po-tay-toes, or worse yet pa-tay-tiz. Growing up in New York, I’m already a lost cause. I drink cawfee and remark about how the weather is hot and yoo-mid. Getting back to the Royal Wedding, which was a yooge event…

The crowds were impressive, nearly as large as the one at President Trump’s inauguration. Also, much like Trump’s inauguration, save for a few celebrity sightings, the crowd didn’t accurately represent England’s diversity.

Speaking of celebrities, there was a Priyanka Chopra sighting, always a bonus, although the tight outfit wouldn’t lend itself to battling terrorists. However, her La Dolce Vita dress didn’t seem to slow her down as she kicked ass in this season’s opener of Quantico.

Obviously, the Royal couple were presented in the most romanticized and positive light. I know nothing about them, other than the images I’ve seen in the past few days, but Harry and Meghan seem down-to-earth and genuinely nice. I found their interaction with the crowd refreshing.

One final observation, I was touched by the profile on Harry and William and their close relationship. I felt some sadness watching the groom and his best man walking the path together in uniform, knowing that their mother couldn’t be there to share the special moment.

May 21, 2018 0

WRVR Jazz – Sunday Salsa Show

Driving through the Bronx on a Sunday afternoon, up Fordham Road, down the Grand Concourse to 175th Street to see my wife, who at the time was my girlfriend, I recall the sounds of Salsa and Latin Jazz blaring from passing cars, street corners, storefronts and open apartment windows. Most of them were tuned to the highest rated Sunday radio show in the NYC area, with over a quarter million fans tuned in from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm to listen to WRVR’s Sunday Salsa Show hosted by Roger Dawson. While WRVR struggled for ratings Monday-Saturday in a fiercely competitive radio market, from 1976-1979 the Sunday Salsa Show boasted a loyal multi-ethnic audience and blazed a trail for local and international stars.

During its reign, the popularity of Salsa and Latin Jazz exploded, and Dawson, who was not Latino, was affectionately referred to as “Rogelio.” In fact, Chino y su Conjunto Melao honored him with his theme song, Rogelio Tiene La Salsa. Dawson’s influence on the local music scene cannot be overstated. He introduced his Salsa Meets Jazz series to the Village Gate in Greenwich Village, which paired a jazz soloist with a salsa band each Monday night, propelling the sales of salsa albums.

When WRVR abruptly ended jazz programming in 1980, the demise of Roger Dawson’s Sunday Salsa Show was perhaps the greatest loss to the New York audience. Although the show moved to AM radio, due to the lack of stereo and poor quality signal, the program never regained its tremendous popularity. However, Dawson remained active on the Latin Jazz scene, both promoting and producing for local bands and concerts, and performing as leader of his own band. Here is a sampling from Rogelio’s show on WRVR from 1979. Please send me your requests for future Sunday Salsa Show tributes.

May 13, 2018 4

WRVR Jazz NY – Robert Kraft

Robert Kraft might be the most obscure famous person to pass through the halls of WRVR. I’m going strictly off of memory, and I might be completely wrong, but I swear Robert Kraft did a stint as Deejay at the station just before he released his first album Moodswing, with his group The Ivory Coast, in 1979. Never heard of him? Before anyone was aware of the New England Patriots’ owner of the same name, Robert Kraft was writing and performing his unique style of conversational Jazz.

The music for the theme some of Who’s the Boss? was composed by Kraft along with Larry Carlton. Kraft later wrote and produced for numerous groups and movie soundtracks, and served as chief executive of Fox Music from 1994 until October 2012. Over the years he’s been nominated for several major musical awards. The tracks from his little-known album captured the vibe and style of New York life and graced the airwaves of WRVR for several months.

May 11, 2018 0

ESPN 30 for 30 “The Dark Knight”

With the trade completed on Tuesday for Cincinnati Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco, the Matt Harvey era of the New York Mets officially came to an end. If there is comeback chapter to be written for Harvey it will be with the Reds or another team. Once again, the Mets fans are left with an unfulfilled dream. More likely, the final chapter will be the one I posted here nearly two years ago to the day…

Original post May 20, 2016. After Harvey’s disaster of a start against the Nats last night, I’ve joined the ranks of other Mets fans and the New York media and am officially in full panic mode. Will anyone be shocked if we see this on the T.V. schedule in the near future?

Tuesday night, an ESPN original series. ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 presents, “The Dark Night”, the story of pitcher, Matt Harvey, and his meteoric rise and fall as ace of the New York Mets.

SANDY ALDERSON (V.O. voice over)

He was like a rock star…the New York stage was his. Matt was viewed as the savior of our franchise.

ADAM RUBIN beat reporter (V.O)

His starts were must-see events. The fans and the local media believed Matt Harvey was the second coming of Seaver.

DAVID WRIGHT, Mets 3^rd baseman 2004-2018

When Matt took the mound, our team expected to win. We knew we held the advantage.

ESPN announcer: What happened? What changed after that fateful 9^th inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series?

EVAN ROBERTS, WFAN radio host (V.O.)

I think it all comes back to Harvey’s agent, Scott Boras. At what point did he get in his client’s head and make it about the big contract, the superstar lifestyle, and worrying about innings limits after Tommy John surgery? I think that’s when Harvey lost his edge, that aura of invincibility. The joy of pitching and competing, the game itself, became secondary.

It’s July 26, 2012 and Matt Harvey is making his major league debut at Chase Field in Phoenix against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Fresh off an abbreviated stint with the Mets AAA affiliate, and joined by Buffalo Bisons teammate, catcher Rob Johnson, for the special occasion, Harvey is amped. His fastball is hissing and popping into Johnson’s glove. The first batter he faces, Gerardo Parra, goes down swinging on a nasty slider. The Dark Knight has announced his arrival. Ten more batters will strike out, and Harvey will collect two hits, before the dream debut is complete after 5 1/3 innings.

TERRY COLLINS, Mets Manager 2011-2017

I haven’t seen 98 out of a starting pitcher in quite some time. He’s lived up to exactly what everybody’s talked about.

FADE IN

(high school team practicing on ball field)

Born in New London, and raised in nearby Mystic Connecticut, Matt Harvey is the only son and youngest of three children of Ed and Jackie Harvey, both teachers. Young Matt inherited his father’s athletic ability and competitive nature, and excelled at both basketball and baseball at Fitch Senior High School in Groton, Connecticut….

I’ve been wrong before, Sandy Alderson had me happily eating crow last year, but I pray I’m wrong this time.

Sadly, I think I was right…

May 10, 2018 0

WRVR Jazz NY – Alberta Hunter

Reaching back to the early days of WRVR, when broadcasts originated from Riverside Church in upper Manhattan, famous events and iconic speakers were captured on the local airwaves. These broadcasts were so historically significant that they have been preserved by the Council on Library and Information Resources.

Excerpt from the blog of the AAPB (American Archives of Public Broadcasting)

Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Council on Library and Information Resources’ Digitizing Hidden Collections program supports the creation of digital representations of unique content of high scholarly significance. This award will support the preservation and digitization of over 3,502 recordings representing 4,000 hours of programming from WRVR from the 1960s and early 1970s. Owned and operated by The Riverside Church from 1961-1976, WRVR was the first station to win a Peabody for its entire programming, in part for its coverage of the Civil Rights movement in 1963 Birmingham. In addition to featuring progressive religious and philosophical discussions with Riverside clergy, theologians, and scholars, such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., WRVR programming included culturally significant topics, speakers, and performances, such as Langston Hughes’ “Jericho-Jim Crow” directed by Alvin Ailey, and interviews and readings by Robert Frost, John Ashbery, and Allen Ginsberg. The station also featured the program “Just Jazz with Ed Beach,” which collection currently resides at the Library of Congress.

Our featured song from the old WRVR playlist is A Good Man is Hard to Find performed by Alberta Hunter. The amazing Miss Hunter, from Memphis, Tennessee, had a career that spanned 70 years, from the origins of Jazz up until her death in 1984 at the age of 89. In between, she enjoyed a fulfilling 20-year career in health care, which she launched by creating a high school diploma and enrolling in a nursing program. When Goldwater Memorial Hospital on Roosevelt Island in NYC forced her to retire, thinking she was 70, they discovered she was actually 82. Hunter then returned to her singing career, much to the delight of her fans.