George and Ira Gershwin:  Slap That Bass

George and Ira Gershwin: Slap That Bass

As I deal with the current dystopia I encounter every morning on NPR, I keep thinking about the song “Slap That Bass” by the Gershwin brothers. “Dictators would be better off if they zoom-zoomed now and then,” they write. I couldn’t agree more. “Zoom zoom, zoom zoom,...
Manhattan Transfer: How High the Moon

Manhattan Transfer: How High the Moon

And now we come to Manhattan Transfer, or what we later came to refer to as just “the Transfer”. What an amazing run they had—35 years of great tight harmony, jazz, standards and brilliant singing and smart, urbane musicianship. Just four singers,...