Jazz:

Live Jazz brings a swinging atmosphere to the bar on Friday and Saturday nights beginning at 9:30pm. Happy Hour is offered daily at the bar from 5:00pm-8:00pm.

Friday, July 25th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Jeremy Zmuda

Award winning Guitarist, (2007 John Lennon Songwriting Competition winner), Jeremy Zmuda grew up in the small town of Long Beach, Indiana.

In 1993, he enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he was awarded scholarship while studying Jazz performance and music education. While at Berklee Jeremy had the opportunity to study with a few guitar masters, including Jon Damian (Bill Frisell and Mike Stern's teacher) and Richie Hart (master of Wes Montgomery and George Benson's concepts). Upon Graduating with honors, he stayed in Boston and became a well sought after musician on the Boston scene. He moved to New York in the fall of 2004 and his musical world grew beyond his imagination.

Jeremy has had the opportunity to share the stage and collaborate with some of New York City's finest musicians, and has traveled the States and Europe touring with his music.

In September of 2007, Zmuda was award the prestigious grand prize award in the John Lennon Songwriting contest. His composition, "On Standby" was chosen for best Jazz song out of over 1000 entries.

Zmuda will be joined by bassist-Yasushi Nakamora and drummer-Bryson Kern.

"His attack, tone and melodic concept put him in the realm of Kurt
Rosenwinkel and Adam Rogers.........a unique and thoughtful take on modern jazz......"
Matthew Wornoc - Just Jazz Guitar

Saturday, July 26th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Fuku

Master drum player Fukushi Tainaka is one of the best-known Japanese jazz musician of his generation and one of the most in-demand drum players on the international jazz scene. A longtime member of legendary alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson’s group, Fukushi played alongside countless other prominent jazz artists, including trumpet legend Dizzy Girespie, Bill Hardman and Woody Shaw, guitarist George Benson and Randy Johnston, pianist Champian Fulton, Benny Green, Barry Harris and Junior Mance, organist Dr. Ronnie Smith, saxophonist Arnett Cobb, Junior Cook, Kenny Garrett, Jimmy Heath, James Moody, David ‘Fathead’ Newman and Frank Wess.

During the past two decades, Fukushi has performed in most New York jazz venues, including Birdland, Black Duck, The Blue Note, Garage, Fat Cat, Smoke, Smalls, The Village Vanguard (and defunct club such as Sweet Basil, Fat Tuesday’s, and The Village Gate), as well as playing at major concert halls, jazz clubs, and festivals all over the world. Fukushi’s jazz festival appearances include New York’s prestigious JVC Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center Outdoors, Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, the New Orleans Jazz Fest, the Philadelphia Jazz Festival, the Cape May Jazz Festival, the Iowa Jazz Workshop, the Toronto and Montreal Jazz Festivals, as well as major European and Japanese jazz festivals.

Fukushi has toured Japan as often as three times a year since the early 1980s with his own groups, as a member of the acclaimed pianist Shizuko Yokoyama’s trio, and with Lou Donaldson and other jazz greats. Since the mid-80s, Fukushi has also toured Europe twice every year with Lou Donaldson, appearing at jazz clubs and festivals in European countries. His recording history includes two hit CDs with Lou Donaldson, also appearing in his longtime musical partner Shizuko Yokoyama’s album “To My Mother”, and dozens of other recordings from various Japanese jazz labels.

Classic James Bond Movie

Sunday, July 27th, 2008 @ 8:00pm

Movie: "Diamonds are Forever" (1971)

Filming

Filming for Diamonds are Forever begun on April 5, 1971, with the South African scenes actually shot in the desert near Las Vegas, and finished in August 13, 1971. The film was shot primarily at the Los Angeles International Airport, Universal City Studios and eight hotels of Las Vegas. Besides the Pinewood Studios in London, other places in England were Dover and Southampton. The climactic oil rig sequence was shot at the Oceanside of California. Other filming locations included Cap D'Antibes in France (the opening scenes), Amsterdam and Lufthansa's hangar in Germany.

Filming in Las Vegas took place mostly in hotels owned by Howard Hughes, since he was a friend of Cubby Broccoli. Getting the streets empty in order to shoot was achieved through the collaboration of Hughes, the Las Vegas police and shopkeepers association. The Las Vegas Hilton dubbed for the Whyte House, and since the owner of the Circus Circus was a Bond fan, he allowed the Circus to be used on film and even made a cameo. The cinematographers said filming in Las Vegas at night had an advantage: no additional illumination was required due to the high number of neon lights.

The car chase where the red side-rolled car comes outside of the narrow street on the opposite side in which it was rolled, was filmed over three nights on Fremont Street in Las Vegas. The alleyway car roll sequence is actually filmed in two locations. The entrance was at the car park at Universal Studios and the exit was at Fremont Street, Las Vegas.
The site used for the Willard Whyte Space Labs (where Bond gets away in the Moon Buggy) was actually, at that time, a Johns-Manville gypsum plant located just outside of Las Vegas. The home of Kirk Douglas was used for the scene in Tiffany's house, while the Elrod House in Palm Springs became Willard Whyte's house.

While filming her fall in the swimming pool, Lana Wood actually had her feet loosely tied to a cement block on the bottom. Film crew members held a rope across the pool for her, with which she could lift her face out of the water to breathe between takes. The pool's sloping bottom made the block slip into deeper water with each take. Eventually, Wood was submerged but was noticed by on-lookers and rescued. Wood, being a certified diver, remained calm during the ordeal, although she later admitted to a few "very uncomfortable moments."

Since the car chase in Las Vegas would have many car crashes, the filmmakers had an arrangement with Ford to use their vehicles. Ford's only demand to give the cars was for Sean Connery to drive the 1971 Mustang Mach 1 which serves as Tiffany Case's car. Other Ford vehicles include Blofeld's chief scientist drives a Ford Econoline van, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd drive a Thunderbird, and during the moon buggy chase, the security guards are driving Ford Custom 500s.

The Moon Buggy was inspired by the actual NASA vehicle, but with additions such as flaying arms since the producers didn't find the design "outrageous" enough. The fiberglass tires which NASA used had to be replaced during the chase sequence, because the heat and the irregular desert soil ruined them.
[Thank you, Wikipedia.com.]

Friday, August 1st, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Nick D'Amico

Guitarist Nick D’Amico has been a playing jazz standards at the Black Duck for years with his trio.

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Howard Britze

New York City bassist, pianist and composer Howard Britz was born in London, England in 1961. A band leader in his own right, he has performed and recorded with a diverse collection of influential musicians including; Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross, Danilo Perez, Paquito de Rivera, Sam Rivers, Julius Hemphill, Kenny Werner, Uri Caine, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, Kenny Wheeler, New York’s Central Baptist Gospel Choir and most recently Edsel Gomez to name a few. The breadths of his musical influences are apparent in his playing and compositions and are reflected by the artists he has worked alongside and his recordings.

Growing up in England, Howard immersed himself in the London Jazz scene; he formed creative associations with British pianists, Jonathan Gee and Jason Rebello, saxophonist/composer Tim Garland, amongst others. Although he was in demand as a band leader and sideman Britz also played in the onstage band for the hugely successful show ‘Blues in the Night’ which ran for over a year in London’s West End.

Arriving in America in 1991 on a scholarship from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Howard quickly established himself as a working musician. One of his first gigs was with Billy Pierce, the ex-Art Blakey tenor man. Transferring to The New England Conservatory of Music, Britz earned a Graduate Diploma whilst keeping up a busy performing schedule.

In 1995 he overshot New York and moved to Philadelphia, PA for, as he puts it, “romantic reasons,” and found a lively and vibrant jazz scene of which he quickly became a part, “I learned so much playing with the wonderful Philly musicians of the older and younger generations such as Mickey Rocker, Sid Simmons, Uri Caine and John Swana, and the many soulful Jazz/Blues vocalists, it was a great scene”.

Howard moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1998 where he now lives with wife, Martha, and large brown dog, Sammy . He has worked steadily since then playing many NYC venues and touring in the US and abroad. “This has been a good move for me, although it's tough to be here as a Jazz musician, to be around the some of the best and most creative players in the world is a privilege and a challenge that helps you sort out who you are and what it is that you want to say"

Classic James Bond Movie

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 @ 8:00pm

Movie: "Live and Let Die" (1973)

Filming

Production began in 1972, with filming in Pinewood Studios, along with location shooting in New York City, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Jamaica doubling for the fictional San Monique. The producers were reportedly required to pay protection money to a local Harlem gang to ensure the crew's safely. When the cash ran out, they were "encouraged" to leave.

Ross Kananga suggested the jump on crocodiles, and was enlisted by the producers to do the stunt. The scene took five takes to be completed, including one in which the last crocodile snapped at Kananga's heel, tearing his trousers. The production also had trouble with snakes. The script supervisor was so afraid that she refused to be on set with them; an actor fainted while filming a scene where he is killed by a snake; Jane Seymour became terrified as a reptile got closer, and Geoffrey Holder only agreed to fall into the snake-filled casket because Princess Alexandra was visiting the set.

The boat chase was filmed on the Louisiana bayou, with some interruption caused by flooding. 26 boats were built by the Glastron boat company for the film. Seventeen were destroyed during rehearsals. The speedboat jump scene over the bayou, filmed with assistance with a specially-constructed ramp, unintentionally set a Guinness World Record at the time with 110 feet cleared. Unfortunately, the waves created by the impact caused the following boat to flip over.

The chase involving the double-decker bus was filmed with a second-hand London bus adapted by having a top section removed and then replaced so that it ran on ball bearings and so would slide off on impact.
[Thank you, Wikipedia.com.]

Friday, August 8th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Fuku

Master drum player Fukushi Tainaka is one of the best-known Japanese jazz musician of his generation and one of the most in-demand drum players on the international jazz scene. A longtime member of legendary alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson’s group, Fukushi played alongside countless other prominent jazz artists, including trumpet legend Dizzy Girespie, Bill Hardman and Woody Shaw, guitarist George Benson and Randy Johnston, pianist Champian Fulton, Benny Green, Barry Harris and Junior Mance, organist Dr. Ronnie Smith, saxophonist Arnett Cobb, Junior Cook, Kenny Garrett, Jimmy Heath, James Moody, David ‘Fathead’ Newman and Frank Wess.

During the past two decades, Fukushi has performed in most New York jazz venues, including Birdland, Black Duck, The Blue Note, Garage, Fat Cat, Smoke, Smalls, The Village Vanguard (and defunct club such as Sweet Basil, Fat Tuesday’s, and The Village Gate), as well as playing at major concert halls, jazz clubs, and festivals all over the world. Fukushi’s jazz festival appearances include New York’s prestigious JVC Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center Outdoors, Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, the New Orleans Jazz Fest, the Philadelphia Jazz Festival, the Cape May Jazz Festival, the Iowa Jazz Workshop, the Toronto and Montreal Jazz Festivals, as well as major European and Japanese jazz festivals.

Fukushi has toured Japan as often as three times a year since the early 1980s with his own groups, as a member of the acclaimed pianist Shizuko Yokoyama’s trio, and with Lou Donaldson and other jazz greats. Since the mid-80s, Fukushi has also toured Europe twice every year with Lou Donaldson, appearing at jazz clubs and festivals in European countries. His recording history includes two hit CDs with Lou Donaldson, also appearing in his longtime musical partner Shizuko Yokoyama’s album “To My Mother”, and dozens of other recordings from various Japanese jazz labels.

Saturday, August 9th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Iris Ornig

German native Iris Ornig brings European flair to her original jazz compositions. A bassist and bandleader, Ms. Ornig mixes contemporary music and straight ahead jazz with rare sophistication.

Classic James Bond Movie

Sunday, August 10th, 2008 @ 8:00pm

Movie: "The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974)

Filming

Scaramanga's Island

The film was shot on location in Hong Kong, Macau, Bangkok, and Phuket. Studio work including Scaramaga's solar energy plant and island interior were filmed at Pinewood Studios. The canal scene where Bond disables the dojo's boat was filmed in Thon Buri, Thailand.

Stunt driver "Bumps" Williard (as James Bond) driving a AMC Hornet leaps a broken bridge and spins around 360 degrees in mid-air, doing an "aerial twist". Willard was paid £30,000 for the stunt, which was held under EON Productions copyright for several years afterwards.

The scenes featuring the island hideout of Scaramanga were filmed in Phang Nga Province in Thailand, northeast of Phuket on the island of Ko Khao Phing Kan and the adjacent Ko Tapu Scaramanga's hideout is on Ko Khao Phing Kan, and Ko Tapu is often now referred to as James Bond Island both by locals as well as in tourist guidebooks. Both islands are significant tourists attractions in the area. The site was extremely hard hit by a tsunami following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

One of the more interesting locations is the use of a derelict former Atlantic Ocean liner, the RMS Queen Elizabeth, as a top-secret MI6 base in Hong Kong harbor. The announcer on the Hong Kong-Macau hydrofoil ferry announces when passing the wreck of the Queen Elizabeth that it sank in 1971. It actually sank in January 1972.

[Thank you, Wikipedia.com.]

Friday, August 15th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Jeremy Zmuda

Award winning Guitarist, (2007 John Lennon Songwriting Competition winner), Jeremy Zmuda grew up in the small town of Long Beach, Indiana.

In 1993, he enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he was awarded scholarship while studying Jazz performance and music education. While at Berklee Jeremy had the opportunity to study with a few guitar masters, including Jon Damian (Bill Frisell and Mike Stern's teacher) and Richie Hart (master of Wes Montgomery and George Benson's concepts). Upon Graduating with honors, he stayed in Boston and became a well sought after musician on the Boston scene. He moved to New York in the fall of 2004 and his musical world grew beyond his imagination.

Jeremy has had the opportunity to share the stage and collaborate with some of New York City's finest musicians, and has traveled the States and Europe touring with his music.

In September of 2007, Zmuda was award the prestigious grand prize award in the John Lennon Songwriting contest. His composition, "On Standby" was chosen for best Jazz song out of over 1000 entries.

Zmuda will be joined by bassist-Yasushi Nakamora and drummer-Bryson Kern.

"His attack, tone and melodic concept put him in the realm of Kurt
Rosenwinkel and Adam Rogers.........a unique and thoughtful take on modern jazz......"
Matthew Wornoc - Just Jazz Guitar

Saturday, August 16th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Nick D'Amico

Guitarist Nick D’Amico has been a playing jazz standards at the Black Duck for years with his trio.

Classic James Bond Movie

Sunday, August 17th, 2008 @ 8:00pm

Movie: "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977)

Filming

The Lotus Esprit as seen falling into the sea and then in submarine mode.

The film was shot at the Pinewood Studios in London, Porto Cervo in Sardinia, Egypt (Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Gayer-Anderson Museum), Malta, Scotland, Okinawa, Switzerland and Mount Asgard on Baffin Island in the then northern Canadian territory of Northwest territories (now located in Nunavut).

In March 1976 construction began of a new sound stage at Pinewood, the 007 Stage. To complement this stage, EON also paid for the building water tank in capable of storing approximately 1,200,000 gallons. The soundstage was in fact so enormous that celebrated director Stanley Kubrick visited the production, in secret, to advise on how to light the stage.

The main unit began its work in August 1976, travelling first to Sardinia and later to Egypt for some of the film's early scenes. While in Sardinia, Moore drove the first of two Lotus Esprits that were to feature in the film. The second specially modified model was unveiled by Ken Adam and Derek Meddings in October when the second unit, traveled to Nassau to film the underwater sequences. The main feature of the car was the ability to transform into a submarine. Once transformed it could unleash depth charges and smoke screens. The car seen entering the sea was a shell, propelled off the jetty by a compressed air cannon. The car was registered as PPW 306R. Only two cars of the type were available, and so the production had to requisition the Esprit from Colin Chapman, the head of the Lotus Company." Next on the schedule was the filming of Richard Kiel's first scenes as Jaws from September 5, 1976 onwards.

While construction of the "Liparus" set continued, the second unit headed by John Glen departed for Mount Asgard where in July 1976 they staged the film's pre-credits sequence. Bond film veteran Willy Bogner captured the action staged by stuntman Rick Sylvester who earned $30,000 for the stunt. This stunt cost $500,000 - the most expensive single movie stunt at that time.

The production team returned briefly to the UK to shoot at the Faslane submarine base before setting off to Spain, Portugal and the Bay of Biscay where the super tanker exteriors were filmed. On 5 December 1976, with principal photography finished, the 007 Stage was formally opened by the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

In the DVD commentary, a saltwater swimming pool (which was used for Stromberg's shark tank) with a live shark was used, which was filmed in the Bahamas along with stunt doubles.

[Thank you, Wikipedia.com.]

Friday, August 22nd, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Fuku

Master drum player Fukushi Tainaka is one of the best-known Japanese jazz musician of his generation and one of the most in-demand drum players on the international jazz scene. A longtime member of legendary alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson’s group, Fukushi played alongside countless other prominent jazz artists, including trumpet legend Dizzy Girespie, Bill Hardman and Woody Shaw, guitarist George Benson and Randy Johnston, pianist Champian Fulton, Benny Green, Barry Harris and Junior Mance, organist Dr. Ronnie Smith, saxophonist Arnett Cobb, Junior Cook, Kenny Garrett, Jimmy Heath, James Moody, David ‘Fathead’ Newman and Frank Wess.

During the past two decades, Fukushi has performed in most New York jazz venues, including Birdland, Black Duck, The Blue Note, Garage, Fat Cat, Smoke, Smalls, The Village Vanguard (and defunct club such as Sweet Basil, Fat Tuesday’s, and The Village Gate), as well as playing at major concert halls, jazz clubs, and festivals all over the world. Fukushi’s jazz festival appearances include New York’s prestigious JVC Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center Outdoors, Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, the New Orleans Jazz Fest, the Philadelphia Jazz Festival, the Cape May Jazz Festival, the Iowa Jazz Workshop, the Toronto and Montreal Jazz Festivals, as well as major European and Japanese jazz festivals.

Fukushi has toured Japan as often as three times a year since the early 1980s with his own groups, as a member of the acclaimed pianist Shizuko Yokoyama’s trio, and with Lou Donaldson and other jazz greats. Since the mid-80s, Fukushi has also toured Europe twice every year with Lou Donaldson, appearing at jazz clubs and festivals in European countries. His recording history includes two hit CDs with Lou Donaldson, also appearing in his longtime musical partner Shizuko Yokoyama’s album “To My Mother”, and dozens of other recordings from various Japanese jazz labels.

Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 @ 9:30pm

*To Be Announced

Classic James Bond Movie

Sunday, August 24th, 2008 @ 8:00pm

Movie: "Moonracker" (1979)

Filming

Main shooting was switched from the usual 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios to Paris, due to high taxation in England at the time; only the cable car interiors and space battle exteriors were filmed at Pinewood. Drax's mansion in California was actually filmed at Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, France.

The cities filmed were London, Paris, Venice, Palmdale and Rio de Janeiro. Natural landmarks like Sugarloaf Mountain and the Iguazu Falls were also depicted. The exterior of Drax's pyramid headquarters in the Amazon rainforest were filmed in Guatemala. All of the space centre scenes were shot at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

[Thank you, Wikipedia.com.]

Friday, August 29th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Fuku

Master drum player Fukushi Tainaka is one of the best-known Japanese jazz musician of his generation and one of the most in-demand drum players on the international jazz scene. A longtime member of legendary alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson’s group, Fukushi played alongside countless other prominent jazz artists, including trumpet legend Dizzy Girespie, Bill Hardman and Woody Shaw, guitarist George Benson and Randy Johnston, pianist Champian Fulton, Benny Green, Barry Harris and Junior Mance, organist Dr. Ronnie Smith, saxophonist Arnett Cobb, Junior Cook, Kenny Garrett, Jimmy Heath, James Moody, David ‘Fathead’ Newman and Frank Wess.

During the past two decades, Fukushi has performed in most New York jazz venues, including Birdland, Black Duck, The Blue Note, Garage, Fat Cat, Smoke, Smalls, The Village Vanguard (and defunct club such as Sweet Basil, Fat Tuesday’s, and The Village Gate), as well as playing at major concert halls, jazz clubs, and festivals all over the world. Fukushi’s jazz festival appearances include New York’s prestigious JVC Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center Outdoors, Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, the New Orleans Jazz Fest, the Philadelphia Jazz Festival, the Cape May Jazz Festival, the Iowa Jazz Workshop, the Toronto and Montreal Jazz Festivals, as well as major European and Japanese jazz festivals.

Fukushi has toured Japan as often as three times a year since the early 1980s with his own groups, as a member of the acclaimed pianist Shizuko Yokoyama’s trio, and with Lou Donaldson and other jazz greats. Since the mid-80s, Fukushi has also toured Europe twice every year with Lou Donaldson, appearing at jazz clubs and festivals in European countries. His recording history includes two hit CDs with Lou Donaldson, also appearing in his longtime musical partner Shizuko Yokoyama’s album “To My Mother”, and dozens of other recordings from various Japanese jazz labels.

Saturday, August 30th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Chris Golinski

Justin Wood - Saxophone
Ed Schuller - Bass
Chris Golinski - Drums

Alto saxophonist and flautist Justin Wood began playing saxophone in fifth grade growing up in rural Northern Maine. During high school, he co-led a jazz trio and played gigs ranging from local restaurants to agricultural conventions. After attending Harvard University, Justin moved to New York in 1999 to work as a union organizer and explore the city's music scene. He began performing in New York in 2001, and has performed around the city with diverse musical groups in venues including Birdland, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, NJ Performing Arts Center, the Knitting Factory, and the Garage. Currently, Justin continues to participate in diverse musical projects. He co-leads Spoke, an eclectic quartet with trombonist Andy Hunter, bassist Dan Loomis, and drummer Danny Fischer. He also performs regularly with other Maine natives such as pianist Tyler Wood, bassist Chris Van Voorst, and drummer Devin Gray.

Since his professional career began in 1975, Ed Schuller has worked consistently as a jazz bassist, despite the pressures of being the oldest son of music legend and jazz historian Gunther Schuller. A student of jazz icons Jaki Byard, George Russell, Joe Maneri, Ran Blake, and Chuck Israels, Schuller embarked on his first national tour at age 20 with guitarist Pat Martino. Since then, he has been one of the international scene's most respected bassists, with over 60 sideman recordings to his credit, including four with the innovative Paul Motian Quintet, Joe Lovano's award-winning Rush Hour, and the Ran Blake Trio's critically acclaimed Sonic Temples in 2001.

Drummer Chris Golinski began performing at the age of sixteen in Kentucky where he played at various restaurants, cafes, and private events. While studying in Chicago, Chris immersed himself in the city's music scene and was inspired by local musicians such as Fred Anderson, Tim Daisy, and Hamid Drake. Since making the move to NYC two years ago, Chris has performed at venues such as Mo Pitkins, The Baggott Inn, and the World Café in Philadelphia, and has regularly appeared as a guest musician with the gospel choir at Old Bergen Church in NJ. His musical interests range from traditional jazz to progressive rock and creative music. Chris leads the group Audible Geometry, which features Mat Maneri and Ed Schuller, and is the drummer for the rock band Without You I'm Everything.

Classic James Bond Movie

Sunday, August 31st, 2008 @ 8:00pm

Movie: "For Your Eyes Only" (1981)

Filming

The tombstone of James Bond´s wife, Teresa, which Bond visits. shown at a James Bond convention in 1992.

Many of the underwater scenes, especially involving close-ups of Bond and Melina, were actually faked on a dry soundstage. A combination of lighting effects, slow-motion photography, wind, and bubbles added in post-production, gave the illusion of the actors being underwater. Apparently actress Carole Bouquet had a preexisting health condition that prevented her from actually attempting any underwater stuntwork.

The film was shot mainly in Greece on locations such as Meteora, Island of Corfu, and the Achilleion. Other locations included England (Pinewood Studios with 007 Stage), Italy, and The Bahamas.

During filming of the escape on the bobsleigh track in Cortina d'Ampezzo, one of the stuntman driving a bobsleigh was killed during the first day of production.

[Thank you, Wikipedia.com.]

Friday, September 5th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Fuku

Master drum player Fukushi Tainaka is one of the best-known Japanese jazz musician of his generation and one of the most in-demand drum players on the international jazz scene. A longtime member of legendary alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson’s group, Fukushi played alongside countless other prominent jazz artists, including trumpet legend Dizzy Girespie, Bill Hardman and Woody Shaw, guitarist George Benson and Randy Johnston, pianist Champian Fulton, Benny Green, Barry Harris and Junior Mance, organist Dr. Ronnie Smith, saxophonist Arnett Cobb, Junior Cook, Kenny Garrett, Jimmy Heath, James Moody, David ‘Fathead’ Newman and Frank Wess.

During the past two decades, Fukushi has performed in most New York jazz venues, including Birdland, Black Duck, The Blue Note, Garage, Fat Cat, Smoke, Smalls, The Village Vanguard (and defunct club such as Sweet Basil, Fat Tuesday’s, and The Village Gate), as well as playing at major concert halls, jazz clubs, and festivals all over the world. Fukushi’s jazz festival appearances include New York’s prestigious JVC Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center Outdoors, Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, the New Orleans Jazz Fest, the Philadelphia Jazz Festival, the Cape May Jazz Festival, the Iowa Jazz Workshop, the Toronto and Montreal Jazz Festivals, as well as major European and Japanese jazz festivals.

Fukushi has toured Japan as often as three times a year since the early 1980s with his own groups, as a member of the acclaimed pianist Shizuko Yokoyama’s trio, and with Lou Donaldson and other jazz greats. Since the mid-80s, Fukushi has also toured Europe twice every year with Lou Donaldson, appearing at jazz clubs and festivals in European countries. His recording history includes two hit CDs with Lou Donaldson, also appearing in his longtime musical partner Shizuko Yokoyama’s album “To My Mother”, and dozens of other recordings from various Japanese jazz labels.

Saturday, September 6th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Michael Preen

Michael Preen grew up in a musical environment in New Orleans, Louisiana. Beginning on guitar at the age of thirteen, he soon switched to the electric bass at fifteen. After graduating high school, he decided to take music more seriously and enrolled in a music program at Delgado Community College in New Orleans. There, he learned to read music, play jazz, and began studying upright bass with New Orleans bassist Walter Payton. During this time, Michael gained experience playing many different styles of music in-and-around the New Orleans area.

In 1994, he played with The Crescent City Big Band under the direction of his father, drummer Brian Preen. At the same time, he formed a rock trio with his brothers James and Andrew called “The Preemos.” After graduating from Delgado Community College with an Artists Associates Degree in Music, Michael landed his first out of town job with a trio that performed for over two months at the Hyatt Cancun Caribe Resort in Cancun, Mexico. Upon returning home, Michael was inspired by the idea of becoming a professional musician. He auditioned for Pro Ship Entertainment, the leading agency for hiring musicians in the cruise line industry. Thereafter, Michael found himself traveling throughout Alaska, the Caribbean, and Europe on some of the largest cruise lines, including Celebrity, Holland America, Renaissance, Norwegian and Princess.

In 2002, he moved to New York City to further his music career. After working in several regional musical theatres playing classics such as Gypsy and The Music Man, Michael decided to go back to school to finish his undergraduate studies in music at New Jersey City University. He is currently completing his Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance and is studying with bassist, Andy Eulau. Michael’s philosophy on music is to be as diverse as possible and to be able to play in many different styles of music. In order to survive in the music business today, one must adapt to many musical situations. After receiving his degree, Michael plans to continue his career by freelancing as a bass player, composing original music, and recording music for other artists.

Classic James Bond Movie

Sunday, September 7th, 2008 @ 8:00pm

Movie: "Octopussy" (1983)

Filming

The filming of Octopussy began on August 10, 1982 with the scene in which Bond arrives at Checkpoint Charlie. Principal photography was done by Arthur Wooster and his second unit, who later filmed the knife-throwing scenes. Most of the film was shot in Udaipur, India and the Monsoon Palace was shot extensively in the film. In England the RAF Northolt, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Oakley were the main locations. The Karl-Marx-Stadt railways scenes were shot at the Nene Valley Railway, near Peterborough, while studio work was performed at the Pinewood Studios and 007 Stage. Most of the crew as well as Roger Moore had diet problems while shooting in India.

Monsoon Palace

Hollywood stunt pilot and aerial coordinator J.W. "Corkey" Fornoff, who piloted a 12 foot Acrostar Jet through an open hangar at more than 150 miles per hour, has said, "Today, few directors would consider such a stunt. They'd just whip it up in a computer lab." Having collapsible wings, the plane was shown hidden in a horse trailer; however, a dummy was used for this shot. Filming inside the hangar was achieved by attaching the aircraft to an old Jaguar car by a steel pole with the roof torn off and driving along. The second unit were able to add enough obstacles including people and objects inside the hangar to hide the car and the pole and make it look as though Moore was flying inside the base. For the explosion after the mini jet escapes however, a miniature of the hangar was constructed and filmed closely. The exploding pieces of the hangar were in reality only four inches in length. A Mercedes Benz saloon car was stolen by Bond and used to chase the train — having had his tires shot out, Bond drove on the rails and entered the train. During filming, the car had intact tires in one scene so as to avoid any mishap.

Acrostar from Octopussy seen at a convention

Stunt co-ordinator Martin Grace suffered an injury while shooting the scene where Bond climbs down the train to catch Octopussy's attention. During the second day of filming, Grace – who was Roger Moore's stunt double for the scene – carried on doing the scene longer than he should have, due to a miscommunication with the second unit director, and the train entered a section of the track that the team had not properly surveyed. Shortly afterwards, a concrete pole fractured Grace's left leg. This affected morale in the camp for some time.

The bicyclist seen passing in the middle of a swordfight during the tuk tuk chase sequence was in fact a bystander who passed through the shot, oblivious to the filming; his intrusion was captured by two cameras and left in the final film as an unscheduled stunt. Cameraman Alan Hume's last scene was that of Octopussy's followers rowing. That day, little time was left and it was decided to film the sunset at the eleventh hour when Hume reacted, "Oh just shoot the bloody thing!"

The Fabergé egg in the film is real, it was stolen in 1897 and is called the Coronation Egg, although the egg in the film is named in the auction catalogue as Property of a Lady", which is the name of one of Ian Fleming's short stories released in more recent editions of the collection Octopussy and the Living Daylights.

In a bit of diegesis that "breaks the fourth wall", Vijay signals his affiliation to MI6 by playing the James Bond Theme on a recorder while Bond is disembarking from a boat in the harbour near the Taj Mahal. Like his fictional counterpart, the real Vijay had a distinct fear of snakes and found difficulty holding the basket during filming.

The scene where Khan tries to cheat at backgammon is adapted from the Bond novel Moonraker, where Hugo Drax cheats at contract bridge. A line where Khan tells Bond to spend his money quickly is also a direct quotation from this novel (However, Drax address Bond as "Commander Bond" and Khan calls him "Mr. Bond").
[Thank you, Wikipedia.com.]

Friday, September 12th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Nick D’Amico

Guitarist Nick D’Amico has been a playing jazz standards at the Black Duck for years with his trio.

Saturday, September 13th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Iris Ornig

German native Iris Ornig brings European flair to her original jazz compositions. A bassist and bandleader, Ms. Ornig mixes contemporary music and straight ahead jazz with rare sophistication.

Classic James Bond Movie

Sunday, September 14th, 2008 @ 8:00pm

Movie: "A View to a Kill" (1985)

Filming

The film was shot at Pinewood Studios in London, Iceland, Switzerland, France and United States. Several French landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, its Jules Verne Restaurant and the Château de Chantilly were filmed. The rest of the major filming was done in the Fisherman's Wharf and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The Lefty O'Doul Bridge was featured in the fire engine chase scene. The horse racing scenes were shot at the Ascot Racecourse.

The production of A View To A Kill began on June 23, 1984, in Iceland where the second unit filmed the pre-title sequence. On June 27, 1984, several leftover canisters of gasoline used during filming of Ridley Scott's Legend caused the Pinewood Studios' "007 Stage" to be burnt to the ground. Broccoli arranged its reconstruction which was done by the end of July 1984. The soundstage was renamed "Albert R. Broccoli's 007 Stage". The filming of A View to a Kill continued when Roger Moore rejoined the main unit at Pinewood on 1 August 1984. The crew then departed for shooting the horse-racing scenes at Royal Ascot Racecourse. The scene in which Bond and Sutton enter the mineshaft was then filmed in a waterlogged quarry near Staines and the Amberley Chalk Pits Museum in West Sussex.

Tanya Roberts, Roger Moore and Grace Jones in a promotional still.

On October 6, 1984, the fourth Unit headed by the special effects supervisor John Richardson, began its work on the climactic fight sequence. At first, only a few plates constructed to resemble the Golden Gate Bridge were used. Later that night, the shooting of the burning San Francisco City Hall commenced. The first actual scenes atop the bridge were filmed on October 7, 1984.

In Paris it was planned that two stunt men, B.J. Worth and Don Caldvedt, would help film two takes of a parachute drop off a (clearly visible) platform that extended from a top edge of the Eiffel Tower. However, sufficient footage was obtained from Worth's jump, so Caldvedt was told he would not be performing his own jump. Caldvedt, unhappy at not being able to perform the jump, parachuted off the tower without authorization from the City of Paris. He was subsequently sacked by the production team for jeopardizing the continuation of filming in the city.

Airship Industries managed a major marketing coup with the inclusion of their Skyship 500 series airship in the film. At the time Airship Industries were producing a fleet of ships which were recognizable over many capitals of the world offering tours, or advertising sponsorship deals. As all Bond films have included the most current technology, this included the lighter than air interest.

The ship used in the climax was an actual Skyship 500, then on a promotional tour of Los Angeles after its participation in the opening ceremony of the 1984 Olympic Games. At that time, had "WELCOME" painted across the side of the hull, but the word was soon replaced by "ZORIN INDUSTRIES". During the 1984 season, the ship depicted green and red shades as a part of Fujifilm's blimp fleet; it was subsequently colored white. In real life, inflating it would take up to 24 hours, but during filming it was shown to have taken 2 minutes.

[Thank you, Wikipedia.com.]

Friday, September 19th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Fuku

Master drum player Fukushi Tainaka is one of the best-known Japanese jazz musician of his generation and one of the most in-demand drum players on the international jazz scene. A longtime member of legendary alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson’s group, Fukushi played alongside countless other prominent jazz artists, including trumpet legend Dizzy Girespie, Bill Hardman and Woody Shaw, guitarist George Benson and Randy Johnston, pianist Champian Fulton, Benny Green, Barry Harris and Junior Mance, organist Dr. Ronnie Smith, saxophonist Arnett Cobb, Junior Cook, Kenny Garrett, Jimmy Heath, James Moody, David ‘Fathead’ Newman and Frank Wess.

During the past two decades, Fukushi has performed in most New York jazz venues, including Birdland, Black Duck, The Blue Note, Garage, Fat Cat, Smoke, Smalls, The Village Vanguard (and defunct club such as Sweet Basil, Fat Tuesday’s, and The Village Gate), as well as playing at major concert halls, jazz clubs, and festivals all over the world. Fukushi’s jazz festival appearances include New York’s prestigious JVC Jazz Festival, Lincoln Center Outdoors, Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, the New Orleans Jazz Fest, the Philadelphia Jazz Festival, the Cape May Jazz Festival, the Iowa Jazz Workshop, the Toronto and Montreal Jazz Festivals, as well as major European and Japanese jazz festivals.

Fukushi has toured Japan as often as three times a year since the early 1980s with his own groups, as a member of the acclaimed pianist Shizuko Yokoyama’s trio, and with Lou Donaldson and other jazz greats. Since the mid-80s, Fukushi has also toured Europe twice every year with Lou Donaldson, appearing at jazz clubs and festivals in European countries. His recording history includes two hit CDs with Lou Donaldson, also appearing in his longtime musical partner Shizuko Yokoyama’s album “To My Mother”, and dozens of other recordings from various Japanese jazz labels.

Saturday, September 20th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Alex Levine

Originally from Philadelphia, Alex Levin has performed in Philadelphia and New York as a leader and a sideman for the last fifteen years. After studying at The New School with teacher Gary Dial, he transferred and graduated from Brown University in 1998 with a degree in English Literature. From 1998-2001 he lived in Berlin, Germany, where he started his first quartet, The Living Room. The popular band played at numerous clubs and festivals throughout Germany, and gained notoriety for unique interpretations of pop songs by the likes of Bjork and Tom Waits.

Alex has played with multiple vocalists and instrumentalists since returning to New York in 2001. He has appeared at clubs throughout the city, and can most frequently be found leading his own trio at such clubs as Kavehaz, Detour, Rue B and Night and Day. Besides leading his trio, Alex performs regularly with vocalists Ayana del Valle and Heather Moran. He has composed numerous pieces, and has arranged music for top vocalists, including the brilliant Paulette McWilliams.

Classic James Bond Movie

Sunday, September 21st, 2008 @ 8:00pm

Movie: "The Living Daylights" (1987)

Filming

The film was shot at the Pinewood Studios at its 007 Stage in UK, as well as Weissensee in Austria. The pre-title sequence was filmed on the Rock of Gibraltar. Other locations included Germany, the United States, and Italy. The desert scenes were done in Morocco. The conclusion of the film included the Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna and Elveden Hall, Suffolk.

Principal photography commenced at Gibraltar on September 17, 1986. Aerial stuntmen B.J. Worth and Jake Lombard performed to the pre-credits parachute jump. Both the terrain and wind were unfavourable. The stunt was decided to be done using cranes but aerial stunts arranger B.J. Worth stuck to skydiving and completed the scenes in a day. The press would not meet Dalton and d'Abo until October 5, 1986, when the main unit traveled to Vienna. The stunt with the Land Rover was filmed in the Mojave Desert.

Almost two weeks after the second unit filming on Gibraltar, the first unit stared shooting with Andreas Wisniewski and stunt man Bill Weston. During the course of these three days it took to film this fight Weston fractured a finger, and Wisniewski knocked him out once. The next day finds the crew on location at Stonor House doubling for Bladen's Safe House, the first scene Jeroen Krabbé filmed.

[Thank you, Wikipedia.com.]

Friday, September 26th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Nick D'Amico

Guitarist Nick D’Amico has been a playing jazz standards at the Black Duck for years with his trio.

Saturday, September 27th, 2008 @ 9:30pm

Jazz with Michael Preen

Michael Preen grew up in a musical environment in New Orleans, Louisiana. Beginning on guitar at the age of thirteen, he soon switched to the electric bass at fifteen. After graduating high school, he decided to take music more seriously and enrolled in a music program at Delgado Community College in New Orleans. There, he learned to read music, play jazz, and began studying upright bass with New Orleans bassist Walter Payton. During this time, Michael gained experience playing many different styles of music in-and-around the New Orleans area.

In 1994, he played with The Crescent City Big Band under the direction of his father, drummer Brian Preen. At the same time, he formed a rock trio with his brothers James and Andrew called “The Preemos.” After graduating from Delgado Community College with an Artists Associates Degree in Music, Michael landed his first out of town job with a trio that performed for over two months at the Hyatt Cancun Caribe Resort in Cancun, Mexico. Upon returning home, Michael was inspired by the idea of becoming a professional musician. He auditioned for Pro Ship Entertainment, the leading agency for hiring musicians in the cruise line industry. Thereafter, Michael found himself traveling throughout Alaska, the Caribbean, and Europe on some of the largest cruise lines, including Celebrity, Holland America, Renaissance, Norwegian and Princess.

In 2002, he moved to New York City to further his music career. After working in several regional musical theatres playing classics such as Gypsy and The Music Man, Michael decided to go back to school to finish his undergraduate studies in music at New Jersey City University. He is currently completing his Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance and is studying with bassist, Andy Eulau. Michael’s philosophy on music is to be as diverse as possible and to be able to play in many different styles of music. In order to survive in the music business today, one must adapt to many musical situations. After receiving his degree, Michael plans to continue his career by freelancing as a bass player, composing original music, and recording music for other artists.

Classic James Bond Movie

Sunday, September 28th, 2008 @ 8:00pm

Movie: "License to Kill" (1989)

Filming

Much of the film was shot in Mexico in Mexico City and the Florida Keys. In the film the Republic of Isthmus was a fictional South American country, based on Panama. Mexico was used to double for this location. Shooting ran from July 18, 1988 to November 1988.

In Mexico City locations included the Biblioteca del Banco de Mexico for exterior of El Presidente Hotel and the Casino Español for the interior of Casino de Isthmus whilst the Teatro de la Ciudad was used for its exterior. Churubusco Studios was used as a sound stage and production base. Villa Arabesque was used for Sanchez' lavish villa which was filmed in Acapulco, and the La Rumorosa Mountain Pass in Mexicali was used for the filming site of the tanker chase. Sanchez's Olympiatec Meditation Institute was shot at the Otomi Ceremonial Center in Toluca. Other underwater sequences were shot at the Isla Mujeres near Cancún.

In the United States filming was done primarily in the Florida Keys, notably Key West. Seven Mile Bridge towards Pigeon Key was used for the armoured truck driving off the edge. Other locations there included Ernest Hemingway House, Key West International Airport, Mallory Square, St. Mary's Star of the Sea Church for Leiter's wedding and Stephano's House 707 South Street for his house and patio. The US Coast Guard Pier was used to film Isthmus City harbour.

Licence to Kill is the only James Bond film to date not to have used a film studio in the United Kingdom during production, though post-production and sound re-recording was carried out at Pinewood Studios. This is also the first Bond film to be rated PG-13 in the US and 15 in the UK; all previous films were PG. Violent scenes had to be trimmed in both the UK and US (albeit somewhat less so) to avoid a higher classification.

The uncut version is available in the James Bond Ultimate Edition DVD range.

[Thank you, Wikipedia.com.]