Here's this year's top 10 movies, albums and tracks of 2021.
As ever, this list is naturally limited to what I've seen and heard.
For instance, there's plenty of films that I haven't been able to see, therefore they were not in the running. Licorice Pizza, C'Mon C'Mon, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Hand of God, Boiling Point are just a few...
But just so everyone knows... there are quite a few that are many people's favorites that I've decided to have off the list: Belfast, Don't Look Up, Spencer, No Time to Die, Tick Tick... Boom!, The French Dispatch and Suicide Squad are just a few. Some almost made the cut, while others were just disappointing given the expectations.
MOVIES
Spider-Man: No way home West Side Story Dune Pig Green Knight Judas and The Black Messiah King Richard The Last Duel The Power of The Dog Drive My Car
ALBUMS
Sufjan Stevens & Angelo de Augustine - A Beginner's Mind Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under Little Smiz - Sometimes I Might Be An Introvert Tyler, The Creator - Call Me If You Get Lost Olivia Rodrigo - Sour Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah - New Fragility Sonic Silk - An Evening with Silk Sonic J. Cole - Off Season Arlo Parks - Collapsed in Sunbeams Doja Cat - Planet Her
TRACKS
Sam Fender - Dying Light Garrett Mahoney - Italics Sufjan Stevens & Angelo de Augustine - Back to Oz Jose Gonzalez - El Invento Kings of Convenience - Rocky Trail Jorja Smith - Burn Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah - Innocent Weight Future Islands - Peach Justin Bieber - Peaches (feat. Daniel Ceasar & Giveon) Kanye West - Junya
Really sad to hear about the passing of Jazz veteran Barry Harris at the age of 91 on Thursday, December 8th.
Harris, an accomplished jazz pianist, had played with legendary musicians such as Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Stitt, among many others.
Grounded in the sounds of bebop, Harris would eventually be featured in 2000 on a documentary about his career named Barry Harris - Spirit of Bebop.
Having established himself as one of the greats, it's no surprise that Harris would be awarded in 2000 in the American Jazz Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievements & Contributions to the World of Jazz, a milestone that serves to establish his legacy within the cultural scene...
Being such a prominent name in the music scene, I feel very fortunate to have had the chance see him perform live back in 2011, after I was given three tickets to attend his gig at the Pizza Express Jazz venue in London.
The opportunity came after Portuguese jazz critic Jose Duarte had to give away his tickets due to unpredictable circumstances that made it difficult for him and his family to travel into the UK.
Gutted for not attending, particularly as as he was making the trip just to see legendary jazz pianist, Jose Duarte was advised by my Dad to pass on the tickets to me as to not have them go to waste.
Dad called me and asked if i was keen and went on to say that he had hired Harris to play in Portugal many years ago, while also adding that this was a chance of a lifetime as he was likely going to stop touring in Europe due to his condition.
I must confess I knew nothing about Harris - which likely prompted by Dad to be upset at me - but felt very flattered and privileged for the opportunity. I took those tickets and invited two friends of mine from CNN to attend it with me.
The gig, as you would expect from such an icon, was superb. Playing in front of a sold out venue, I recall feeling his presence in the room and within each note that he played, despite the constrictions that came along his age. Even addressing the audience seemed like a hard task... but not when he was hitting those notes on the piano. That looked and sounded effortless.
At the end of the gig i approached Barry and introduced myself. Said my Father was Duarte Mendonca, who organised Estoril Jazz in Portugal. Instantly memories started flooding in and we ended up sitting down and having a chat about those days in Portugal. By the time we start wrapping up the conversation, I ask if he doesn't mind taking a picture so i could show it to Dad. Harris greeted my request with a smile on his face and boom. Picture taken. What a moment!
I don't remember exactly what went down after that, but I probably must have spoken to my Dad the following day, telling him all about the gig, my chat and the picture - which I would have eventually send via email to him.
To my surprise, that same picture would be printed in a decent size and placed on my Dad's work desk...
More surprisingly though, the picture would also be featured in the jazz program for the following year's festival.
I was always incredibly proud of that, as i knew Dad was too. In same ways was just another confirmation that his love for music was living through me and that gave him a sense of mission that had been completed...
I guess in many ways, this is as much of a tribute to Barry Harris, as it is to my Dad...
May both reacquaint themselves again through their love of music... Maybe Dad will tell him all about the picture he had in his office...
Fun fact: this was the song by Vince Guaraldi that prompted Peanuts producer to approach Guaraldi to compose the soundtrack for the
unreleased 1963 documentary A boy named Charlie Brown. It was there
that the later designated theme song Linus and Lucy would come to
fruition.
It won the
1963 Grammy for best original jazz composition. It was taken from the 1962 album Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, which drew inspiration and played
tribute to the music from the 1959 Brazilian / French / Italian production Black
Orpheus, containing some of Brazil’s bossa nova royalty in its
soundtrack.
