#joel zifkin

[countrymusicandcher]

Kate, Anna & Jane McGarrigle, Joel Zifkin & Chaim Tannenbaum. New York, 1990s.

Photo by Jason Lang

[doyourememberrocknrollradio]

LOU REED sings Blue Christmas At the Knitting Factory NY  with Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and the Mc Garrigle sisters. Musicians Laurie Anderson, Chaim Tannebaum, Joel Zifkin.

[watusichris]

Hal Willner: A Way with the Wand

I’ve always found what Hal Willner did to be something magical.

The term “producer” never seemed quite enough to describe Willner, who died today, just days after being hospitalized with the coronavirus. There was always something alchemical about the way he approached music, something wizardly about the manner in which he matched unusual talents with unexpected repertoire.

To be sure, he made some brilliant records that captured certain individual artists at or near their apex – Lou Reed’s Ecstasy, Lucinda Williams’ West, and most especially Marianne Faithfull’s Strange Weather all spring to mind. (Strangely, I spent a good deal of time last weekend with the latter album, after word of Faithfull’s own COVID-19 diagnosis came to light.) A product of the downtown music scene, and no doubt something of a beatnik at heart, he also helmed off-the-wall major-label records by Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs.

But, like many fans of his work, I cherish him most for his mix-and-match tribute albums, which began with Amarcord Nino Rota, a homage to the composer of many great Federico Fellini scores released in 1981. Other fascinating collections, all featuring diverse multitudes of artists, devoted to Disney movie music, Kurt Weill, Thelonious Monk, and Charles Mingus followed. (I was not drawn so much to his similarly styled compilations of sea shantys, but I have never been especially nautical.)

In a 2006 review of another such project, about which I will say more in a moment, I noted, “The trouble with touchstones usually lies with the people who are touching them.” That was never a problem for Willner. He never really failed when he essayed an artistic canon, thanks to his cultural savvy, exquisite taste, great good humor, love of outliers and outlaws, and inherent embrace of risk and weirdness. Sometimes a track would miss the bullseye, or wouldn’t even hit the target, but one always sensed that he was stretching for the right combination, the outrageous or delightful pairing, the marvelous. Though he employed huge hordes of musicians on his records, they always ultimately sounded like his work. He had what the great producers all exhibit: a strong personality that was always felt in his recordings.

They were splendid things, but occasionally Willner took his productions to the stage; he was apparently quite active mounting unique evenings at St. Anne’s Cathedral in Brooklyn. He was always a New York guy, so those of us on the Left Coast seldom got to catch his live thing in action.

But in 2001, he decided to reprise a concept he had launched in 1999 at concerts in New York and London, and brought the Harry Smith Project to UCLA’s Royce Hall for one exhausting, mind-fucking night. My review of the show for the LA Weekly is oddly absent from the paper’s web archive, so I am necessarily reconstructing.

The photo at the top of this piece – shot by Bruce Weber at the venue on April 25, 2001, the day of the concert, and posted on Willner’s Facebook page today by Joel Zifkin – gives a notion of the sensibility that was at play in the producer’s work, and at that particular show. The Harry Smith Project was an attempt to bring the titular filmmaker, collector, amateur anthropologist, and OG New York boho scenester’s 1952 Folkways Records compilation Anthology of American Folk Music, the eccentric, timeless fount for the American folk revival, in all its oddball glory.

Just look at that collection of talent. That’s Willner front and center. Among his collaborators, who put flesh on the old bones of early blues, hillbilly, Cajun, gospel, and traditional ballad material: Elvis Costello. Marianne Faithfull. David Thomas. Richard Thompson. David Johansen. Philip Glass. Steve Earle. Van Dyke Parks. Todd Rundgren. Garth Hudson. Beck. Don Byron. All those and more, backed by a house band that included Bill Frisell, Smokey Hormel, Richard Greene, D.J. Bonebrake, and the late Ralph Carney and Larry Taylor.

It proved to be a long evening that stretched beyond the five-hour mark. Inevitably, with something like three dozen tunes performed, there were some lags, but the highlights – some of which were heard and seen on the Shout! Factory CD/DVD box that was released five years later – lifted people out of their seats: Johansen’s “James Alley Blues”…Faithfull’s “John the Revelator”…Thomas’ “Fishing Blues”…Earle’s “Country Blues”…Thompson’s “The Coo Coo Bird”…Costello’s “Henry Lee.” When the house lights came up after 1 a.m., Hudson, the Band’s great keyboardist, sat down behind the hall’s pipe organ and played a recessional from outer space.

It was not so much an organized concert event as it was a series of unexpected, sharp collisions between performers and material. It maybe shouldn’t have worked, but somehow it did, most of the time. At its best, the Harry Smith gig offered moments of ineffable delight, usually as the result of a completely unanticipated combination of an artist and a song.

It was sorcery, really. But it all was down to Hal Willner, who always had a way with the wand. Sadly, we will have no more of his powerful juju.

[wawalu]

Kate & Anna McGarrigle. Sylvan. Lily & Dane Lanken. Martha Wainwright. Rufus Wainwright. Joel Zifkin. ‘Hard Times Come Again No More’. [acoustic Stephen Foster cover  live @ ‘Songs of the Civil War’ companion cd, PBS tv, 1990].

[song-lyrics-and-meanings-bl-blog]

Joel Zifkin - How Does It Feel Top of the World

Full song lyrics: Joel Zifkin - How Does It Feel Top of the World

How does it feel How does it feel, on top of the world A little bit lonely How does it feel, on top of the world without Your one and only love

Life, you live and learn Love, you court and spurn How does it feel Days, you twist and turn Nights, you spark and burn How does it feel

Run to the roc…

Full song lyrics: Joel Zifkin - How Does It Feel Top of the World

[countrymusicandcher]

Joel Zifkin has officially interacted with me on Tumblr, Facebook (not surprising tbh he interact with everyone), Instagram and a music forum. I am loosing my mind slightly...either I am really the Number #1 McGarrigle postet on the whole wide internet right now (not impossible), or he keep track of where he's mentioned (not impossible) or it's an hilarious coincidence (not impossible).

I am just boggled...damn...

[countrymusicandcher]

Hard Times, Come Again No More

The whole McGarrigle fanily comes toghther for the end of Rufus Wainwright's 60 day long daily music stream, Quarantunes.

They come toghther singing a song which has long been a McGarrigle classic. They have sung it on TV, Live and made a music video of it. It brings hope and love and it shows a family coming toghther even in these times of seperation.

Could you wish for anything more?

People featured in the video: Rufus & Martha Wainwright, Sylvan & Lily Lanken (and Sylvan's child), Anna & Jane McGarrigle, Gabrielle "Gigi" & Islay McMillan, Ian Vicent "Vinnie" Dow & Kathleen Weldon (and their child), Peter Weldon, Patrick Perry and family friend Joel Zifkin.

[countrymusicandcher]

Watching the McGarrigle Christmas DVD again, and there are so many things to comment on...

Like, let's start with clothes!

Kate is wearing a mini skirt/short-short dress and tights with holes??? Rufus has the gayest faux furr jacket I ever saw - and no shirt, but lots of jewellry and a bowler hat. Lily has a McGarrigle tshirt wed all like to own (is this the one rufus had at the complaint shows? How? Magic shirt). Can you even have red & white rag socks and black high heels? All those christmas decorations on everyone. Jörns knitted hat. Anna McGarrigle's pointy, black and white striped, elf (???) Shoes. How does these people proccure fashion like that?!

Or, why not the way they perform?

I mean, Sloan Wainwright. All of her. And especially big bright beautiful tree when she basically lay down on Kates piano to enjoy the sound. But mostly her, all over.

Martha's dancing.

Chaim doing Cherry tree carol -"let the father of the baby gather cherries for thee!" (he looks personally offended and thats why I love Chaim!)

Anna's adorable argument over the accordian that didn’t even have a mike.

Kate swearing bc lyrics are hard. Also Kate on Good King Wesesclaw : " I'm ready, for the first time in my life I'm ready!" (probably not a lie!). Also, from the extras, the whole banter with her and Rufus - "Blind and dumb, that's my mum!")

All. The faces on everyone when someone: drop something. Forget something. Sing at the wrong time. Sing out of turn generally. Sees someone get really in the spirit and find it funny and/or inspiring.

SPECIFICALLY during "I'll be home for Christmas” when Anna seems to drop something and then when looking for it just. End up crouching down on the floor and hiding??? And Martha get to the instrumental break and is like 'wtf where did my aunt go?' And then she see her and laugh.

The fact that Justin Bond, Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson are even in this. Laurie Anderson and their experimental poem recital. It’s like...what?

The way Kate and Anna got stuck on 'blue' in blue christmas and it sound like they say 'blue, blup, blup, blup christmas'. Lou Reed and Rufus Wainwright does that too, but nearly as bad. Rufus also miss when to stop saying 'blup'.

The way everyone is hugging and talking at the end of each performance like they just turned up from their own different corners, got up on stage and got going. No prep time at all (there was a lot of prep time actually!).

Kate and Anna's deep concentration performing faces look sort of frustrated. Like 'this bitch sing another note I’m going to be pissed'. And then they sort of come out of the trance blinking and squinting at the light.

That poor kid named Rigel that look like he had 0.5 seconds of prep for being front and center in front of a mike. Kudos to his sister (cousin? Relative?) Cleo for rolling with it tho she look like she had just as much prep.

[countrymusicandcher]

Photos from the recording of Heartbeats Accelerating by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, 1990

Kate & Anna McGarrigle

Older sister Jane McGarrigle. Jane was excutive producer on the album and Kate & Anna's manager at the time.

Musician Joel Zifkin with his electric violin

Kate's son Rufus Wainwright

Kate, Anna and Jane's mother Gabrielle "Gaby" Latremoulie McGarrigle. The album was mixed at her home in St Sevour, Quebec.

[countrymusicandcher]

The "Sing me the songs" Ensamble in New York, 2012. A wide array of artists gathered to sing praise to Canadian Singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle through performing her material.

Picture 1, L to R: Teddy Thompson, Martha Wainwright, Greg Prestopino, Joel Zifkin, Ian Vincent "Vinnie" Dow, Norah Jones and Dane Lanken.

Picture 2, L to R: Kathleen Weldon, Sylvan Lanken, Rufus Wainwright, Chaim Tannenbaum and Krystal Warren.

Picture 3, L to R: Justin Bond, Jenni Muldaur, Emmylou Harris, Lily Lanken, Michel Pépin, Sloan Wainwright, Jörn Wiesbrodt (?), Anna McGarrigle, ?

[countrymusicandcher]

Skip Rope Song shoot in Tucson, Arizona 1998 — with L-R Anna Mcgarrigle, Lily Lanken, Joel Zifkin, ?, ?, Emmylou Harris, ? Kate Mcgarrigle, Joe Boyd and Michel Pepin.

Source: Joel Zifkin in the Kate & Anna McGarrigle Appreciation group on Facebook. Photo credits the same.

[countrymusicandcher]

Wainwright/McGarrigle friends and family sing "Matapedia" and "Kiss and Say goodbye" at the Complainte Pour Ste Cathrine Kate McGarrigle tribute show at the Queen Elizabeth Theater in Toronto.

[countrymusicandcher]

Entre Lajeunesse et la sagesse, Heart like a wheel and On my way to town performed at the 'Compalinte Pour Ste Cathrine' Kate McGarrigle tribute show at the Queen Elizabeth Theater in Toronto.

Crew: Rufus & Martha Wainwright, Anna McGarrigle, Lily & Sylvan Lanken, Kathleen Weldon, Vinnie Dow, Chaim Tannenbaum and Joel Zifkin.

[countrymusicandcher]

Rehearsals for the "Complainte Pour Ste Cathrine" Kate McGarrigle tribute shows.

Videos shows Rufus Wainwright rehearsing the song "Go Leave".

Other family members and friends seen in the video: Anna McGarrigle, Lily Lanken, Sylvan Lanken, Vinnie Dow, (Jane McGarrigle?), Kathleen Weldon, Chaim Tannenbaum and Joel Zifkin.

[countrymusicandcher]

Front to back, left to right: Cathrine "Kate" McGarrigle, Anna McGarrigle, Loudon Wainwright III,Rufus Wainwright,[unknown],Joel Zifkin,Jane McGarrigle, Martha Wainwright, Chaim Tannenbaum, Philippe Tatartcheff, Dane Lanken, Lily Lanken and Sylvan Lanken.

[countrymusicandcher]

Joel Zifkin, Anna and Jane McGarrigle and Chaim Tannenbaum