So Claire and I skipped out of work early today so we could catch a matinee showing of “The Notorious Bettie Page”. Admittedly, I didn’t know much about her except for the fact that she was a pin-up queen during the 50’s. It was a really good film. The music was excellent, by the way — Artie Shaw, Miles Davis, Paul Desmond…. The one thing that struck me about the movie, though, was how lascivious men can be. Claire used to model when she was younger, so I figured she would know how low men would try to go to try to get…well, you know. After the film I felt compelled to ask her if men are really that bad. She said, “Yeah, men can get pretty sleazy sometimes.” Made me a bit ashamed of my gender. In the film, Ms. Page comes off as both strong and independent and naive as well. Sometimes you feel sympathy for her and at other times you tend to wonder what she was thinking. Still, thumbs up from me. Anything that veers away from the conventional will always appeal to me and NBP definitely does that.

By the way, there was also some Patsy Cline played during the movie. As a jazz fan, I often wonder what Patsy Cline would have sounded like singing “Embraceable You” or “My Funny Valentine”. One of the greatest voices ever. In a way, she and Jo Stafford kind of favor in that there is a certain pristine clarity to their voices. Unmuddled, undiluted — just pure and strong. Sarah Vaughan had that too. Have you ever heard “Three Cigarettes in An Ashtray” by Patsy Cline? Man, I could listen to that song over and over. That’s a “slow dance by the light of the jukebox” kind of song. Love it. She was an original for sure.