Time, Place & Occassion: Jazz

I was 21 when I was promoted to sergeant in the army. I remember going to the main NCO club on Ft Bragg and celebrating with their Wednesday night special. A NY strip steak, salad, baked potato and a martini for $7.95 or thereabouts. I sipped a Beefeater martini and looked out the window at the PX across the street. I felt pretty damned good.

After the second martini I felt even better and that's when I heard Dave Brubeck's, Take Five. I don't remember hearing anything on the sound system before or after it. I've mentioned before how my father's love of Jazz permeated my soul and lay dormant for years. It was that moment in the Ft Bragg NCO club that Take Five connected to something in me. It could've been the gin but what ever it was, it changed my listening habits forever.

I bought a beautiful reel to reel from an army buddy and hooked it up to my stereo. I bought tape and listened to everything I could borrowing a lot from the old man when I came home on leave. Monk was hard to get but I connected to Ahmad Jamal immediately. I felt grown up listening to Jamal. And he went pretty well with a cigarette and a drink. I'd watch the smoke rise in front of a lamp and looked in my glass where the oil from the olive slid across the gin like heat vapors rising in a desert. I would wonder where I would be in 10, 20 maybe even 30 years.

Never thought I'd still be listening to Jamal 30 years later. I thought the world's advancements would certainly improve music. Right. Up there are some of my favorites. You know about Jamal. Paul Desmond was Brubeck's sax player. When asked how he developed his sound he said, "I had the vague idea I wanted to sound like a dry martini." 'From The Hot Afternoon' is a Brazil inspired collection that seems to fly with the first cut, Outubro (October). I would add that it's a pretty damned good choice for seduction. All you have to do is leave it on and everything else has a good chance of coming off.

'Kind of Blue' by Miles is a major contrast to Desmond. I can't handle Miles before 5PM. I just can't. But I loved listening to him while looking out my window on Lake Shore Drive and watching brake lights as cars enter the turn just north of my apartment window. I recently found where Ivy Style dug into Miles and his love of Ivy apparel here. Great stuff and very enlightening.

Bill Evans sat at the piano for 'Kind of Blue.' Evan's, 'Portrait in Jazz' reminds me of Johnny Walker Red with soda. Smooth, dry and lively. It works well in the background with a party but it's perfect to listen to alone. I love Evans on a long road trip. He makes driving through Darien, GA sophisticated.

Wes Montgomery was a self taught guitarist who, if Evans is dry, Wes is as humid as Panama in November. The Verve CD, Jazz Masters 14, is a good introduction not only to Wes but to Jazz. It's accessible, fun and Goin out of My Head (1965) is magical while sipping a rye Manhattan and flipping through an old Princeton yearbook from the same year.

I remember asking my father about Brubeck's 'Time Out' when I was home on leave. We sat at the kitchen table after dinner and smoked H. Upman coronas. Looking past my father I could see an egret land in the salt marsh behind our house. The old man blew a smoke ring and told me it was nothing more than playing with time - but - what I was hearing wasn't very easy to do.

A lotta years later I'm still hearing it and wearing it.

The Ivy Look by Graham Marsh and JP Gaul

The Ivy Look is small but its got a punch

While Lisa Birnbach steps up her media blitz (where's Chip?) and utters 'polar fleece' for the 466th time, there's nary a whisper about two authors in the UK who have already released, 'The Ivy Look - An Illustrated Pocket Guide to Classic American Clothing. ' It hits the states the end of October but if you're in a hurry you can order from Amazon UK now.

Americans like to consider Ivy their own but anyone who's read anything by Bruce Boyer knows that Ivy was born far from our shores and across the pond where those people with no fluoride live. We Yanks have certainly tweaked the polo, hunting, cricket, rugby, tennis, look. More important, we made it inclusive. Something that never looks bad on our permanent record. Have you ever heard a Brit say inclusive? I personally don't think they can pronounce it.

JP Gaul and Graham Marsh have make it their own again and this time they're inviting everyone. The Ivy Look, like Take Ivy, is an appreciation of what many of us take for granted. Weejuns, button downs, khakis, Jazz, Horween cordovan. And unlike True Prep or the Official Preppy Handbook, the aesthetic here is a quiet whisper of traditional. What is best described as invisible but with style points for those in the know.

Chock full of Esquire ads, Jazz album covers and movie one-sheets, it's the British POV on what is a very different message in London than it is here in the states. Mr. Gaul and I talked about how rarely I saw Ivy when I worked in London. "Ivy existed away from the world of business. Through Jazz and black American music it was an expression of the roll of a button down collar or the feel of a properly broken in Weejun."

There's also a look at Ivy through the Japanese, Italian and French perspective. All with their own codes and unique tweaks. If you're looking for the Locust Valley lock jaw, full out preppy courtesy of the Tommy, Ralph and Mickey Show, this ain't gonna be your cup of tea. But if you're the least bit curious about stuff happening to our culture in other countries - - this book will answer questions you never considered while maybe even tweaking your own closet.

The Trad Interviews Graham Marsh & JP Gaul

The Trad interview is a test on Trad sensibilities and preferences. It's supposed to be fun. I mention this for those of you in the Jerry Springer seats. (click on images to enlarge)

I asked Graham Marsh and JP Gaul if they wouldn't mind taking the Trad Quiz. I've used this test a couple times while tailoring it to the individual subject. Mr. Gaul took the test over the phone and did not cheat. Mr. Marsh replied to the questions from an email. I don't know if he cheated or not but he did cop out a couple times by picking both answers.

Surcingle or Strap: GM-Surcingle / JPG-Strap
Answer: Strap. Understated and elegant with Tiffany buckle options.

Giuffre or Mulligan: GM- Both / JPG- Mulligan

Answer: Giuffre. In the movie, Jazz on a Summer's Day, Jimmy Giuffre and his band wear Trad tan suits. Gerry Mulligan wears a red blazer that wouldn't look out of place behind a hotel front desk. "Ding, ding...Front!"

Old England or Hackett: GM- Old England / JPG- Old England

Answer: Old England. 99.9% of the Yanks reading this don't know what Old England is much less where.

Vespa or Lambretta: GM- Vespa / JPG- Vespa

Answer: Lambretta. Both scooters are unreliable but look cool. Like most Italians. But Vespa is everywhere in the states so the nod goes to the rarely seen Lambretta.

Jamal or Davis: GM- Miles Davis / JPG- Miles Davis

Answer: Ahmad Jamal. Miles Davis was greatly influenced by Ahmad Jamal. Once you've listened to Poinciana you'll understand why.

Pea or Duffle: GM- Pea / JPG- Duffle

Answer- Duffle. The Pea does not cover your ass nor is it warm. And if you've ever been to Norfolk, VA you know the other reasons.

Press or Brooks- GM- Brooks / JPG- Press

Answer: Neither. Trick question. The answer is the Andover Shop.

Tassel or Weejun: GM- Weejun / JPG- Weejun

Answer: Weejun. Because I am one.

Bean or Orvis: GM- Bean / JPG- Orvis

Answer: Orvis. Bean is pursuing the skinny hipster. Orvis continues to keep the fat, middle aged man in mind. Where's Bean gonna be when hipsters move onto Nik Nik?

Esquire or GQ: GM- Both / JPG- Esquire

Answer: Esquire. I didn't see anything from GQ in this book but there's a lot from Esquire. Again, Mr. Marsh picks both but this time he gets a pass. He has a book to sell.

Auto or Stick: GM- Stick / JPG- Stick

Answer: Stick. I shouldn't have to tell you why.

Don Draper's Work Product - My Passion

1963

1963

1965

1966

1967

I smoked Larks when I went in the Army. Sometime during basic training I bummed a Salem after a run and liked the cool after taste. Most of the young blacks I served with were Kool or Newport smokers and they opened the pack from the bottom to keep the filters clean. Whites were almost all Marlboro (box) smokers. During arguments, usually stereo wars, I remember hearing, "You Marlboro smoking, Budweiser drinking, white sock wearing mother fucker." Or, "You Kool smoking, Schlitz Malt Liquor drinking, in grown hair mother fucker."

I was sent to Canadian jump school in Edmonton where I tried, Cameos, du Maurier and English Ovals until settling on Export A's. They paired nicely with Labatts Blue. Back at Ft Bragg I found Export A's being sold at a gas station just south of Fayetteville. They also sold cigars and I tried Dutch Masters that came in a Cameron wrapper. A major, seeing my five pack of cigars on a FTX, gave me a Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur which turned me off Dutch Masters forever.

In college I cut back on cigarettes and cigars but smoked a pipe with Lane 1Q until an art professor turned me onto Mac Baren Virginia No. 1. After college I went back to cigarettes but cut back considerably by smoking unfiltered Camels then Lucky Strikes and briefly Old Golds. I dated and later married a rabid nonsmoker but found myself alone on business in London where I became a dedicated Silk Cut smoker until I bummed a Benson & Hedges Gold.

Two years smoke free (except for one). Ten pounds fatter. I like to think I had my fill while not being brand loyal. I'm not sure Draper would understand.

Newport to Bermuda 1986 vs 2010

1986 Newport to Bermuda Race Images from 'M' The Civilized Man

2010 Newport to Bermuda Race Images from PPL Photo Agency

Otter's Sweater & Jay Kos

Jay Kos is an odd cat but I love his vision. He's also insanely expensive. But I look at his aesthetic this way. What you see is Jay. It's not a Filson bag or a Barbour coat. It's 110% Jay Kos. I saw this sweater in his shop a couple years ago and recognised it immediately. Jay asked if I know the story behind it. Do I know the story behind it? Please.

I checked out the price and looked at him in disbelief. "Jay, is this cashmere?" "Nope." he smiles. "It's just wool?" "Yep." he's still smiling. And he tells me how he took a picture of Otter's sweater from the movie, sent it to Scotland and had 20 made. I can get five Shaggy Dog sweaters from J. Press for the price of one Otter sweater. Not that I need five Shaggy Dogs.

It's seamless but is it worth it? I look around. I go on line. Discover the original sold for $3,250 at an auction. I buy a similar striped sweater but it's not the Otter. Not even close. A year goes by and that impulsive moron that lives inside of me complains, "What if Kos sold out and you missed your chance? You'll never see this (a beat) again!"

I go back to Kos. He has two left. I try one on. It fits. I beat myself up pretty good for buying it. The guilt and shame of being hosed in NYC. Today? Who cares. The sting of the money is gone and I have one of 20. Well, 21 including the one Matheson wore.

Update: J. Crew has seen the attraction to limited editions. Based on this jacket - - I'm feeling very good about my Otter Sweater.

Talula's Table

Small and cozy

Moist and chunky

Thick and crema

Praise Cheeses

The table

Just over the PA/DE border is the tiny town of Kennett Square. Famous for mushrooms and the earthy smell that accompany them. The town is also getting known for a restaurant called Talula's Table which smells a lot better. Especially in the morning.

The lemon ginger scone will kick your door down and steal your girlfriend too. Massive moist with chunks of real ginger and bright lemon icing. I thought I had a three way going on in my mouth. They should post a warning about eating one of these while driving - - With each bite I banged on the steering wheel.

And the coffee? Every time I order a triple Americano I'm asked, "Room for cream?" And I always want to say, "Not if you know how to make it." But most places don't. Weak with a thin piddle of crema. Just look at the crema sticking to the side of the cup up there. That, my friend, is expresso porn.

It's a market. It's a restaurant. It's confusing. Not easily stuck in a category. Which is where I find everything that is good in life.

Otter's Sweater - Pink Shetland

I will not quote this scene but be assured I know the line. I was hugely impressed by Animal House and by Otter's wardrobe. I still am. My Anodover isn't quite the pink in the scene with Mrs Wormer but it looks great with a dark grey - almost black - pair of flannels. In today's world it's casual without looking like you work in a gas station.

Press Only: T Magazine

The Trad snags a mention in a wonderful piece here on O'Connell's in yesterday's NY Times by Christopher Petkanas. Quoddy Canoe Moc is $45 more from the source. Go figure?

Hard To Get Friday Belts

Welcome back to the Friday Belt. The Main Line Sportsman took a challenge upon himself back in May to hunt down the elusive Schweppes's Bitter Lemon. I'm pretty sure he had no idea what he was getting himself into but four months later (glad I wasn't thirsty) it has arrived. I wasn't looking so much for free Bitter Lemon as much as I was wondering where to find it. Main Line's liter bottles come from 'Republika Crna Gora' and that ain't gonna help me in NYC.

Main Line likes his Schweppes Bitter Lemon with Mount Gay rum and bitters. I think I invented my favorite: Mix, 2 oz Gin, 1 oz Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur and Fee Brothers Orange Bitters in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a martini glass. Top off with Bitter Lemon. I call it a Double Cuff in honor of the British refusing to utter French cuff.

A belt to wear is that French Bridle belt up there. Normally I would abstain from something like this but it's beautiful in that French kind of way and there's only a 42 left. I'll have to cut it down a few inches but it's so out of the ordinary and you never see the damn things - just like Schweppes Bitter Lemon.

Something else you never see here in the states is the French red head, Pascale Rocard. That's from a 25 year old issue of 'M' The Civilized Man. She turned 50 last week. I'd love to have her over for a Double Cuff and talk about her 2006 film Rabbit Fever...but that ain't ever gonna happen. Not that I'm bitter.