YouTube is my master now

[mr_bad_example]

Screamin' Jay Hawkins singing "I Put a Spell On You" and "Old Man River."

Both of these videos are from a late-80's show called "Night Music." This show was my first real introduction to jazz. It was also my first real introduction to Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and seeing him at such an impressionable age is probably part of the reason I ended up this way.

Comments

[fortunine.livejournal.com]

I remember Night Flight but never heard of Night Music, though I was also made aware of Screamin' Jay after a fashion.

[mr-bad-example.livejournal.com]

I don't think "Night Music" lasted more than a couple of seasons. It was produced by Lorne Michaels, and it aired after "Saturday Night Live." It was somewhere around the 1989-90 timeframe.

If memory serves, Screamin' Jay was actually also the announcer for the show. He was always very mellow and urbane, which is why it sticks in the memory to watch him go ABSOLUTELY FRIGGIN' NUTS ALL OVER THE GODDAMN STAGE when he finally got to perform.