That Eric Alper! - July 13, 2012

Benny Goodman records Body and Soul today in 1935. The Benny Goodman Trio consisted of Goodman on clarinet, Gene Krupa on drums, and Teddy Wilson on piano. Their release of “Body and Soul” and its flipside, “After You’ve Gone,” was their first recording endeavor.

Tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler was born on this day in 1936. Ayler was among the most primal of the free jazz musicians of the 1960s; critic John Litweiler wrote that "never before or since has there been such naked aggression in jazz" He possessed a deep blistering tone—achieved by using the stiff plastic Fibrecane no. 4 reeds on his tenor saxophone—and used a broad, pathos-filled vibrato.

Art Tatum records Willow Weep for Me on this day in 1949: He plays at top form, and seems invigorated by the move from smoky jazz clubs to the concert hall setting http://youtu.be/tCx6ghqg8tg

Friday the 13th happens 3 times this year, each 13 weeks apart from the other. This hasn't happened since 1984. Remember, it is bad luck to fall out of a thirteenth story window on Friday.

Karl Kissner picked up a soot-covered cardboard box that had been under a wooden dollhouse in his grandfather's attic. Taking a look inside, he saw baseball cards bundled in twine. They were smaller than the ones he was used to seeing.But some of the names were familiar: Hall of Famers Ty Cobb, Cy Young and Honus Wagner.Then he put the box on a dresser and went back to digging through the attic. Guess what happened next: http://nyp.st/M0SRtE

Just when you think you're safe enough to watch a ballgame in person while checking Facebook, think again. On Friday, San Diego Padres fan Travis Decker was sitting in the upper deck of the right field stands at Petco Park when Will Venable smacked a foul ball in his direction. Decker, who was trying to check into the ballpark on his phone, never saw the ball coming. This looks like it hurt. Badly. http://wp.me/p26Qb8-2qP

It’s a known fact that the English language is constantly evolving, and words can take on new and different meanings from month to month, not to mention year to year or even century to century. Here’s some of our most everyday, contemporary slang words that have been actually rebranded anachronisms from the good old days. http://bit.ly/Obc5xT

Kids of today meet the toys of yesterday. Can today's Kids figure out the Technology of the 1980's?  http://wp.me/p26Qb8-2rN