Phil Frank and Joe Zawinul, RIP - September 14, 2007

I was sad to learn a week or so ago that Phil Frank was going to stop drawing his local comic strip, Farley, for the San Francisco Chronicle. Now he is gone. I remember Farley years ago, when it was a syndicated strip, Travels With Farley. All the news stories mention Farley's jobs as reporter and park ranger, but I remember when he was a cable car conductor.

Having a local comic strip allowed Frank to talk about San Francisco issues in a way that no except Herb Caen equalled.

We'll all miss the bears, the cats, Baba Rebop, and the bird. Good-bye, Phil.

I know I had heard Joe Zawinul's stuff on KJAZ, like his work with Cannonball Adderly, but I don't think I was aware of his name until I heard Miles Davis' Bitches Brew and saw him in the credits. I remember a friend lent me the first Weather Report album. I found it more accessible than Bitches Brew. I listened to it many times and was reluctant to return it. I finally broke down and found the money to buy a copy for myself.

Thank you, Joe for all the music.

One more thing: The other day, I visited the California Historical Society's current exhibit, "Past Tents". It made me want to go camping, something I haven't done for years.