Yeah, I know! The government, the leaders, and the whole system seems like a total joke lately. Scandals about the IRS, NSA, Benghazi…and we in California had Villagarosa as our Mayor!! But, you know what? That’s the beauty of the…
Category: No One Asked My Opinion, But…
CELEBRATING FATHERS
Let’s face it, if it weren’t for fathers, most of us wouldn’t be around. We’ve all had them, some of us are them, and some of us fathers have been called a “Mother.” Having said all that, the sign of…
GOD’S GREATEST HITS
If you really want to understand the heart and (literally) the soul of jazz, you need to get some gospel discs into your collection. It’s just that simple. PC historians like to state that jazz started in the brothels and…
Goombah Jazz
“Agita, My Cumpa, in the Panzon” If you know Broadway Danny Rose and Nick Apollo Forte’, those words are as delicious as calzone.What we’ve got here is a celebration of one of the key cultures to make jazz the great…
KRISTOS ANESTI!
Yes, it’s one of the great times of the year. Spring begins, with all of its implications. As we make the home stretch to Easter, I wanted to make a list of the best things about this Lenten Season. …
JAZZ SUCKER PUNCHES
Fads and styles come and go. Jazz “stars” rise and fall. As the Bible says, “He brings one down, He exalts another.” 60 years ago, Benny Goodman was THE star of music. Anyone listen to him now? Right now, Michael…
LA’S SIX STRINGERS
Since the days of Eddie Lang and Lonnie Johnson, guitars have been an integral part of jazz. Before plugging in, guitarists were either part of the rhythm section a la Freddie Green being the pulse of Count Basie’s Orchestra for…
WHAT’S YOUR TOP TEN?
I love this time of year when people run through their list of top ten whatevers-movies, shows, books, hair styles. I don’t care! It’s a Top Ten! I emailed a ton of various writers and jazz journalists in order to…
TOP TEN REASONS TO LOVE THE SEASON!
Yes, it can be commercialized, but SO WHAT?!? There’s something about the Christmas season that is special. Yes, you have Chanukah, Kwaanza and a bunch of other holidays that vie for attention, but the Big Cheese of holidays is on…
A MONTH OF THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving, which is celebrated the 2nd to last Thursday of November (it used to be last one until FDR changed it in 1939 to help businesses during the Great Depression), is one of the few American Holidays that EVERYONE seems…