Vocalist Jackie Ryan is just one of the ladies that you just know is fun to be around. I’ve seen her perform, interviewed her, and have all of her material-you want her at your party! She has an infectious joy…
Month: February 2013
READ ALL ABOUT IT! Jack DeJohnette: Special Edition
ECM Records is on a reissuing ROLL! This one just might be the king of the litter. What they’ve done is put together into one multi-cd disc package the first four cooking releases by the rotating collection known as the…
DON WHO?!? Don Ellis: Essence
If you’ve even heard the name Don Ellis at all, it’s probably from the forward looking big band that the trumpeter/composer led in the late sixties with intricate time meters and boasting musicians like John Klemmer and Tom Scott. Probably…
Julian Shore: Filaments
Pianist Julian Shore has put out an intriguing album that rotates voices and guitars like spices on a Lazy Susan tray. The core team of him with Phil Donkin/b and Tommy Crane/dr supply the framework for a mix and match of…
THE REAL DEAL-Sidney Bechet & Mezz Mezzrow: The King Jazz Records Story
It’s funny how some things change, but they still stay the same. See how much of this sounds hauntingly familiar: Back in the 40s, jazz was going through a bit of an identity crises, with people arguing what was “real”…
BLUES WAILING! The Yardbirds: Making Tracks-On Tour 2010-2012
One of the most influential but under-appreciated bands of the 60s rock/pop explosion was the British group The Yardbirds. At the time of the Stones and the Beatles, this band was neck in neck in terms of popularity and probably…
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO-John Young Trios: The Complete Argo & Vee-Jay Recordings
Releases such as this one from Fresh Sound Records proves my theory that there are certain periods of musical history that there is a surfeit of talented artists that simply get overlooked. The late 50s and early 60s was one…
DO THEY DO WEDDINGS? The All Purpose Blues Band: Cornbread & Cadillacs
At one time, good time boogie bands like this were as ubiquitous as Italians in South Philly. That’s definitely not the case anymore, so when a band like the APB puts something out, pay attention. The team of Willie Lockett/v-tp,…
Lady Antebellum: Own The Night World Tour
The award winning vocal group Lady Antebellum (have never understood the name with two guys and one girl) deliver an exciting concert here in Little Rock Arkansas as part of their highly successful North American tour. The Nashville-based team of…
NO FLUFF-Otis Taylor: My World Is Gone, Robert Randolph Presents: The Slide Brothers
Here are a couple releases that cut to the marrow of music. Earthy blues, smoky blues, churchified blues with no swagger, not attitude no gimmicks. Real people with real stories and delivery. No junk pitchers here-it’s all fastballs. Blues man…