Pianist John Stetch goes solo here and mixes the best of classical with modern jazz thoughts here. He takes a Mozart Sonata and gives it a jazzy bounce while his take of a Bach Italian Concerto has fun and fanciful…
Author: George W. Harris
Jeff Denson Duets…Jeff Denson & Claudio Puntin: Two, Jeff Denson & Joshua White: I’ll Fly Away
Bassist Jeff Denson has a pair of duet discs that are as diverse as you can desire. On Two, Denson teams up with Claudio Puntin, who mixes clarinet, bass clarinet, analog preparations (read “electronic doodles”) and tarcas with Denson’s bowing…
BFG: Now or Never
Emmanuel Bex/B3, Glenn Ferris/tb and Simon Goubert/dr collect the initials of their last names as well as their formidable talents to create the trio BFG. The unorthodox B3 band makes wonders out of their instrumental combination. They make mince meat…
Ross Hammond: Humanity Suite
Guitarist Ross Hammond brings together a freely expressing team of Catherine Sikora/ts, Vinny Golia/reeds-perc, Clifford Childers/brass, Kerry Kashiwagi/b and Dax Compise/dr-perc for a little under a half hour’s worth of concert music performed at the Crocker Art Museum back in…
LARRY CARLTON: SIX STRINGS OF FAITH
You probably may not even know it, but odds are in your favor that you have the guitar sounds of Larry Carlton somewhere in your ipod or cd/album collection. Since the 1970s when he first came onto the music scene,…
ANDY MCKEE: MYTHMAKER WITH THE SOCIAL MEDIA
BACK BEFORE COMPUTERS, THE WAY A MUSICIAN BECAME KNOWN WAS EITHER THROUGH CONSTANT TOURING, GETTING A SONG PLAYED ON THE RADIO, OR HAVING SOME MAGAZINE DO AN ARTICLE ABOUT YOU. IN THIS PRESENT DAY, FOR VARIOUS REASONS, MOST OF THESE…
AH! ELLINGTONIA! Duke Ellington: In Grona Lund 1963, The Treasury Shows Vol. 18
Can anyone have too much Duke Ellington? I have over 200 recordings, and all I can say is “MORE!” Here are two wonderful capsules of the band in different eras, united by sound and vision. In the Camelot days of…
The Pink Floyd & Syd Barrett Story
Before they became one of the most famous progressive rock bands, Pink Floyd was a psychedelic pop band, lead by the musical visionary Syd Barrett(1946-2006). The history of this forgotten part of the band’s background is uncovered here, with revelatory…
Bianca Rossini: Kiss of Brasil
Got a heart for the classic bossa nova sound of Jobim and Gilberto? I think that singer/songwriter Bianca Rossini got the baton passed to her as she delivers some of the best fresh samba sounds around. She’s got a breathy…
Andy McKee: Mythmaker
Guitarist Andy McKee made a name for himself a few years ago with a Youtube video of his song “Drifting” that went viral. It’s easy to see why-the technique and creativity of the artist playing the neck and body of…