For many music fans, as well as Elvis fans (is there a difference?!?), The 1969 four week residency of Elvis Presley at the brand spanking new International Hotel in Viva Las Vegas (where he played 2 shows a night EVERY…
Category: Ringer of the Week
DYLAN AND CASH! Bob Dylan: Travelin’ Through-The Bootleg Series Vol. 15 1967-69
Each Volume of Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series has its own unique charms, but this 3 disc set from Sony Legacy may be the most important and intimate. It finds Mr. Zimmerman at one of his creative peaks, featuring outtakes from…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****SO, EIGHT BEATS GO INTO THIS BAR…Champion Jack Dupree: Champion Jack Dupree
New Orleans barrelhouse piano master Champion Jack Dupree (1909-1992) was one of the bona-fide champion of the blues, blessed with a full life, living and playing his music. This three disc one dvd box set from Storyville Records finds him…
*****RINGER OF THE WEEK****THE STRATFORD – UPON -AVON SONGBOOK? John Allee: Bardfly
Vocalist John Allee came up with a brilliant idea: bring the lyrics from the plays of William Shakespeare, and put them in a bohemian jazz milieu. John’s tenor of a voice is tamed with the hep cats of Mahesh Balasooriya/p,…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Rez Abbasi: A Throw of Dice by the Silent Ensemble
Guitarist Rez Abassi has put together an expansive catalog over the years, but his release may be his most ambitious. He puts music to a silent film, the 1929 silver screener A Throw Of Dice and breaks the music into…
THIS IS A TENOR SAX 101…Johnny Griffin & Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis: Live At The Penthouse
There’s something almost uniquely special about two tenor summit meetings. Guitar duos come close, but after that, who REALLY wants to hear a pair of trombones, cluttery pianos, or heaven forbid, basses forming a two man front line? Nope, it’s…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****Will Boyd: Freedom, Soul, Jazz
More than one jazz artist has told me that his goal on stage is to recreate the joy and intensity of church music. Saxist and flute player Will Boyd does that in spades as he takes on the Great American…
*****RINGER OF THE WEEK****THE LAST LIVING MASTER-Ahmad Jamal: Ballades
Here are the basic facts: 1) There are only a handful of artists that are still alive that actually started and perfected a musical style in jazz 2) Ahmad Jamal is the only one who is still active. Therefore, we…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****THE MOZART OF JAZZ…Louis Armstrong: Live In Europe
For much of his career, Louis Armstrong was denigrated for not “changing with the times” and embracing modern sounds of bebop and hard bop. What these critics and musicians didn’t understand is that, like Mozart, once you perfect a sound…
****RINGER OF THE WEEK****HIT THAT JIVE, JACK! Nat King Cole: Hittin’ The Ramp-The Early Years (1936-1943)
I don’t care if it was inspired by Nat King Cole’s 100th birthday celebration or the 50th anniversary of the first Mets World Championship, but this 7 disc collection of the fledgling years of Nat “King” Cole is an essential…