poet, podcaster, radio host, troublemaker
This band features three-fourths of the band Circle (the missing member is Anthony Braxton). Right out of the gate, the trio is forceful and free-flying in their take on Wayne Shorter’s “Nefertiti.” And then on the next track, it’s “gaze into one’s soul” time on Corea’s “Ballad For Tillie.” A fun outing by three supremely talented players.
Note: Listen to my 2012 interview with Barry Altschul.
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Tonight I interviewed saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa about his forthcoming album Bird Calls. The album comes out on Feb. 10. It features Matt Mitchell on piano, Francois Moutin on bass, Rudy Royston on drums and Adam O’Farrill on trumpet. You’ll hear the interview soon on The Jazz Session. On Wednesday I’m going to interview Peter Apfelbaum. And then Akua Dixon next week. And then…lots more people.
Poet and activist Robert Burns was born 256 years ago today. Here’s one of my favorite of his poems, set to music by the fab band Old Blind Dogs.
Leave a Comment“Flamencamericana” guitarist Daryl Shawn played to a very appreciative and attentive crowd at Webster’s Bookstore Cafe in State College, PA, last night. Singer/songwriter Laura Boswell opened for him. It was a wonderful night of music and friendship.
“Flamencamericana” guitarist Daryl Shawn is at Webster’s tonight at 7, with singer/songwriter Laura Boswell opening. Free!
Leave a CommentOK, “Randy Newman vs. The Blues Brothers” is a little deceptive, because actually I adore both these versions of this song. But I wanted to highlight how much the arrangement changes the character of the song.
Exhibit A: Randy Newman singing his song “Guilty,” from his 1974 album Good Old Boys. Pay particular attention to the dissonant strings in the first verse, and how they make this song sound so plaintive and despairing.
And now here’s John Belushi singing this same song with The Blues Brothers. In this live performance, it’s introduced with humor. And without those dissonant strings, it’s been transformed, at least for me, from a somewhat eerie wail of despair to a jaded, last-drink-of-the-night blues song.
Again, I dig both of these. But listening to the Newman version this morning I was really struck by the difference.
Leave a CommentI’m a big fan of Michaela Anne, a country/Americana singer-songwriter who recently relocated from Brooklyn to Nashville. It’s exciting to watch her career take off. The video above is featured today on Rolling Stone‘s website. Michaela Anne is playing all over the eastern part of the U.S. in the next couple weeks. Go hear her.
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I can’t pretend to an extensive knowledge of classical music in general or Brahms in particular. All I can say is that this is wonderfully soft and lush and gorgeous and rich. I’ve played it two days in a row at the store and people keep coming over to ask about it.
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Take one of the great musical groups of, well, ever. Add arrangements by Allen Toussaint, one of the best arrangers ever to put pen to paper. Throw in a live concert environment. Stir. You’ve got a fabulous live album. This is The Band doing what they did best: playing deep, soulful rock music.
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Stone. Classic.
I mean COME ON, this record has “Chain Of Fools,” “Since You’ve Been Gone,” and the absolutely deadly “Ain’t No Way,” which my friend bassist John Kennedy describes as “baby-makin’ music.” The band alone is worth the price of admission — Spooner Oldham, Jimmy Johnson, Bobby Womack, Joe Newman, King Curtis, Frank Wess, and many more.
Did I already say “stone classic”?
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One of the very first real rock shows I ever went to was a double bill of Fishbone and Primus in about 1991, on the tour for Primus’s Sailing The Seas Of Cheese. I’d never heard of Fishbone and never seen anything even remotely like them. That show never left me, and then years later I was reawakened to the joy of Fishbone by W. Kamau Bell and Vernon Reid on their podcast The Field Negro Guide To Arts & Culture. There’s also a great Fishbone documentary. Here’s the trailer:
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This one took me by surprise. I mean, nobody spins a Lou Reed record expecting happy pop music, but that’s what a lot of the songs are on New Sensations. They’re not vapid or simplistic, but they have backbeats and major chords and happy guitar solos. Lyrically, Reed is still willing to pull off some scabs, but even when he’s telling it like it is, there’s a knowing smile in his voice.
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Confession: I’m not much of a Laura Nyro fan. Everybody likes what they like, and she’s never particularly appealed to me. When I heard this album a couple weeks back, though, I looked at her in a new light. Nyro is joined on Gonna Take A Miracle by Labelle, and that makes all the difference. Her voice sounds strong and assured in this soul setting, and Labelle really ties the room together. Lots of Motown classics on this album, too, and you just can’t go wrong with the team of Holland-Dozier-Holland.
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Just judging by the cover, I wasn’t sure what to expect of this record. Honestly, I didn’t expect much. I was so, so wrong. Jazz singer Jeannie Trevor kills from start to finish on this 1965 album, her first as a leader. Her uncredited backing band (identified as St. Louis musicians, like Trevor) provides stellar accompaniment.
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