We all like to play make-believe from time to time, and sometimes we even find ways to do so in a musical way, but I have to admit that I'm not completely on board with Guitar Hero. I get it - that it revolves around the desire to imagine that you can play like the greats - but even though there are certainly a lot of people who enjoy doing it, I'm not likely to be one of them. (On the other hand, it's at least a step up from playing "air [...]
One of my favorite musical sub-genres (or maybe sub-sub-genre) is when modern musicians take classical music and put an updated spin on it. What might at first glance seem disrespectful can produce some intriguing sounds. It's long been a common practice among jazz musicians, and even has a name - "jazzin' the classics " - but in at least one instance it also invaded disco. Walter Murphy has been a fixture in music for a number of years, but for the early part of his career was pretty much behind the scenes. A talented keyboardist [...]
Steel guitars in all their many variations have long been a fascinating part of music. Named after the steel slide used to alter the pitch of the strings while playing - not the material of the guitar itself - the distinctive sound they create has become a familiar part of everything from country music to Hawaiian melodies. It's thought that the practice of using something other than the fingers to press down the strings originated many years ago when some inventive guitarists began playing what was called "bottleneck guitar" - using the neck of a glass beer bottle for a [...]
When you look at the current music scene and see the various methods used to promote the performers, it would be easy to think that it's a relatively new phenomenon, but it's not. Historical precedents are varied and numerous. For example, Mozart's father tirelessly promoted his son as a young genius and a musical prodigy - which he was, but without dad's help he might not have been recognized as such. During the the golden age of swing bands - the 1930s and 1940s - some of the promotional ideas included things like calling Benny Goodman the King [...]
I guess you could consider this a continuation of my recent article about Acker Bilk , or at least a companion piece, because Kenny Ball is certainly a contemporary of Bilk's and was another stalwart of the British trad jazz movement. He's also still actively pursuing his music, as is Bilk. But there are differences, other than the obvious one - Bilk is a clarinetist and Ball plays the trumpet. For one thing, unlike Bilk - whose big hit was a soft and sentimental melody - Kenny Ball is best known for a tune that stayed much [...]
If you're a "glass half-empty" type of person, it's certainly easy enough to find reasons to be that way in today's world. But if you look at that same imaginary glass and see it as half-full (and maybe even rising), then chances are that you're able to crack a smile once in a while. But smiling isn't always easy and sometimes we can use a little help. Hopefully someone will lend a hand - or two - but if all else fails we can always turn to a musical classic. Written [...]
I've never been a big fan of dixieland jazz. I remember hearing a lot of it when I was a teenager and a friend of mine seemed inexplicably entranced by a group called the Dukes Of Dixieland. He had several LP records by the Dukes and seemed to play them every time I visited. It was almost like he wanted to chase me away. (Hmmm.) In any case, my lack of interest in the genre might have kept me from noticing a strange musical movement in Great Britain during the 1950s and 1969s. Dixieland jazz - the kind [...]
Although Norman Greenbaum could probably be described as a classic one-hit wonder, his story is still an interesting one. After all, even though he's best known for his big hit, 1970's "Spirit In The Sky," his first charted song was the oddly-named "The Eggplant That Ate Chicago," and he later spent some time as a dairy farmer. How's that for diversity? Greenbaum was born and raised in the Boston area, and was attending Boston University in the early 1960s when he began to find some success appearing in area clubs. Relocating to the Los Angeles area, he [...]
As someone who mostly writes about jazz, country music, and oldies (with the occasional foray into oddities like zydeco), I sometimes enjoy taking a look at something completely different. Speak , a new album on the Backdrop/ObliqSound label from Nigerian bassist and composer Michael Olatuja, is certainly just that. Although Olatuja is only 28 and this album is his debut recording effort as a leader, he's been a part of the modern music scene for a number of years. Working in both London and New York, he's appeared with everyone from Stevie Wonder to Chaka Khan. He's [...]
Although King Of The Tenors was the title given to Ben Webster's classic 1953 album, making that type of pronouncement probably provoked an argument, as it would now. But even though Webster was certainly one of the best of the early jazz saxophonists, the title of the album was probably not his idea anyway. In fact, he was usually known as "The Brute" - but more later about that. Webster was a native of Kansas City, a city with a rich legacy in jazz, and it was there that he began to play professionally around 1930. [...]
I've written several times about singing sister acts, and there are a lot of fans who still remember the Fontanes, the Andrews Sisters and others. But one of the earliest and best of the sister groups might be a little less familiar, and that's a shame because the Boswell Sisters were supremely talented. The Boswell Sisters were New Orleans natives who began their careers in the 1920s by showcasing their instrumental talents in vaudeville-style theaters around their home city. Oldest sister Martha was a pianist and the youngest, Helvetia (Vet), played guitar, violin and banjo. Middle [...]
Perhaps more than any other genre, country music has always been filled with singing stars who got their start as songwriters. Many worked behind the scenes for years, surviving by furnishing memorable songs to better-known singers before hitting the big time as a performer. A good example would be a guy who wrote a couple of classic songs - Elvis Presley's "Kentucky Rain" and Ronnie Milsap's "Pure Love" - but later became better known as a singing star himself. Eddie Rabbitt didn't come from traditional country music roots, especially when you take into account that he was second-generation [...]
I've mentioned before that I like to periodically check the freebies that Amazon and other online music sellers offer. Although some of the tracks they give away are a little iffy, you can also find yourself getting acquainted with good music from someone you might not know too well, like Arthur Greenslade. Arthur Greenslade's name might not be a familiar one to most current music fans, but by the time he died in 2003 the British-born pianist, arranger, and conductor had spent a half-century as a solid and respected part of the pop music scene. During his [...]
I was once again going through some old pictures, and ran across one of myself lined up with the other members of my Boy Scout troop. (I'm the last one in the middle row.) It would date from the early 1950s, and I think we were arranged that way because we were practicing drilling, one of the many activities our scoutmaster tried out to keep us from turning into a mob. I doubt that we were in any danger of becoming a precision drill squad, but just about the time we [...]
Maurice Woodward Ritter came by his nickname honestly. Born and raised in the great state of Texas, he had as much right to the name "Tex" as anybody, and it turned out to be an especially good name for someone who would end up having a long career in the public eye. Along the way he would appear on Broadway, become a star in both country music and cowboy movies, and would even dabble in politics. He would also father a son who would have his own acting success. As a young man in the late 1920s, Ritter [...]
As a traditionalist - at least in most things - I have to admit that finding a new album that's reminiscent of the best in straight-ahead, traditional jazz is a distinct pleasure. It's sort of like running into a rumpled old friend and realizing how much you've missed him. Veteran drummer Alvin Queen's Mighty Long Way, now out on the Justin Time label, goes a long way (sorry) toward satisfying my retro side. Some of the music even predates Queen's own career, which started gaining traction in the late 1970s, and reaches back to his [...]
If there is one thing I've learned about today's jazz fans, it's that many of them dismiss the type of music known as contemporary jazz, urban jazz, or - shudder - smooth jazz. And yet, there is good music to be heard within the genre. I understand the thinking of many jazz purists, and I'll confess that I'm a little ambivalent - in fact, I've been known to get dangerously drowsy after tuning into a smooth jazz radio station on a late-night drive. But I've also enjoyed the music at times. I thought we might [...]
This is a video from Hip Hop Official that happened back in March during SXSW Festival. In the video Kid Cudi explains that he in fact intended to retire in March but the support of his fans and his peers in the industry kept him around. Cudi has some harsh words for his doubters in the clip. Related Posts: Consequence Beef W/ Kid Cudi (Video) KiD CuDi-Heaven At Night (Video) Kid Cudi-Man On The Moon: End Of Day [...]
There is an old adage that says that all publicity is good publicity. I'm not sure that it's always true in today's nutsy world, but there is one type of notoriety that will always boost interest in a book, a movie, or a song - being banned. Born in Kansas City, Gene McDaniels grew up in Omaha, and certainly didn't start out like someone who would later have a banned song. In fact, his earliest singing was as part of the church choir, something he had in common with countless other performers through the years. After spending some [...]
Although you seldom see much about the big band era that flourished before and during World War II, many of the names are still familiar. Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman have names that will ring the proverbial bell with most of us, but what about Chick Webb, Larry Clinton, or Claude Thornhill? As unfamiliar as those and countless other names might seem to music lovers today, many were huge stars at one time and the music was often first-class too. It might sound strange now, but in the 1930s and 1940s the big bands had just [...]
Geezer Music Club
HyPE LG
Fred Armisen, Bill Hader & Jason Sudekis bid SNL farewell w/ help from J. Mascis, Carrie Brownstein, Amy Poehler + more
Kanye West: Capa do novo álbum / Performance de “New Slaves” e “Black Skinhead” no SNL
Noteworthy (Stream): Telekinesis – Ghosts and Creatures
