Category: Piano
The Safari – meets Philadelphian, Chicagoan, New Yorker, pianist, organist Ben Paterson!!
So on Sunday while I was exploring the music and legacy of Lester Young, I also listened to the music of a new musician, Ben Paterson. His Trio’s new album Essential Elements is currently,number 4 on the Roots Music Reports Jazz Chart. On Sunday I put the album on while I was reading and I really didn’t notice the album as the first two songs went by, but then the songs and Paterson’s piano playing got stronger and stronger and by the end of the album I was a fan! I listened to the album again tonight and was more impressed the second time around! Now I’m listening to his second release Blues for Oscar, which is pretty good, too. Now, I only have to go and listen to his first album Breathing Spaces! From his biography at his website:
This Day in Music – Jan 10, 1978 – Happy Birthday, Jazz Pianist Kekko Fornarelli!!
This Day in Music – December 11, 1938 – McCoy Tyner’s Birthday!!
Today McCoy Tyner celebrates his 75th birthday, Happy Birthday, McCoy. From his biography at Facebook,
It is not an overstatement to say that modern jazz has been shaped by the music of McCoy Tyner. His blues-based piano style, replete with sophisticated chords and an explosively percussive left hand has transcended conventional styles to become one of the most identifiable sounds in improvised music. His harmonic contributions and dramatic rhythmic devices form the vocabulary of a majority of jazz pianists.
2013 Jazz from Cuba’s Roberto Fonseca – Yo! (that resonates here in the Philly Area)
(Twin Sons of Different Mothers and times?)
(tangentially speaking – about the headline the Yo – is usually followed by Adrian ….. here (ADD strikes again)
Today in Music – Dec 2, 1931 – Jazz Pianist Wynton Kelly was born!
On this day in 1931 jazz pianist Wynton Kelly was born in Jamaica. According to Wikipedia Wynton is maybe best know for the years he spent working with Miles Davis from 1959 to 1962. While that may be true for many listeners it’s not for me. I remember Wynton as a sideman for Wes Montgomery. If Jimmy Smith and Wes were the Dynamic Duo. Wynton and Wes were the Dynamic Duo 2 in my eyes and ears!!
2013 Jazz – The Music of Omar Sosa – Eggun: The Afri-Lectric Experience
So the other day MOG by way of their Just for You section introduced me to the music of Omar Sosa, and I’m glad they did!! Sosa is a Cuban born composer, bandleader, and jazz pianist. His newest band Afreecanos, combines Afro Pop, jazz, and a variety of European instruments. The band, which includes musicians from Africa, Cuba, Brazil, and France, released a CD in 2009 and went on a world tour in early 2010.
Bud Powell – Jazz Piano
Bud Powell – Jazz Piano born September 27, 1924
On this date in 1924 “Bud” Powell was born. In a post the other day about pianist Benny Green‘, I stated that his sytle has been compared to Bud Powell’s style. I wouldn’t know because, I know hardly anything about Bud Powell. with the exception that he was a great pianist. I image that he main reason I don’t remember Bud, is that he died 1966. Another reason is that he spent the years between 1958 and 1963 in Paris. He returned to the US in 1963 and on July 31, 1966, he died of tuberculosis, malnutrition, and alcoholism. Here is some background about Bud from Wikipedia:
Late Night Jazz from Russell Malone, Christian McBride and Benny Green
Ok so after writing about Christian McBride tonight, I was looking around YouTube and I saw this video of a performance of one of my favorite Wes Montgomery tunes, “Jingles”! The trio performing it was composed of Christian McBride on bass, Benny Green on piano and Russell Malone on guitar. I have recently learned a little about Christian McBride but I don’t know much about Malone or Green. Anyway,I watched the video and I was floored! Malone is outstanding on guitar as is Green on piano, but the driving force behind the whole 14 minutes on the tune is the phenomenal bass playing of McBride!1 He just doesn’t stop!!
