Home Archive by category "Music" (Page 12)

Category: Music

Intents and Purposes – Rez Abbasi Acoustic Quartet

Intents and Purposes – Rez Abbasi Acoustic Quartet meets 80s Jazz Fusion

Rez AbbasiOne  of the albums that has been in my music rotation is Intents and Purposes for the Rez Abbasi Acoustic Quartet Rez Abassi is a jazz guitarist and rising star on the jazz scene.  He was voted #2 “Rising Star” guitarist in DownBeat magazine’s 2012’s esteemed Critic’s Poll, and #1 in 2013’s poll, Intents and Purposes is Abbasi tenth album and throughout  his career he has become best known for music that blends jazz with Indian music. On his first eight albums he has been both a leader and a collaborator. His collaborations have been with  Rudresh Mahanthappa, pianist, Vijay Iyer and with his wife, Juno-award-winning Indo-Canadian singer/songwriter Kiran Ahluwalia, for whom Abbasi serves as musical. On his last two albums the influence of Indian music on his music has been more subdued. His 2012 release Continuous Beat featured a trio composed of bassist John Hébert and drummer Satoshi Takeishi. Read More

Tomislav Goluban – Blow Junkie

Tomislav Goluban – Blow Junkie – Great Blues Harp from Croatia

Tomislav GolubanThe other day when I was reviewing the Roots Music Reports latest Blues Chart I was intrigued by the album at number 49 Blow Junkie from Tomislav Goluban. First, I was taken aback by the album seemingly drug referenced title.But then I looked more closely at the album cover I saw the harmonica and then I understood! And then there was the artist’s name Tomislav sounds a little Eastern European to me. So I made a quick trip to Spotify. downloaded the album onto the iPhone and gave it a listen on a run to do some errands yesterday morning! From the opening songs “Harp’ Rockin'” and “Blow Junkie Boogie” this album;s good time feel had me; Read More

Spiritual Haven – Russell Suereth

Spiritual Haven – Relaxing ethnic instruments and rhythms blended with modern sounds

Richard Suereth - Spiritual HavenThis morning I was looking for music to serve as the soundtrack for my morning yoga routine. (routine 3 from Richard Hittleman) I made a stop at the Zone Music Reporter‘s Top 100 Radio Airplay Chart The album that caught my eye was the number 31 album Spiritual Haven by Russell Suereth. It sounded like an album that would make a good soundtrack for my yoga set, so  I gave it a quick listen,I liked what I heard, but for some reason I didn’t use it, I come back and listen to it later in the morning though, and I think that I will be in my music rotation for a while. Here’s what Steve Sheppard of One World Music says about Spiritual Haven Read More

Steve Winwood – (May 12 1948)

steve winwood Steve Winwood : Spencer Davis, Traffic Blind Faith, Solo.

Instruments: keyboards, bass guitar, drums, guitar, mandolin, violin, and other strings.

On this date May 12th in 1948 Steve Winwood was born (wait-Steve Winwood is only 3 years older than me!) When he was performing “I’m a Man” with Spencer Davis in the early 60s he was only three years older than me? And when he was making hits with Traffic and then Blind Faith he was only three years my senior damn! He was just a little more mature than that naïve kid from NJ must be that English water! Anyway Winwood’s work with both Traffic and Blind Faith is in my music library -not his more popular solo work -big surprise! Here’s the background info from Wikipedia: Read More

David LaFLamme It’s a Beautiful Day and his Birthday!!

David LaFLamme – It’s a Beautiful Day – Born May 9, 1941

So I’ve spent the last 30 minutes or so thinking and trying to find videos in celebration of Richie Furay‘s birthday. Then I go to Wikipedia and see that Richie was born of May 9th, so I guess those thoughts will have to wait a few days! Today is, however, the birthday of David LaFlamme of It”s a Beautiful Day. Here’s some background for those of you who may have never heard of David from Wikipedia: Read More

Andrea Brachfeld – Flutist, Composer, Educator

Andrea Brachfeld – Flute – Born May 3rd

On this day May 3rd in the year ??? (Hum, we don’t really need to know that) flutist Andrea Brachfeld was born! From All About Jazz….

Flutist Andrea Brachfeld, is a graduate of The High School of Music and Art and Manhattan School of Music. Over these past 20 years she has recorded more than a dozen CD’s with many artists including, Africando, Noel Pointer, and Timbalaye. Her breakthrough performance as the flutist for the popular Latin band Charanga ’76, catapulted her into Salsa history and fame as the first female flutist to play this music in the United States. While in high school she received the “Louis Armstrong Award for Outstanding Student” from Jazz Interactions. Study with Hubert Laws, Jimmy Heath, and Mike Longo helped her develop her own style. Downbeat magazine referred to Andrea as “one of the finest jazz flutists around.” She has twice been the recipient of the Latin New York Music Award as a flutist. Read More Read More

Randy Raine-Reusch: World Multi-Instrumentalist

Randy Raine-Reusch – Plays an Amazing Array of World Instruments        

Born : May 2, 1952

 As I looked down the list of jazz musicians who are celebrating their birthdays today (May 2nd), I saw the name Randy Raine-Reusch a multi-instrumentalist. Since I am always interested in multi-instrumentalists I clicked on his name to find out more about him and I saw several pictures of Randy playing some very strange-looking instruments.One of them that interested me was this one… hum?? What instrument is that?  As I explored more I discovered that….. Read More

Mel Carter – “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me”

Mel Carter (born April 22, 1943, Cincinnati, Ohio)

There was one thing I knew for certain when I was growing up in the early Sixties, when It came time for a yearly countdown of the greatest songs of all time there among the top would be Mel Carter’s “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me“. Every year it would take a year to get that song out of your head and, then, it get put right back into it for another year, but what a great song it was!! Well, today Mel Carter celebrates his 72nd birthday. From Wikipedia: Read More