This afternoon the Music Safari took a little trip of the most populous landlocked country in the world Ethiopia. The reason for the trip was to explore the music of Mulatu Astatke. The genesis of the trip was a review of the World Music Charts – Europe – where his most recent release Sketches of Ethiopia was spotted at No 4!
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.
On this date in 1928 the master of the Hammond B3, Jimmy Smith was born. I have been listening to Jimmy Smith’s music since he late 60s when I discovered Wes Montgomery and then Jimmy & Wes an album by the two masters that they released in 1966. I love to put on a Jimmy Smith album at work and well just let it flow!! So let’s have some morning music to start our Sunday and to honor Jimmy on his birthday. But first some background….. from AllMusic
Somewhere over the last several weeks I came across the name of Egberto Gismonti and even listened to his 1980 release Circense. From AllMusic guide….
This excellent release by Egberto Gismonti was conceived under the concept of a circus, an institution that has the ambivalent quality of being at the same time universal and regional; the “circense” tradition exists in almost all parts of the globe, but it is enriched by the smaller companies that keep struggling to survive in poorer setups, adding regional elements to the whole. It fits like a glove for the music of Gismonti, which also aims to enrich Brazilian musical tradition with elements of worldwide classical and popular acquisitions. More at MOG
(Twin Sons of Different Mothers and times?)
(tangentially speaking – about the headline the Yo – is usually followed by Adrian ….. here (ADD strikes again)
So I made a quick stop at the Echoes with John Diliberto’s website this morning and about all I had time for was to check out the album of the month which is Found from David Helpling and Jon Jenkins. After the visit I went to MOG put the album on and the wonderful music of this duo provided a perfect soundtrack for my morning. I think after listening to Found and reading about the music that the two create and the comparisons to other artist I have another all new sub-genre of New Age music to explore. The good thing is that it ties in very well with the symphonic prog music have listened to and like lately!! Helpling is a self-taught musician and composer for film. One of the films Trade Offs, immersed him in the music of India. The score features several guest artists including vocalist Nidhi Bhatmuley David lists Elliot Goldenthal, Edward Shearmur and David Julyan as his favorite film composers, while U2 and Björk afre two of his favorite musicians, . David has also provided several themes, scores and ambient beds for numerous television, corporate and interactive projects. David says this about composing for television “Creating music for TV is certainly rewarding and streamlines the process in producing my own music.” Helpling’s debut release, Between Green and Blue, was a finalist for the 1997 INDIE Album-Of- 
The-Year award. In 1999, David’s second album was Sleeping on the Edge of the World
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!!
So I was all set to go “Into the Night” with some Airbag a prog-rock band that was recommended by son Andrew and whose music I have been enjoying over the last two days. And then my ADD struck when I saw on the YouTube sidebar another of my favorites from birthday boy Jesse Cook and since I’m going back to work at Target tonight on this Black Friday Weekend, the title was right – so let’s go “Into the Night: and move just a little “Closer to Madness:…. …. and tomorrow you’ll hear about Airbag…
Yesterday I wrote about Chuck Mangione and how recognizable “Feels So Good” was in the 70s, how about if of this morning I play some music from my music library, that I instantly recognize Jesse Cook’s “Mario Takes a Walk!”
