Melvin Rhyne – Jazz Organ – Born October 12, 1936

Melvin Rhyne an Original Member of the Wes Montgomery Trio and More!

One of my favorite things to do is to scroll down the daily list of birthdays at All About Jazz. I always check for names I am unfamiliar with and/or musicians who play instruments that I enjoy! Today as I looked over the list I noticed a Hammond B-3 Organ player Melvin Rhyne.  I didn’t recognize Melvin’s name. However, after reading the following synopsis of the early years Rhyne’s career, I do believe I probably have heard his Hammond B-3 before…… Read More

Marconi Union – Ghost Stations

Marconi Union – Ghost Stations

Sometimes I am not sure that I like ambient music all that much. Many times I’ve heard an ambient track and said, “What the hell was that?” Little did I know that was the reaction that Marconi Union wants from listeners to their latest release Ghost Stations. Here’s what they have to say about the album….. Read More

Soothing Sounds from Richard Carr – Matters of Balance

Matters of Balance – Richard Carr

Last night as I looked down the Zone Music Reporter Top 100 Airplay Chart the album at number 7 caught my eye. The album was titled Matters of Balance and the artist was Richard Carr. The album cover looked pretty cool  and I had never heard of Richard Carr so I opened up Spotify to  check the album out. So I put the album on an picked up my book and started to read. Pretty soon I was doing more listening than reading!! Read More

Music from 1970: The Use of Ashes – Pearl Before Swine

The Use of Ashes - Pearls Before Swine
Thoughts about 70s Music led me to – Pearl Before Swine

I was thinking about music in the late 60s and early 70s this morning.My thoughts quickly turned to one of my favorite bands, Pearls Before Swine. During those years the underground music scene was exploding. Typically AM commercial  radio stations played pop music that was singles oriented. Underground music was album oriented and the tracks played were usually much more complex and  longer. As the popularity of underground music grew several Philadelphia radio stations adopted the underground music format. Both  WDAS and WMMR made the switch.To me the beauty of the format was the ability of the DJ to play just about anything HE wanted to play.  WIBG’s  DJ Hy Lit led the transition on WDAS and Dave Herman and his Marconi Experiment paved the way at WMMR. Read More

Distant Horseman – Timothy Wenzel

Distant Horseman – Timothy Wenzel – Life, Living  and the Universe

So if you are looking for a nice, quiet relaxing album, I have one for you – Distant Horseman the latest release from New Age Artist Timothy Wenzel. The album was released back in February and it has been in my music rotation since then. I also think that it has also been at the top of the Zone Music Reporter Charts for all those months. The album features the musical artistry of Wenzel coupled with the beautiful violin of Josie Quick. Read More

Marquis Hill – The Way We Play

Peace, Love and Loud Guitars - Anthony Gomes
The Way We Play – Marquis Hill puts his own spin on some jazz classics

I first discovered the music of Marquis Hill back on 2013, around the time of the release of his album The Poet. At the time, I couldn’t find The Poet at any of my usual listening spots, so I listened to his album Sounds of the City . IK quickly became a fan! The sounds of the city emanated from Marquis’ home town of Chicago and the album was outstanding. Read More

Terceto Kali hits the Flamenco-Jazz Scene

Terceto Kali – Terceto Kali

One of the albums that has been in my music rotation this past week while on vacation on Long Beach
Island in NJ was the latest the self-titled debut album from a three-man trio Terceto Kali. The trio led by virtuoso flamenco guitarist Jason McGuire “El Rubio, plays a blend of flamenco, Latin and jazz rooted in a variety of musical genres. Prior to the release of this debut album the band was billed as The Jason McGuire Trio. Either way, if you are a fan of flamenco guitar, oh hell, if you are a fan of guitar playing, you are going to love this album! Throughout the album, “El Rubio” lives up to his billing as a virtuoso guitarist! Read More

A Playlist for a Thursday Morning Commute

Some Jazz, Blues and Prog Make for a Fine Commute Playlist

This morning I put the iPod on playlists recently played and for my commute to and from work at Target the soundtrack was a mix of new music added to my music library. Some the tracks are from the albums that I bought at the Princeton Record Exchange a couple of weeks ago and some are just new albums. So here’s the twelve track playlist… Read More