Dave Pike – Vibraphonist – Born March 23rd

Jazz for the Jet Set - Dave Pike

Let’s Listen to “Jet Set” to Celebrate Dave Pike’s Birthday!!

On this date in 1938 jazz vibraphonist Dave Pike was born in Detroit, Michigan. He is best known for his association with Herbie Mann in the early 1960s. I discovered his music within the last few years and several of his albums are included in my music library.  I always wondered why I never really heard of this guy. The reason is that most of his American recordings were made in the 1960s and 70s and he went to Europe in the late 1960′ Here’s what I read at All About Jazz…… Read More

Neo-Prog from Germany’s RPWL (not!) but here’s a side project – Blind Ego – Numb!!

So for the last few days I’ve been listening to the latest release Wanted, from the German Neo-Prog group RPWL. When I went to start to write about the band, I saw that band member Kalle Wallner (guitar) has a side project named Blind Ego -That sent me back to my archves where I found this post I wrote back in March of last year! So since I wasted the afternoon and can not complete a post about RPWL before I go to work tonight at Target, here is that post!1 I’ll write about Wanted soon!! Read More

Lunchtime Music from Jerry Jeff Walker as he sings Chris Wall and Bill Staines’ songs!! Bill sings one, too!

Live at Gruene HallThrough the years Jerry Jeff Walker has introduced me to many great songwriters like Guy Clark,and Townes Van Zandt. Two other songwriters  songs appear on the Jerry Jeff’s album Live at Gruene Hall.. First, three Chris Wall songs appear on the album “I Feel Like Hank Williams Tonight”..”Trashy Women” and this one “Rodeo Wind” Can’t you just see that cowboy out in the barn saddling his horse, with his woman leaning against the frame of the barn door, as he gets ready to ride off into the sunset! Read More

“Into the Night” with thoughts about those “Statesboro Blues”…. music by David Bromberg!

So if nothing else blues songs have staying power! Who would have thought that a song written by a blind blues singer born in 1898 would end up as the 9th rank song on the Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitar songs of All time! Which is exactly what happened to Blind Willie McTell’s song “Statesboro Blues”! The version that made it to the list was the cover from the Allman Brothers! And in 2005, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ranked “Statesboro Blues” number 57 on its list of 100 Songs of the South. McTell recorded and released the song in 1928!! An abbreviated list of the folks wh have covered the song includes: Taj Mahal, David Bromberg, The Devil Makes Three, Brooks Williams, and Ralph McTell, who changed his name on account of liking the song. Read More

Archives” Life’s Soundtrack: New Progressive Rock from Houston – Six Minute Century’s Wasting Time!

Wasting TimeSo the soundtrack for a variety of activities around the house today was a prog/power metal band from Houston,Texas Six Minute Century . The band has been around since 2004 playing mostly locally in Houston. After signing with Nightmare Records in 2008, Six Minute Century released their début album “Time Capsules”. After that release and the positive reviews it received, the band has played many cities in the United States, and been invited to perform  at a variety of festivals including:  Rocklahoma, Rock The Bayou,festival, Nightmare Metal Fest I and II, and ProgPower XI.My soundtrack today was their second release Wasting Time also on Nightmare Record. The album is hot off the presses! The official release was yesterday! It really only took the first couple of songs to decide that this was a band that I was going to like. well actually it was the use of radio reports about the havoc of the Galveston flood that acted as the intro to the song “City of Hope” that did the trick.  It seemed that through the entire album the opening to each song was varied and interesting.! Read More

Flashing Back Again to the Greenwich Village Folk Scene with Carolyn Hester!

SCarolyn Hestero it looks like right now my mind is trapped in the folk revival in Greenwich Village in the 1960s with thoughts of Tom Paxton, Carolyn Hester, Mississippi John Hurt and others. This morning the first song the popped into my head was Tom Paxton’s “I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound”. You know at least two or three times a week this song plays in my mind – maybe it’s the line “trying to find what I was meant to do” that does it for me! Anyway, when I search YouTube this morning for the song, this is the version that came up first, featuring Nanci Griffith and Carolyn Hester along with Tom…… Read More

Flashing Back to thoughts of John Hurt, John Sebastian and Fred Neil in the Village!!

So the other day when I was writing about John Sebastian, I mentioned that John played on Fred Neil’s first abum Bleeker & MacDougal. This got me thinking about Fred Neil so here is a repost of a post I did a while back. But first two things the first is on Neil’s album John played harmonica! Secondly, I also mentioned that the Lovin’ Spoonful got their name from Mississippi John Hurt’s song “Coffee Blues” So here it is: Read More

The 28 Day Reading Challenge – Three New Books !!

So I went to the library today, like I need more to read, anyway. I took two books back that I have read Kent Haruf’s Plainsong and Deborah Hick’s The Road Out– two others I did not have time to read Crossroads a book about BLues and Rock music and Chi Marathoning – running what’s running??? Then I checked three out and we'[l see how I do at reading this set of books: Read More

2014 Jazz – Moment to Moment from Pianist Cava Menzies and Trumpeter Nick Phillips

So this morning at Me, Myself , Music and Mysteries I posted three songs that put me in a good mood, and tonight I am listening to an album that puts me in a mellow mood. I want to get home turn the lights out and drift to this wonderful album. Yes, drift to the fine piano of Cava Menzies and the “Chet Baker-esque trumpet of Nick Phillips on their album Moment to Moment. As a matter of fact, I was going to write to you readers if you want an album to settle back with put your feet up and just drift grab this one!! Read More