Carla Bley, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 87, should be a role model for anyone who aspires to create a holistic musical universe. Not only are her compositions wonderful, but they have a unique and identifiable personality, one that is magnified when performed by her own groups, but which invites anyone…
Continue ReadingOne of the highlights of my 2023 has been getting to hang out at the U.S. Open with my favorite tennis player, the Dutch doubles specialist Matwe Middelkoop, a meeting spurred by the recent release of the debut album by Stankeye Jones and the Vagabond Librarians. The album features my song “Agony Of Defeat,” written…
Continue ReadingI am thrilled that Sunny Jain will be visiting Wesleyan University’s campus for a concert this Saturday afternoon and then coming back throughout the academic year for a residency. Best known for leading the band Red Baraat, he is a remarkable drummer, composer, dhol player, bandleader, entrepreneur, and activist. I also have the privilege of…
Continue ReadingI have loved Peter Gabriel for most of my life and on some level have only in recent years realized the degree to which that’s true. It’s a funny thing about inspiration, something I talk about often when teaching jazz history or other sorts of history/appreciation courses – the narratives favor clear-cut lines of influence,…
Continue ReadingI missed posting this on the 100th birth anniversary of Philly Joe Jones by a day, but my celebration thereof continues. Generally I’m very careful in suggesting any superlativeness in these inherently subjective Top 10 lists. However, there has never been a musician who has swung harder than Philly Joe and there never will be,…
Continue ReadingDennis Mackrel is at once a giant as a jazz drummer and as a composer, arranger, and conductor. There are certainly important jazz drummers who’ve written great tunes, but at least until recently the list was much smaller if the criteria include a high level of arranging and orchestration skill. That standard was probably set…
Continue ReadingDavid Lindley, who recently passed on at the age of 78, was a musical chameleon – a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, explorer of multiple cultures and phases of American music history, and more. As a devotee of slide guitar, I was first reeled in to his work through hearing him play electric lap steel as a…
Continue ReadingWhat a winter of centennials – Bags, then Dexter, now a happy 100th birth anniversary to the extraordinary guitarist Wes Montgomery. Back when I was a teenager, I used to read guitar magazines and as limited as my own chops on that instrument were (and indeed maxed out at being), I was nonetheless fascinated by…
Continue ReadingHappy 100th birth anniversary (on 2/27) to absolutely one of the greatest tenor saxophonists who ever lived, Dexter Gordon. When I was a senior in high school, my friend Jimmy Greene loaned me two Dexter cassettes that blew my mind: the mid-60s Blue Note session Gettin’ Around and the mid-70s Steeplechase record Bouncin’ With Dex…
Continue ReadingWow, what a great run Burt Bacharach had for his 94+ years on the planet. So many wonderful songs, so many of them performed in diverse ways by varied performers. These aren’t intended to be the “best” (as indeed is the case for all these lists) but these are the tracks I’ve been reaching for…
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