Feb 14 2017

Go check out the Columbia Daily Tribune. They interviewed me.

 

In an unexpected turn of events, I was the interview subject this time around.

Aarik Danielsen, who handles the Art Axis section of the Columbia Daily Tribune, asked if I was up for an interview about jazz and Bird is the Worm.  I said ‘yes.’

It’s a two-part interview.  In Part One, I talk about who I am.  In Part Two, I talk about what I like.

My thanks to Aarik and the Trib.  It was flattering to be asked, and I’m hoping it leads to a wider audience finding more music to fall in love with.

Cheers.

By • Announcement - Site & General, In the Media • 2 • Tags:

Feb 13 2017

JD Allen and Jacob Duncan at the Nach Bar

 

You Louisville people should be aware that the excellent tenor saxophonist JD Allen is joining Jacob Duncan at his regular Wednesday night gig this week at the Nach Bar.

And it’s not like you should need any additional motivation to catch a show there in the first place.  Located in the Germantown neighborhood of Louisville, it’s a great little local bar to just sit and have a drink.  Jacob Duncan’s regular Wednesday gig sweetens the pot by giving you a nifty soundtrack for shooting the breeze with friends or just staring into your whiskey and daydreaming the night away.  Also, sometimes cool food trucks pull up outside the bar, and so now you’ve got gourmet tacos added to the equation of why-you-should-go.

That said, JD Allen is one of the best saxophonists in the world, and his straight-ahead hard-charging style is something you’ll want to experience live.  This is gonna be down-to-earth jazz, and it’s going to enhance your Nach Bar visit no matter the reason you show up that evening.

Joining the dual saxophones of Allen and Duncan are keyboardist Kendall Carter and the great Mike Hyman on drums.

It all goes down this Wednesday, February 15th from 9:30 ’til whenever.

The Nach Bar is located at 969 Charles Street.

There is no charge.  It’s a free show.  Buy their CDs and tip the bartender.

Speaking of CDs:

Jacob Duncan has a new album out.  It’s called The Busker and you should check it out.

I’ve got a write-up for ya here.  Also, you can give it a listen, and purchase it, on Duncan’s Bandcamp page.

JD Allen’s latest album, Americana, is also available.  Stream some album tracks on Soundcloud.  It’s available at Amazon.

By • Announcement - Music, Live Jazz • 0 • Tags:

Feb 13 2017

These are videos that I like: Big Pocket Orchestra, Dave Brubeck and Jon Snow

 

Today’s featured videos come courtesy of the Big Pocket Orchestra.  Their self-titled 2016 release was yesterday’s daily recommendation (go read it).

Here’s a promo video for the highlight of the recording… a mash-up of the Desmond-Brubeck tune “Take Five” and the theme song to Game of Thrones.

And here’s a live performance of their mash-up of the theme songs for Peter Gunn and James Bond.  It’s from a 2016 show at Barcelona’s Sala Fènix theater.

And if you want to skip the write-up and just go check their album out, you can give it a listen, and purchase it, on their Bandcamp page.

By • These are videos that I like • 0

Feb 12 2017

Recommended: Big Pocket Orchestra – “Big Pocket Orchestra”

 

Everything about Big Pocket Orchestra is fun.   The septet that comprise the Big Pocket Orchestra run popular TV and movie themes through a traditional jazz lens, and I’ll be damned if every single one of them aren’t clever.  Opening the album with the 20th Century Fox theme gets the fun started.  Darth Vader’s voice intoning “I am your father” to a Latin Jazz version of the Star Wars theme is a highlight.  Also a highlight is how the theme to Peter Gunn shifts right into that of James Bond.  Harry Potter makes an appearance, as do the Flintstones.   However, the absolute gem of this delightful recording is the mash-up of the Paul Desmond-Dave Brubeck tune “Take Five” and the theme from Game of Thrones.  The transition between those two melodies, back and forth in the blink of an eye, is about the niftiest thing I’ve heard in a while.

Albums that do the movie-TV show thing can come off as trite.  Many times it’s nothing more than a popular melody wrapped in an empty suit of a song.  But Big Pocket Orchestra have created tunes that are enjoyable to listen to all on their own, and their contextual relationship to pop culture is simply an added bonus.  And, most importantly, they made it especially fun.

Your album personnel:  Melisa Bertossi (soprano sax), Matias Muñoz (keyboards), Sergio Lopez (drums, percussion), Alejandro Mazzoni (bass, double bass, guitar), Ale Ortega (trombones, accordion, guitar), Adriano Torregiani (saxophones, flute, harmonica) and Alberto Perez Jordana (trumpets, flugelhorn).

This album is Self-Produced.

Listen to more of the album at the artist’s Bandcamp page.

Music from Barcelona, Spain.

Available at:  Bandcamp

By • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2016 releases • 2

Feb 12 2017

These are videos that I like: Sissel Vera Pettersen

 

Today’s featured videos put the spotlight on vocalist Sissel Vera Pettersen.

Here she is at the National Art Gallery in Copenhagen, as part of the city’s 2011 jazz festival.  She’s performing the song “November” with her trio Equilibrium.  They have two albums that come highly recommended.  Their 2014 release Liquid Light received a nice write-up on this site (go read it) and I gave a strong recommendation for their 2016 live performance recording (go read it at The Bandcamp Daily).

Your video personnel:  Sissel Vera Pettersen (voice, live electronics), Joachim Badenhorst (clarinet, bass clarinet), and Mikkel Ploug (guitar).

And our second videos is a duet between Pettersen and fellow vocalist Theo Bleckmann.  This performance is at the 2008 Copenhagen Jazz Festival.

Your video personnel:  Sissel Vera Pettersen (voice, live electronics) and Theo Bleckmann (voice, live electronics).

Bleckmann has a new album out.  Elegy was just released on ECM Records, and you can check it out on the ECM Records site.

By • These are videos that I like • 0

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