tedeschi trucks band: Temmuz 2012

"Her songwriting abilities continue to demonstrate a laudable maturity."
- Chris Loudon, JazzTimes

"Though vocalist Halie Loren has made a name for herself by bringing her warm and inviting alto to bear on a mixture of pop and jazz classics, she has received far too little recognition in the United States."
- Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz

A story is always better when sung through the lips of someone like Halie Loren. Her live re-release album Stages creates a captivating story, each song leaving the listener's ears insatiate, yearning to hear, "what happens next?" In this live recording, Loren's sultry delivery of perfectly articulated melodies, naturally warm in tone, touches her listeners note by note, creating a symphonic experience to be remembered. Stages captures the intimate essence of two of Loren's most revered live performances -- constantly calling listeners all over the world back for more.

Originally released in 2010, Stages is Loren's first-ever live album. By popular demand, the album is being re-issued, with two never-before-released live bonus tracks, by Justin Time Records on July 10, 2012.

Recorded in 2009 at two different Oregon performances, Stages seamlessly fuses standards like "Summertime" and a sassy "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" with pop tunes like U2's "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Interlacing these tunes are Loren's own original compositions, folky-pop tune "Free To Be Loved By Me" and, "They Oughta Write a Song," title track of her 2008 release. In addition, this newly enhanced release features two bonus tracks, "I'd Rather Go Blind," and "Nearness of You."

Stages features the complementary musical craftsmanship of Loren's longtime collaborators: pianist Matt Treder, bassist Mark Schneider, drummer and percussionist Brian West, and trumpeter Tim McLaughlin.

Our live shows are quite eclectic, and feature songs from even further outside the generally jazzier genre that is represented on our studio albums... we take chances, and some of these songs were examples of that," recalls Loren. "The rendition of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was the product of my coming to Matt Treder (piano) and saying, 'what if we try it as a ballad?'. We rehearsed it through one time, and then performed it on stage. Now it's on an album for the whole world to hear. The same is true for several of the original songs on Stages -- It was our first time performing them as a band outside of our rehearsal space. Sometimes things go right the first time around, and have their own kind of magic, and it's great to capture that when it happens."

Ultimately it is Loren's warm and playful delivery of these melodies that grants her the freedom to seemingly effortlessly join these eclectic genres together into one complete album. Stages thus, is the result of Loren's gifted ability to capture the intimate ambiance of a live performance into a timeless recording.

"Capturing the energy and spontaneity of a live performance is always one of my goals when recording in the studio," says Loren. "The innate quality of the 'live' sound and sparkle is my favorite part of creating a live CD... it's like inviting listeners from all over the world to attend a concert playing exclusively for them through their stereos or iPods. It makes the concert experience accessible to all. I'm thrilled to be able to share the newest version of Stages with fans around the globe."

Loren's sound has been compared to those of Diana Krall and Norah Jones. These comparisons are a reflection of Loren's cross-genre success. Her musical career started when Loren was just a teenager, winning first place at national songwriting contests in jazz, inspirational, and country music. Her mastery of diverse genres blends musical boundaries into a seamless sound that only Loren can deliver.

Although still in her twenties, Loren's voice has been inviting listeners into her intimate sound worldwide long before her release of Stages. Since 2005, she has released five albums. Loren's debut jazz album, They Oughta Write a Song (2008), awarded her "Best Vocal Jazz Album" at the 2009 JPF Music Awards. With distribution in Asia through JVC/Victor Entertainment, it became Japan's No. 2-selling jazz album of the year.

"Thirsty," Loren's original song from her album After Dark (2010), won the listener-determined Vox Pop award for best jazz song at the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards. After Dark awarded Loren "Artist of the Year," by online reviewer Wildy's World.

Heart First (2012), Loren's most recent release, showcases her craftsmanship for eclectic balance of jazz standards, re-imagined pop classics, as well as Loren's own original compositions. Heart First won Jazz Critique Magazine's "Golden (top) prize" for Best Vocal Album in its annual Jazz Audio Disc Awards 2011.

Collaborating with Grammy® Award-winning and chart-topping musicians and songwriters since she was a teenager, Stages is the manifestation of Loren's musical maturation. Her diverse musical background thus allows Loren to take creative liberties musically and vocally, depending on how she chooses to tell each story. As one reviewer comments, "her respect for the past is undeniable, while her finger on the pulse of modern music gives her songs a wide appeal that reaches far beyond jazz clubs." And that's just it, Loren doesn't appeal to merely one specific genre of like-minded listeners, she accomplishes something deeper, touching directly the hearts and souls of sentient beings throughout the world.

Loren's genre-crossing albums have reached No. 1 on Amazon Japan's jazz chart and are consistent top-ten contenders on jazz and pop radio. Success has brought Loren's music to ever-widening audiences, including sellout concerts at the Blue Note and the Cotton Club in Tokyo, headlining the Ginza Festival in 2010, and several consecutive tours in the US, Europe, and Asia.

A well-revered singer, songwriter, and musician, and also storyteller, Loren has finely crafted a live album that grants listeners all over the world intimate access to Loren's stage. Stages unites Loren and her listeners through one very sentient heartstring.

halieloren.com

A Little Zydeco If You Please

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Getting close to the weekend, but not close enough. Feeling a little antsy today and just need to move my feet a ~~little~~ lot.

Tasty licks today...go on say they're not. Today we are going back down to Cajun Country for a little Zydeco. Not focusing on one artist in particular, just a few delicious morsels.

Lost Bayou Ramblers "Blue Moon Special"
The Magnolia Sisters "Mag Hop"
Beausoleil "Blues A Bebe"

and because why the hell not...
Sesame Street Muppets do "It's Zydeco"

Just some fun tastes today.

"if your feet ain't tappin', baby you're dead."

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Guilty Pleasures: Have You Heard...

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Past few days, I have not been feeling real good. There's something going around and I caught it. So while I am able to pretty much function normally (take that for what it is), I am not in the mood to spend a half a day researching some great new band.

So today, we will enjoy the second installment of Guilty Pleasures. My definition of: A song or an artist totally outside your normal, but there's something about it that makes you happy. Not too complicated. If you don't remember, the first blog that centered on Guilty Pleasures was on Howard Jones. Nice 80's slightly techno music, but good lyrics and catchy melodies.

This morning, we go to the other side of the world...down under to be specific. Over the years there have been some great bands out of Australia: INXS, Men At Work, Midnight Oil and AC/DC...to name a few.
Another fairly successful Aussie group was The Little River Band. Back in the 70s when the group came together, they were considered kind of a supergroup, with founding members Glenn Shorrock, Beeb Birtles and Graeham Goble, all having previously successful ventures.

In the states there were several songs which moved up the charts. Many of the singles released by the Little River Band were a bit too pop for me, They did however have one song, which had a great chorus, nice arrangement and just a really good feeling about it.

"Have you heard about the lonesome loserBeaten by the queen of hearts every timeHave you heard about the lonesome loserHe's a loser, but he still keeps on tryin'"

That song, today's Guilty Pleasure is... "Lonesome Loser"
A great beginning, they start out with an a capella rendition of the chorus...immediately setting the tone of the song.

"Sit down, take a look at yourselfDon't you want to be somebodySomeday somebody's gonna see insideYou have to face up, you can't run and hide"

Take a listen, we all know the song, and if you can keep yourself from singing along, you are seriously missing the enjoyment chip in your DNA.

Have you heard...

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Always Tellin' The Story: Otis Taylor

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Born in Chicago, raised in Denver, Otis Taylor first began his musical journey on the banjo. He later switched to guitar, learned the harmonica along the way and became one of the great blues chroniclers of the world around him. The man can write a whole lot of story in his songs.

In 1977, Otis Taylor took a leave of absence from the music business for almost twenty years, then in 1995 he came back with a vengeance. In the years since his return, he has released a dozen albums, had his music appear in movies and TV and been nominated for and won several honors. He heads up a music program for elementary schools and universities to enlighten and mentor students in all things blues. That is very cool.

Today, we will take a few tastes of Otis Taylor. If you're not familiar with the music of Otis Taylor, don't miss this chance to find it. Listen to the music, listen to the stories.

"Walk on Water"
"Black Witch"
"Ten Million Slaves"
"505 Train"
"Plastic Spoon"
"Few Feet Away"

and I just can't resist saying it...

Otis, my man. Love the Blues Brothers.

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Jack Johnson: Hawaii Ain't Just Hula Girls

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Didn't you always wonder what those sun-drenched hot surfer dudes did when they grew up? Well, sometimes they realize their true calling. Such is the case with the taste of the day.

"we used to laugh a lot, but only because we thought that everything good always would remain"

Jack Johnson was born, raised and still lives in Hawaii. Surfing was in his blood and if not for a surfing accident, his path may have been different. College brought a degree in Film and eventually music overtook all else and a career was born.

Five studio albums later, Jack Johnson has established himself with featured songs in film and a devotion to the environment and charitable causes.

With a sound that blends some funk, reggae, pop and his Hawaiian influences, Jack Johnson has a real easy sound to listen to.

Take a seat, try to imagine a cool tropical breeze and enjoy some sounds from a unique and gifted singer-songwriter.

"Mud Football"
"Bubble Toes"
"Banana Pancakes"
"Upside Down"
"Better Together"

Aloha.

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8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar

JAZZ TODAY: Esperanza Spalding Stays the Jazz Course While Norah Jones Gets Indie

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Jazz has done so much to resist popularity since the end of the big band era: the squirrel-chase sound of bebop, the steely architecture of Coltrane, the raw honk and squeal of free jazz, the over-academic approach of neo-conservatives. So when a genuinely appealing jazz figure arrives—George Benson, Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, Norah Jones—it’s only a matter of time before they leave jazz behind for real pop popularity.

The last few weeks have debuted mature recordings by the two most pop-worthy jazz phenoms of the last decade. One artist’s arrow aims back to the heart of jazz, while the other sends her into another orbit.

Both discs are discussed at length in my latest JAZZ TODAY column: Esperanza Spalding Stays the Jazz Course While Norah Jones Gets Indie.

This month, Norah Jones released Little Broken Hearts, a mature singer-songwriter type of recording that places her singular and beautiful voice in an indie-pop context. Not that Jones ever claimed to be a pure “jazz musician”, but she attended the esteemed jazz program at North Texas and records for Blue Note Records, the premiere jazz label. With Little Broken Hearts, however, Jones is writing songs with Brian Burton (“Danger Mouse”) and breaks her jazz ties entirely.

And to Jones, who has sold over 40 million records, I say: bravo, friend. Little Broken Hearts is a much, much hipper record than Come Away With Me ever pretended to be, drenched in processed guitar sounds, looped but static grooves, studio production style with the absence of any band feeling, and a different kind of vocal phrasing. A tune like “After the Fall” pulses with synthesizer patches and a syncopated snare sound and is built around Jones’s flat delivery in octave harmony with a male voice. “Travelin’ On”, similarly, puts a laconic Jones vocal over a strummed acoustic guitar (or is it just a digital simulacrum of that?), supplemented by a chilled-out cello line. Both have the cool vibe of something that might have been on the Garden State soundtrack

Radio Music Society is the fourth solo album for the singer and bass player Esperanza Spalding, though Spalding recorded with a rock band called Noise for Pretend as teenager. That is, Spalding and Jones are at similar stages in their recording careers.

Like Jones, who plays plenty of piano, Spalding was trained first as a bass player (acoustic and electric) and came to singing less formally. But in the marketplace, she is a singer first. And like Jones, Spalding made a first record (Junjo, 2006) that was closer to convention. The most critical similarity—and then difference—between Jones and Spalding is in the expectation and then execution of their 2012 releases.

Just as Little Broken Hearts was announced in advance as a further departure for Jones from her jazz-pop roots, a record meant very clearly for the non-jazz market, Radio Music Society was announced as Spalding’s attempt to make a commercial record. Understood as the flip-side companion-piece to Chamber Music Society, this new record would jettison the string group and, instead, embrace electric guitar and the sound of some great hooks. Rather than imagining that Spalding would make an indie-rock record like Jones, it was easy to imagine Spalding releasing an impeccably crafted soul album.

And that is almost what she has done. The difference, however, is that Spalding’s latest uses soul music as a form—but one that is essentially transformed by jazz practices. Radio Music Society may have a bunch of ripping hooks, but it’s equally rich in saxophone solos, tricky bebop vocal melodies, and complex contrapuntal forms. Spalding, at her core, is a jazz musician rather than a pop player who just happened to get singed to Blue Note. Centrally, Spalding is drawn to virtuosity and technical complexity. She is so clearly a jazz musician that even her most commercial stuff has the swing and swagger of a fine jazz record.

In fact, both of these records stand as remarkable career highlights for Jones and for Spalding. Each seems to be refining a kind of essence. Jones may have started like a torch singer, but it turns out that she was really always “just” a brilliant pop voice, and one from a generation more likely to be influenced by Radiohead than by Blossom Dearie or Ella Fitzgerald. And Spalding’s debut, featuring the Jimmy Rowles classic “The Peacocks” and Chick Corea’s “Humpty Dumpty” as well as originals that use mainly wordless vocals, was also not a full expression of her musical personality, but it was in many ways her essence: a substantive jazz workout with a delicious sense of appeal.

Today, a generous handful of records into each career, however, Norah Jones and Esperanza Spalding seem like interesting examples of how jazz remains important to American pop music, even if jazz was long ago turned into a kind of art music. The impulses of jazz—to sing or play with interpretive style, to infuse the music of the day with syncopation and freedom, to force each musician to develop an utterly distinctive voice on the basis of personality and skill—still make the best pop more lasting.

This is not to say that jazz musicians make the best pop records, but rather that American popular music still works best when it embodies a taste of its past. And, it’s also true that jazz benefits from how it rubs shoulders with pop. May they forever be bumping into each other

Kenny Garrett: Seeds from the Underground

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Seeds from the Underground boasts the sound of a tight-as-a-glove small jazz group, one that has played together for a while and knows how to let the sparks fly. Every tune here is an opportunity for ecstasy. Every solo tells a story. Fireworks or feeling are where every sequence is heading. This is straight-ahead jazz with the emotions turned up.

The sound of this band is generous. The Venezuelan pianist Benito Gonzalez is a maximalist, fusing plenty of world rhythms with his massive post-bop jazz chops, sounding occasionally like Herbie Hancock and more often like McCoy Tyner, but always like a young monster. Nat Reeves plays fat-toned acoustic bass, and Ronald Bruner is splashy and vibrant on drums. Then most tracks add Rudy Bird on percussion, who blends integrally with the jazz vibe, not seeming merely tacked on like too many percussions on straight-ahead dates. And, finally, several tracks add to the melodic ensemble some (mostly) wordless vocals by Nedelka Perscad—a great, soaring sound.

Here is the full PopMatters review: Kenny Garrett: Seeds from the Underground.

Most typical are the up-tempo workouts on Seeds. “J. Mac” (for Jackie McLean) is a rollicking modal tune that features thundering piano chords and a straight-ahead swinging feel. Garrett takes the first solo, and it is plain that he is charging up the hill at full speed, headed for the summit. As usual, the leader’s tone is pungent in the low register and squawking and raspy heading into the upper octave—in short, delicious. The solo builds to a peak of longer held notes, then it reloads into swirls that spin even higher. It is exhilarating. Or check out the opener, “Boogety Boogety”, with Bird percolating out front in a hip Latin groove that positively screams “Happiness!” Gonzalez’s solo here dodges and dances with smooth daring until it rises up on a series of upper register tremolos and fizzles back to the melody. Tasty.

Seeds from the Underground is not Kenny Garrett’s best record—he’s been around since the mid-1980s and has made a consistently solid string of records include several that aim higher than this one—and Garrett almost always achieves his goals. But Seeds is so satisfying because it is meat and potatoes jazz from a real working band and from a leader who never gets cute or pulls punches.

This is driving, cooking jazz—old school if you will. And that’s never been easy, even if the greats make it seem so.

Eri Yamamoto Trio: The Next Page

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I like this trio, led by the lyrical pianist Eri Yamamoto. Here, she produces ten engaging melodies for improvising—often wheels that spin around in your head, hooking you. This is modern jazz playing of high quality—with improvising that tells stories, probing the harmonies and moving like a rush of momentum at the right moments.

The band has been together for just about forever in modern terms: with a decade-long standing gig at New York’s Arthur’s Tavern. Bassist David Ambrosio is soulful on every tune, and drummer Ikuo Takeuchi keeps time while still being playful about it. They are not an overwhelming unit like Keith Jarrett’s Standards Trio, not a fleet-footed outfit like Brad Mehldau’s trio, nor a band that is playing with modern pop forms like the trios of Vijay Iyer or Jason Moran. Rather, you can picture them on their home turf, keeping matters intimate but engaging.

That’s all great. But the group’s most recent recording, The Next Page is perhaps a bit too nice. Yamamoto’s great distinction on previous recordings may have been her ability to be both genial and somewhat avant-garde at once—a blend of refreshing freedom and down-home appeal. True to her history, she was a pianist both in love with a great mainstream influence (Tommy Flanagan) and the pianist in out-bassist William Parker’s freewheeling quartet. This kind of sweet-and-sour combination made recordings such as 2008’s Duologue among the best of the year.

The new record is congenial to a fault. It opens with a string of sweetheart songs—like, on the title alone, “Sparkle Song”—that leave plenty of open space around their mostly simple, diatonic melodies. “Whiskey River” has a melancholy sound, but is a blue kind of pleasure for sure: quiet and contemplative but also wound into circles of slow ecstasy. “Night Shadow” has a similar appeal, with a slinky, almost Pink Pantherish blues melody that leaves plenty of room for discussion while never really leaving the key center. There are snappier tunes as well, such as the hip, backbeat-heavy “Waver”, or the clattering “Swimming Song”, which uses a gospel groove to set up Takeuchi for plenty of busy accompaniment.

But what never seems to come along on The Next Page is a tune that leads Yamamoto or Ambrosio outside the expected. “Just Walking” uses just a repeated bass line as its melody, which would seem to invite a freer form of exploration, but the pianist keeps her harmonic choices relatively mainstream here, despite the open-ended possibilities. It’s an exciting performance, with plenty of daring without mainstream forms, but just a tad tame for a player with Yamamoto’s history and young pedigree.

Read my full review here: Eri Yamamoto Trio: The Next Page on PopMatters.

Mindy Smith: Mindy Smith

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Mindy Smith is country singer for you folks (you know who you are) who just don’t like country music. I guess that makes her “alt-country”, whatever that means. She is from Nashville these days, but her roots are on Long Island, NY, and her sound is mostly devoid of that distinctive country twang. Maybe that makes her more of a folk singer—like a Lucy Kaplansky or Shawn Colvin.

But Smith’s approach on her fifth recording, Mindy Smith, is bathed in the textures and flavors of country music, even if Smith continues to develop an identity that is eclectic in influence and approach. But because she is a storyteller as a songwriter, and because the instrumentation here favors pedal steel and acoustic textures, Smith remains that elusive thing: a rootsy country artist who can harness a non-country audience. Or, as Duke Ellington liked to say, she is “beyond category”. And glorious.

Mindy Smith is the artist’s first disc in three years and her first not on Vanguard Records. 2009’s Stupid Love put Smith’s bell-clear singing voice in front of a band with more of a pop-rock sound—some keyboard sounds, some tastefully fuzzed guitar, a more slap-happy backbeat on the drums—and made the case that Smith is a perfectly viable not-country singer. Which she is…except where her confident and rich style seemed slightly stodgy on tracks that might have done well with more vocal flash.

And so the new record is a heartfelt—and wise—return to her country sound. The band plays with bounce and ache rather than pop polish, and Smith responds by delivering a series of coolly soaring vocals on original songs that deserve the find performances. The powerful punch of her pop songs is still intact on many of these new tracks, but they don’t sound like they are striving for anything other than pure expression.

A tune like “Pretending the Stars” has everything a pop song could want—a propulsive groove, a story about cruising in a car looking for a sense of release, a sultry minor-mode guitar hook, and then a chorus that sounds like a good friend you want to see again and again. But the song is also bathed in the nuance of a great country song, particularly a lovely harmony part that no pop song would bother with in 2012. “Sober” works the same way—using the sound of a big-guitar rock song to underpin a classic country narrative: a story song of disaster that repeats the line, “I tried sober / But I can’t get you out of my head / It’s over / And I can’t get you out of my head”.

Read my entire POPMATTERS review here: Mindy Smith: Mindy Smith

Shawn Colvin: All Fall Down

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The singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin is blessed with a wondrous voice – a clear but distinctive, confessional but ringing instrument that lends all her music a signature sound of hip intimacy. However, her best work is less about her performances than about the stories she tells and how she matches them to bracing, unique melodies. Her best record is still 1996’s A Few Small Repairs, which won Grammys and leveraged Colvin’s pop instincts such that she no longer seemed like a folk singer and more like the adult version of a star. That was certainly a grown-up hit record: an album about the bitterness and sadness of going through a divorce and maybe one of the best on that topic since Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks.

All Fall Down is another break-up album, but one softened and mediated by time. Colvin is in her mid-fifties, and her response to romantic failure now is less angry and invigorating than it is sad and resigned. Rather than kick her betrayer out of the house, as her narrator did in the rockin’ “Get Out of This House” from ’96, the opening/title track on All Fall Down simply finds the narrator shaking her head at the sad truth that, “The best of ’em wind up / Sweepin’ dirt off the street / And the worst of ’em end up / Right back up on their feet.” Not that “All Fall Down” doesn’t have punch, but it’s a slap that sounds like Colvin wants to give herself for being too naÃ¯ve.

The blame also goes back to one of Colvin’s protagonists on “Knowing What I Know Now”, which features a soulful arrangement that takes perfect advantage of the production team. The guitarist and mastermind is the great Buddy Miller, who sings the killer low harmony part here. The rest of the core band is Victor Kraus on bass as well as jazz-Americana guitar hero Bill Frisell and the jazz drummer Brian Blade – with the whole shebang recorded down in Nashville. As Colvin sings, “Would I ask a seeing man to go blind? / Would I ask a sane man to lose his mind? / Could I expect you to come back somehow? / Knowing what I know now?”, a metallic-sounding Wurlitzer electric piano also fills the sad, painful space. It’s a brilliant track.

Read my my full PopMatters review here: Shawn Colvin: All Fall Down

7 Temmuz 2012 Cumartesi

NEW RELEASES - THE SOUL REVOLUTION, KONKOMA, LOS CHARLY'S ORCHESTRA

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THE SOUL REVOLUTION 2 – VARIOUS ARTISTS

The Soul Revolution 2 is a lovely compilation of uplifting soul music. The selected tracks comes from SouLab's catalogue and other innovative labels as Broadcite and Further Out. It's absolutly essential future soul business! Incl. tracks & remixes by Kaidi Tatham, T.Roy, Richard E, Slow Motion Replay, Allen Hoist & more. Includes tracks from Dan Electro, Allen Hoist, Isaac Aesili featuring Aaradhna & Buff1, Uptown Funk Empire, Slow Motion Replay, T. Roy, Richard E featuring Jennifer Moore, and Weeland & the Urban Soul Collective.

KONKOMA

A contemporary Afro combo, but one with a really unique twist – a focus on older Ghanaian styles of grooves, which makes them sound different than a lot of other groups of this nature! Unlike some of the more Nigerian-grooving groups out there these days, Konkoma take their inspiration from Ghana – and do a really good job of echoing the older funky styles we've been digging on compilations and reissues from the Soundway label – working here with a tight lineup of London musicians, and getting some sharp help in the studio from Nostalgia 77 and Prince Fatty! The sound is right in line with vintage work on Soundway – and honestly, the album could easily pass itself off as some under-discovered 70s rarity – just on the strength of its grooves. Titles include "Lie Lie", "Another Day", "Yoo Eh", "Jojo's Song", "Senture", "Me Kyin Kyin", "Sibashaya Woza", "Handkerchief", and "Accra Jump". ~ Dusty Groove

LOS CHARLY’S ORCHESTRA REMIXED BY CAPITAN FUTURO

Following the success of Los Charly’s Orchestra – The Latin Edition, the mighty Capitan Futuro has comes up with two monster remixes of the well acclaimed songs: “My Barrio & Jumping with Symphony Sid”.In contrast from the original sound of Los Charly’s Orchestra Mr Capitan Futuro has gone for cleaner sounding style, also adding some scratching and MCing to complete the NEO Latin-Funk formula. Capitan Futuro is Bruises n’ Cuts (Cast-A-Blast fame) and DJ Butcher (Chopshop fame). BnC is also the MC on Symphony Sid. Keyboards on My Barrio by Yannis Dimitriadis. He plays for Omar Faruk tekbilek amongst others and has a daily radio show on Cosmos radio Athens. ~ loscharlysmusic.com

Stevie Ray on a Friday...Hell Yeah

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Well the day is starting off with great promise.

First of all, it's Friday. Second, I got a nice nod from some friends in high places...or maybe low places...whatever. It's put me in a good mood. And we all know, while the attitude doesn't change much, the world is a much calmer place when Kat is in a good mood.

Feeling the need for some blues AND some rock. One choice for that...Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Stevie Ray is perhaps the one artist whose passing I lament the most. After giving up the demons, his work was better than ever. Before getting sober, there were times when he was too drunk to sing, so he would sit down at the edge of the stage and...just play. And no one complained. The man was phenomenal. It hurts the heart to think of what might have been.

Texas born and bred, I'm not giving you the details of his life. It's all there, look it up. I just want to pick out some music.

For a fine Friday...or any other day/night/afternoon, I give you Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Start with some blues...

"Texas Flood"
"The Sky is Crying"
"Sweet Home Chicago"..with a few friends: Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughn and Robert Cray

Kicking it up a bit...

"Love Struck Baby"
"Couldn't Stand the Weather"
"If the House is a Rockin'" ...this one's for Jim ..nice nod today for you too.

and will she include "Little Wing" yet AGAIN? Indeed I will.

Rock it...

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Always Tellin' The Story: Otis Taylor

Celebrate America: Through The Eyes Of A Cowboy

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Today is the fourth of July. In my mind, I had already decided where today's music blog was going. Then around 5:30 this morning one of my twitter followers retweeted a video that spoke to me of America and the dream of what America was...and is It took me no time at all to decide to make it the focus of today's blog.

Andy Martin Jr. sent me this video from PetaPixel. It is the story of a man's dream to become a cowboy, how he attained that goal, and reached for another. His vision of America is seen through awe-inspiring photographs of his adopted home state of Wyoming. Having seen the beauty of the Wyoming landscape while riding on horseback or by backpacking, Carl Oksanen is able to capture nature...almost intimately.

The mini documentary runs about twelve minutes, grab a cup of coffee, sit back and on this Independence Day, let yourself be reminded of why our forefathers wanted this country to be our own.

Ok, so I couldn't post this without a little music to inspire us...

Singing Woody Guthrie's anthem...Bruce Springsteen and assorted troops live at the finale of SXSW 2012 with "This Land Is Your Land" ...this is one incredible version of a great song.

Today we celecbrate America.

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On The Soapbox: Where There's Liability, There's Stupidity

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It's always about the lawyers isn't it?

In a move which reeks of stupidity, a Florida lifeguard has been fired for going to the aid of a drowning man. I shit you not. Here's the background: Man outside of the lifeguard's area starts to drown. Lifeguard abandon's his post to assist other swimmers in bringing the man to shore. Once on shore, the lifeguard stabilizes the man and waits for medics. You broke the rules, you're fired.

It seems by leaving his post, the lifeguard put his employer in a liability situation. What if someone in his designated area started to drown as well. Well, I guess the next lifeguard down the line would have had to leave his post to. And on and on. That my friends, is what we in Jersey call...a clusterfuck. It was a perfect storm waiting to happen...but it didn't. The man was saved, no one else was in need of a rescue and the lifeguard deciding to do the right thing...is fired.

Now I hate to play devil's advocate, but what if the man was drowning, no other swimmers were able to help him and, the lifeguard did not leave his post? This poor guy would have kept his job and been crucified in the press. He would have been an internet sensation...and not in a good way.

All because of liability. As my friend and best ever partner-in-crime would say "This is why we drink." Indeed. Stupidity wins again.

In honor of this insane occurrence, today I'm gonna pick just one cool song. The real name is "Never Been Any Reason" by Head East, but everyone know's the songs as...

"Save My Life, I'm Going Down For The Last Time"... get it?

Will common sense eventually triumph over stupidity...News at 11.

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5 Temmuz 2012 Perşembe

Congrats to the Tedeschi Trucks Band on a Grammy!

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How often does a band get a Grammy on its debut album?! Okay, Derek Trucks, who is now a full-time member of the Allman Brothers and has recently toured with the likes of Eric Clapton is no "amateur musician." After all he did win a Grammy last year for Already Free: http://www.derektrucks.com/news/already-free-wins-grammy. However, Trucks, his wife Susan Tedeschi and the rest of the Tedeschi Trucks Band members deserve full credit for winning the 2012 Best Blues Album!! I expect many more excellent albums from them in the future!

I'd also like to note something pretty dam awesome: out of the 5 nominees for the Grammy, 3 or 60% were associated with the Allman Brothers! Gregg Allman was nominated for his 1st album in many years, Low Country Blues. Warren Hayes was nominated for Man in Motion.

Sir Paul's Pre-Valentine's Day Greeting at the Grammys

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For those of you like your modest blogger who missed Sir Paul's performance at tonight's Grammys, here it is. He played "My Valentine" out of his his new February 2012 album Kisses from the Bottom.

To top things off he helped finish the Grammys with his usual Abbey Road sequence Golden Slumbers-Carry that Weight- The End with the help of Bruce Springsteen and David Grohl

Disaster in the Amish Land: The 2012 Eastern Class Championships

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I went with the Brandeis crew to Sturbridge, MA this past weekend to duke it out in the expert section of the Eastern Class Championship. I went in with my friend and USATE teammate FM Nathan Resika's policy that a lot of the players who "play up" do so because they are afraid of the pressure of winning their own section. I fell below u2200 after a terrible tournament at the Golden Gate Open so I figured i'd give this section a shot; however, unfortunately things did not go my way....Contrarily the opposite occurred as I ended up getting 1.5/4 before withdrawing.

In my first game, I played a fellow New Yorker Jon Gottehrer. After some tactical complications, I ended up with some extra material that I converted for the win.

What I wanted to share about this game the most however was the not the game itself, but rather the controversy and drama that arose during the game. After Jon was down a piece and the game was essentially decided in my favor, several people came to watch the game.. One kid got particularly close to Jon and he told him to back off and asked him if the game was interesting. Then a man playing on the board next to us told Jon to "shut up" and not tell the kid he could not watch as it was the players' rights to watch the games. While I did not get involved with the incident at hand, I fully understood what Jon was annoyed about as I have been annoyed about the same type of situation in the past.... Players typically don't watch games in class sections because they are interesting but rather because they are already decided and they like to poke fun at people when they are losing..... What do you think readers?

In my second game, I played an expert kid from Rhode Island. He played pretty passively, likely hoping to get a draw from early on in the game..... He offered me two draw offers later on within a few moves of each other. When I got annoyed that he offered multiple draws and went to find the director, an onlooker said he spoke to the kid and told me the kid didn't know offering multiple draws when the position doesn't change drastically is not allowed.

To the contrary from what he said, I think it is highly unlikely a kid who is above 2000 and played over 50 tournaments doesn't know the rules. I'll give him the benefit of the serious doubt though and say he didn't know. Even if this is the truth though, this leads to a problem I have with many coaches: their failure to teach chess etiquette. While kids improve rapidly, they are often not taught simple chess manners: not offering draws when their opponents have absolutely no motive to take them or when they are repetitive, ( Another issue I often see is a lot of lower rated players playing very passive openings with white to try to draw instead of playing for wins which would help them in the long run but thats not a story of etiquette. ) and resigning when down excessive material ( at least when rated above 1000). Anyways, enough ranting..... Here's the game:

The Life of a Chess Playing Musician: A Profile of PAK's Ron Anderson

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Life has been busy as I have been finishing up Brandeis. I am now just waiting for graduation to happen in two weeks.
I now share with my loyal readers, the last paper of my college years, a profile of the avant rock composer, guitarist, bassist and manager of the Marshall Chess Club Ron Anderson:

“It’s funny how this little niche of the music world I’m in …there’s a parallel universe in the chess world,” said RonAnderson, one of the managers of the world famous Marshall Chess Clubon 20 West 10^thStreet in New York City. Don’t confuseRon with being a chess professional, however; his main passion andcareer is that of a composer of avant rock . Ronessentially lives in a binary world, dealing with eccentric, diversechess players and the alternative Prog Rock community. In each scenehe interacts with not your average Joe. Over the last three decades,he’s recorded music and performed throughout North America, Europe,and Asia. He’s most famous for his tenures with RAT AT RAT R, TheMolecules and his current band, PAK.
At52, Ron's busier than ever with PAK and other projects. InNovember-December 2011,PAK did a 33-night European run. While PAK might not be able to drawthe sold-out crowds that the Allman Brothers or Furthur attract fortheir infamous Beacon Runs, their international presence iswidespread. In his own words: “This last tour of PAK…Just to beable to do 33 concerts, yeah, small ones, club concerts, but still tohave people see, and appreciate you and [give] you a chance to playevery night even though that's exhausting.” He went on to say, “Bythe time I got home it took almost a month to recover… It took [hisdrummer] Keith a month to recover and he’s just 30. I’m glad I’min good shape.”

Keith Abrams and Ron Anderson of PAK in Zabrze, Poland (November 2011)

Don’t listen toany of Ron’s music expecting a smooth feel. As music writer JustinVellucci frankly puts it, “Ron Anderson is the best kind of madman.There’s just no other way to say it.” The paradox “best kind ofmadman” aptly describes his music; believe it or not – there's amethod to his madness. Who knows how he does it, but his use ofmultiple instruments and special recording techniques makes for fun,appealing music.
As a teenagerdisturbed my interview with Ron to sharpen pencils, Ron exclaimed,“There is a huge movement of people just doing noise. Amplifying 10pencil sharpeners for example, at ear splitting volumes and a lot ofthis kind of stuff was coming from Japan.” While this was ahypothetical example inspired by the youngster’s actions, the ideaof taking a petty object to sharpen the effects of music isinnovation in and of itself.
Ron’sstarted piano lessons at the age of 9 near his home in New Jersey. Asyears went on, Ron started to play electric bass in a high schoolrock band. The ambitious teenager noticed his friends were playing ina band without a bass player. Having never even picked up theinstrument in his life, he “got a bass and amp and learned how toplay in a week.” He's the first to admit that the band was “prettyhorrible, but that’s how it got started.” They “started playingcovers of Cream, Mountain and Black Sabbath and that kind of stuff…”
Whenasked when he started to take music seriously, he said, “I alwaystook it very seriously even in high school but I didn’t knowexactly what I wanted to do.” A typical young musician, he was onthe fence about whether to continue music professionally, attendcollege, or do a combine the two. To keep his options open, he endedup attending Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.
Thescholarly musician graduated but preferred musical notes totextbooks. In 1980, Ron co-founded his first semi-major band, RAT ATRAT R, with Victor Posion-tete in Philadelphia. The band pushes atriple anagram of art smack in the middle of their eyes as they failto notice it. As if the anagram weren't obvious enough, Ron explainedhow its capital letters “make [the band’s name] stand out.”
RATAT RAT R parted ways when Victor and his wife, the band’s bassplayer, Sonda Andersson, moved to New York. “I think everyone wassort of burnt out; we were young. They wanted to move… I stayed inPhilly another 6 months, ” he said. Living the typical downwardlymobile musician's life, he said, “It was just time to move on…”After all, it “was the early 80s… a really good time for music.There were a lot of venues and a lot of people experimenting. Itseemed wide open with what you can do; it seemed like you couldalmost do anything”, he said.
The split between Victor and Ron didn’t last long. When Ron and hisex-wife moved to New York from Philadelphia, they “ended up in theLower East Side…in the same building as Victor,” he said. Was itKatz’s Delicatessen that brought them to the same place? Was itGuss’ Pickles? Or was it some other magical force that brought themto the same neighborhood... Who knows?
Victor and Ron wereneighbors but no longer band mates.“I was really in thisexperimental stage. It was a couple years before I really had anykind of serious project; almost all throughout the 80s until I movedto the West Coast, I just had a lot of improvised gigs, a lot ofpickup gigs.”
As a free bird, Ron flew solo for several years, picking up odds andends here and there. The bird flew to utopia in downtown Brooklyn,where he settled to live in a music studio. What kind of work-lifebalance is that?! Imagine an investment banker staying 24-7 in hisWall Street office. Investment bankers may be there 70 hours+ a week,but they do get some time off. On the other hand, Ron was living inheaven, being “able to make noise 24-7.” Especially after hebroke up with his wife and had the territory all to himself, he’dinvite fellow musicians over all the time: “You know, hey, you’recoming into town: yeah, come crash at my place, we’ll recordsomething, crash my place, we’ll do this… we’ll do a gig.”
TheAllman Brothers tune “Ramblin’ Man” may as well have beenwritten about Ron. Ron was “unattached” and “ready forsomething new.” He thought to himself, “I [have] friends in SanFrancisco... new place, new environment: why not.”

The Molecules during their 2007 West Coast Tour

Ronconsiders his second life, also known as The Molecules, “[anincorporation of] all the things [he] was doing in NY: improvising,performance… art, high energy rock music, punk music… andprogressive rock with roots from the 70s.” He explained how he“grew up in that era of all the prog rock greats, like King Crimsonand Frank Zappa.” He laughed, “The Molecules really made a mark,a small mark, a very small mark.”While he is currently the pack leader of PAK, The Molecules haven’texactly fallen off the face of the earth. It’s true Ron moved toGeneva in August 1998: “It wasn’t like the band broke up oranything… It wasn’t like 'I hate you guys, I don’t want tospeak to you again.' It was like I just want to move,” Ron said. Asa matter of fact, The Molecules are slated to play during Ron’sforthcoming two-week long schedule of shows in November at New YorkCity’s The Stone.
“TheStone (one of his favorite venues) is one of the most importantcenters for innovative music in New York City. You know how somechess players come to wow the Marshall Chess Club? ... When peoplecome from Europe and Japan, one thing they plan is to come seesomething at The Stone.”
CurrentlyPAK performs as a large ensemble, but he has worked with . Ron knewPAK’s original drummer Race Age from the 1980s and Keith Abramsreplaced Age in 2003. Ron found the other two musicians in their 20sthrough a Village Voice ad. Jesse Krakow became the band’sbassist. Will Redman, who’s currently working on a PHD in music atWesleyan University in Middletown, CT under the guidance of AnthonyBraxton, took on guitarist duties.
Ronemphasized NYC's diversity of musical talent: “If you think you’regood and you live in Ohio and you think you’re the shit, at somepoint if you have a brain, you will say to yourself I’m going tomove to New York… You just need to go to some center where there’salways some hotshot musicians… I mean it’s NYC, man.” It’shard to argue with Ron as the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan andthe Ramones all became famous in NY.
Partof what makes Ron unique is his “ufaratzta” a Hebrew word for“spreading out.” While mainly a guitarist, he's versatile. WhenKrakow left PAK, Ron quickly took over bass to maintain thatnecessary fast-paced and complicated rhythm.
What likely distinguishes Ron the most however is an innovativerecording ability. “I like the documentation idea of recording alive event, but if I want to cut out the drums, put in new drums,make the drums go backwards… I am more than willing to have fun.”On PAK’s latest CD, Secret Curve there’sa song “E4 or D4.” “I did about 1000 edits, very quicklyusing the computer. Then I took these edits and rearranged them intoloops and I shuffled them around, first randomly. Then as I startedto hear ideas I liked, I started to refine [them],” he said. “Bythe way I am regressing here but E4 and D4 are the two most commonfirst move choices for the white side in chess. “
“Ireally like the idea when you make an album worth of music where eachsong is important and you might have an experimental piece, achangeup …that surprises the listener to something he wasn’texpecting,” said Ron. Meanwhile, he said “It’s one of thethings that has happened… with people listening to music on theInternet and randomly downloading songs.” By downloading randomsongs, younger generations don’t understand the concept of analbum.
Ron’sufaratzta alternatively exists outside of the musical realm. “I’vewanted to study French; I pick it up, I drop it, I pick it up, I dropit. C'est la Vie, you know. It is what it is… I can’t doeverything,” he said. As “E4 or D4” and another track “CaroKann,” named after one of chess’s more passive-aggressiveopenings, clearly illustrate, Ron has developed a strong passion forchess.
Askedto describe his musical style, he said, “Adventurous,creative rock music that uses odd metered complicated timesignatures, free improvisation, melodic and non-melodic phrases,played at times at very fast tempos to produce a surprising and/orexciting visceral musical experience, like a game of bullet chessafter drinking a double shot of Espresso.” Bullet is the kind ofchess game you see madmen playing in Washington Square Park wherepieces are flying all over the place since each player only has oneminute to make all his moves.
Manychess players have issues devoting enough time to studying the gamebecause of jobs, schoolwork, family commitments, etc. For Ron, theopposite problem exists. “For a while, chess has been interferingwith my music because I became completely obsessed with chess.”
Hecompares studying chess and practicing music: “Just like you putheavy hours studying chess, if you want to become obsessed, you gofor it… You know I could do 3 hours of practicing music, but Idon’t really need to do that as much as I used to. The skills arethere.”
WhenRon accepted a full-time manager position at the Marshall tosupplement his income, he thought it was just too much stress. Now,he says, “It’s great because I have a lot of flexibility. I’vebeen working more lately because I want to and I can… get thehours, but if I get a gig or something, they make adjustments forme.”
Ronmakes it clear that “Musicians live different lifestyles; [their]goal is not necessarily to be rich.” He says,“a lot of peoplemight make a lot of money but… also have car payments and housepayments and mortgages” and how he “[doesn’t] have those thingsto worry about.”
Ron makes ends meet, at the Marshall Chess Club. PAK's drummer KeithAbrams works in a bicycle shop. Due to Keith’s influence, bicyclingis another of Ron’s hobbies; in 2011, he did 3,700 miles, 800 milesin July alone, including two century rides (over 100 rides each).“Because I do music at this ridiculously rough touring level andbeing 52 years old, I am faced with either quitting or getting inshape.”
The Pittsburgh Tribune columnist Michael Machosky aptly sums up RonAnderson and PAK: “[Ron Anderson is a] relentless musical mind….who has a long resume of accomplishment in avant-garde rock, jazz andclassical circles. PAK… puts a premium on challenging,unpredictable compositions and dexterous improvisation, weavingnoisy, brutal blasts of metallic rock into dense, powerful musicalstatements that defy the usual limitations of genre.”

Warren Haynes' Soul Side: A Review of His 2011 Grammy-Nominated Album Man in Motion

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What do you get when you mix WarrenHaynes, the Allman Brothers Band, The Meters, William Bell and Booker T.Jones?.... If you guessed Warren Haynes' 2011 album Man in Motion, youare correct.

George Porter Jr, Playing with the Meters

Inhis new solo album, he collaborates with the great George Porter Jr. , who'sbest known for his tenure with one of the greatest funk bands of all time, TheMeters. The album has a wide array of influences ranging from The Meters to theAllman Brothers to Southern soul.

Deservinglynominated for the 2012 Best Blues Album Grammy, Haynes faced faced stiffcompetition from his band mates. Greg Allman was nominated for Low CountryBlues and Derek Trucks for the Tedeschi Trucks Band's Revelator. AlthoughTrucks and his wife won, the Allmans took a different prize, winning a LifetimeAchievement Grammy.
AfterPorter's downbeat bass intro on the title track, you can hear Hayne's heavyvoice. “Yeah. Still life is overrated. Burn-out factor is a part of the game.Life should be an adventure. Anything else is a crying shame.” The title itsself is fitting. The man who doubles on vocals andguitar with the Allmans, plays guitar with Gov’t Mule and the Dead, and leadshis self-titled band, is a “man in motion” indeed. The man who tradeshats as vocalist and Trucks' dueling guitarist partner in the Allman Brothers,guitarist in Gov't Mule and The Dead, and leader of Warren Haynes Band, is a“man in motion”himself.

Peoplehave criticized the Allmans recently for playing too many covers. In contrast,Hayne's Man in Motion has only one, Bell and Jones' “Everyday Will BeLike a Holiday.” In this slower paced song, you can hear Haynes' Southern soulvibe. Haynesportrays his 'Allman blood' in the winding riffs of “Your Wildest Dreams.” It may as wellbe a sequel to the Allman Brothers hit “Soulshine.” Forthe funky bunch, there's the choppy rhythmed “Sick of My Shadow.” The veteranRon Holloway's saxophone syncs in perfectly with the steady bass line. Haynesends matters with “Save Me.” “If I needed strength to carry on/ And feelingyour touch, oh it was the only way/ Would you be here today/ To find a way tosave me?” One can only think of Clapton's “Give Me Strength.” There'ssomething for everybody. As the rock critic Jason Shadrick says, “Haynesstrikes a balance between great songs, some guitar pyrotechnics.... If the Muleis too heavy for you and the extended jams of the Allman Brothers isn't yourbag, Man in Motion gives you the best of both worlds while not skimpingout on soul or musical vibe.”

tedeschi trucks band

11 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba

Always With A Little Help From His Friends: Joe Cocker

Always Tellin' The Story: Otis Taylor

On The Soapbox: Where There's Liability, There's Stupidity

Jack Johnson: Hawaii Ain't Just Hula Girls

Caddyshack Meets Dumb and Dumber

10 Temmuz 2012 Salı

Joshua Redman: Moodswing

Matt Wilsons Arts & Crafts: An Attitude for Gratitude

Jazz's Wizard of Wit—and Much More—Dave Frishberg

Brad Mehldau Trio: Ode

Mary Halvorson Quintet: Bending Bridges

9 Temmuz 2012 Pazartesi

HALIE LOREN - STAGES

A Little Zydeco If You Please

Guilty Pleasures: Have You Heard...

Always Tellin' The Story: Otis Taylor

Jack Johnson: Hawaii Ain't Just Hula Girls

8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar

JAZZ TODAY: Esperanza Spalding Stays the Jazz Course While Norah Jones Gets Indie

Kenny Garrett: Seeds from the Underground

Eri Yamamoto Trio: The Next Page

Mindy Smith: Mindy Smith

Shawn Colvin: All Fall Down

7 Temmuz 2012 Cumartesi

NEW RELEASES - THE SOUL REVOLUTION, KONKOMA, LOS CHARLY'S ORCHESTRA

Stevie Ray on a Friday...Hell Yeah

Always Tellin' The Story: Otis Taylor

Celebrate America: Through The Eyes Of A Cowboy

On The Soapbox: Where There's Liability, There's Stupidity

5 Temmuz 2012 Perşembe

Congrats to the Tedeschi Trucks Band on a Grammy!

Sir Paul's Pre-Valentine's Day Greeting at the Grammys

Disaster in the Amish Land: The 2012 Eastern Class Championships

The Life of a Chess Playing Musician: A Profile of PAK's Ron Anderson

Warren Haynes' Soul Side: A Review of His 2011 Grammy-Nominated Album Man in Motion