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The Black Orpheus Mystery
Black Orpheus is a beautiful movie with an equally beautiful soundtrack. I recently found a copy of the original LP for $3, which is now in almost constant rotation.
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The Zachary Breaux Jazz Fest (Jazz Where Least Expected)
Many years ago, guitarist Zachary Breaux took a vacation with his wife and three daughters to the sandy beaches of Florida. As they meandered along the shore the group…
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The Freakishly Smart President
Which President earns the title Most Freakishly Smart?
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“The Incredible Sounds of Synclavier II,” and other hits
One of the most expensive synthesizers ever made and arguably one of the most beautiful too. On how the Synclavier captured our imaginations...
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The Perils of a Jazz Pianist’s Left-Hand
For the modern jazz pianist, the risk of developing disparities between the right and left hand is well-known and rarely discussed. It’s our secret shame. To understand this, try…
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The Bufos are Back
It’s late spring and the toads have returned. Every April thousands of breeding-obsessed amphibians invade our neighborhood for an extended game of Where’s-the-tadpole? These fat little lumps, better known as the…
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Soul of a City
It’s April, time for the Spring KUHF fundraiser. One of the gifts-with-donation this year is the Engines of our Ingenuity CD Soul of a City. This new multimedia package, the 11th…
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Horace Silver Transcription, “Peace”
Horace Silver made his name working alongside Blakey, Rollins, and countless others. But later he would part ways with be-bop to explore the funkier aspects of jazz. His strong…
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Phineas Newborn Transcription, Sugar Ray
Phineas Newborn was the pianist’s pianist. He died way too young and only recorded a few albums, all of them gems. I spent some time transcribing the “head” to…
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“Crank It Down”: Music For Sleeping
Ambient music, it’s warm milk to a seasoned insomniac. It’s Ambien without the morning hangover. The sandman of choice for me has always been the genre’s master, Brian Eno. There’s just…
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Benny Green Transcription, Cottontail
Benny Green trading choruses with a guitarist on the Ellington rhythm changes “Cottontail” from the Ray Brown CD Seven Steps To Heaven. Note the tempo — a scorching 300…
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Benny Green Transcription, The Song Is You
This is the first chorus of a Benny Green solo on “The Song Is You” from his debut CD Prelude (1989, Criss Cross). The thing that’s impressive about this solo…
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Mulgrew Miller Transcription
RIP Mulgrew. What a loss: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/30/arts/music/mulgrew-miller-jazz-pianist-dies-at-57.html Here are three choruses of a Mulgrew Miller piano solo on “If I Should Lose You,” from the album Getting To Know You.…
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Roger Ebert: Hero
Roger Ebert’s battle with throat cancer has been an unattended background story for many years. News that the disease cost him his jaw and the ability to speak emerged…
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Today’s Music Discoveries
A few bands I discovered today while trolling 8tracks.com playlists. Angus & Julia, details here: “Siblings Julia and Angus Stone come from Newport, Australia. Angus and Julia’s decision to collaborate was…
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Hipster Proto Bands
Band name-dropping is a tried and true technique for making yourself appear knowledgeable and cool. The more obscure the band the better. The smaller their output the better. If…
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An Apple for an Apple
A brief history of the Battle of the Beatle, the legendary band's enduring conflicts with Apple Computers, EMI, and their future in the digital musicsphere.
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Blinded by the Douche
“Blinded by the Light” was a perplexing piece of pop music. Despite the song’s surreal refrains, or maybe because of them, it achieved anthem-level notoriety in 1976, popular among both hipster children and…
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Feeling Crusty
The North American plate drifts 3″ westward each year. That’s over 10 feet in my lifetime. I feel so unobservant. How could I have not noticed? One day it’ll…
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Review: Cassandra Wilson Closer To You: The Pop Side
A review of Blue Note's upcoming compilation of Cassandra Wilson's pop covers, Closer To You: The Pop Side
