BEYONCÉ WAS NOT WONDER-FUL

I checked out Beyoncé’s Stevie Wonder tribute performance, but did it differently from many of you. I closed my eyes, and then listened. The musical arrangements were tight—I picked that up straightaway. I then—still with closed eyes—focused on Beyoncé’s vocals and asked myself at the end of her performance, “If Beyoncé released the three Stevie […]

AURAL DIVE: YOUNG DAVID – FUERTE (RICHARD E REMIX)

Fans of late-night Lounge tracks will dig this—Young David’s Fuerte on the Swedsh Brandy label received a proper remix treatment from Further Out‘s Richard E. Awash with grooving, analog-sounding House Disco-isms, and supported by a Velcro bass line—try getting the latter out of your head to see what I mean—Richard E. demonstrates a smooth hand at shaping three-and-a-half […]

AN ALBUM (OR TWO) IN MY HEAD (0060)

ANDY BEY PAGES FROM AN IMAGINARY LIFE HIGH NOTE 2014 Andy Bey has a high position on my shortlist of favorite living Jazz vocalists, even though his discography is disappointingly thin. He also appears to be full of surprises like D’Angelo when his record company released Pages from an Imaginary Life late last year. The […]

AN ALBUM (OR TWO) IN MY HEAD THIS WEEK (0059)

A new release from Tony Allen, the drummer who arguably put the “Beat” in Afro Beat, and a 2-CD set from the unsung Bessie Jones are in my thoughts at the moment… TONY ALLEN FILM OF LIFE 2014 It’s hard for the general public to keep more than one name in their heads when it […]

AN ALBUM (OR TWO) IN MY HEAD (0058)

Two albums are grabbing my attention this week—Flying Lotus’ latest gift to the world and an early 1970s debut release from a sadly unknown tenor Jazz saxophonist… FLYING LOTUS YOU’RE DEAD! 2014 I’ve heard of Jazz artists moving into Pop, Hip Hop, Soul, Bossa, and even Classical creative spaces, and then find a safe return to […]

AN ALBUM (OR TWO) IN MY HEAD (0057)

My blog will eventually cover music and other creative paths with as much passion as what I currently place on the news or social topics of the day. A step toward this goal will be to publish weekly bits which will highlight one or two albums I’ve been playing during the past week. I don’t want you to think these […]

JOE SAMPLE – GROOVE SAINT

Joe Sample’s recent passing brought up a small debate about whether he or his group The Crusaders ever played Jazz music. The debate seems unfair to me since The Crusaders resolved the issue for audiences long ago by removing the “Jazz” prefix from the group’s original name. Perhaps forcing groups into a specific genre helps to bring […]

BIGGIE’S ‘READY TO DIE’ AT 20 – THE REMIX

View this post on Instagram Happy Born Day, B.I.G…. #Biggie A post shared by Baye Kambui (@bkambui) on May 21, 2014 at 6:46am PDT Wax Poetics—one of the few music magazines I think matters these days—and WhoSampled‘s DJ Chris Reed present another 20th anniversary album tribute remix. The object of affection this time around is Notorious […]

HERE’S WHY THE NEW YORKER’S SONNY ROLLINS SATIRE ISN’T FUNNY

I read the New Yorker’s satire article about Jazz legend Sonny Rollins’ self-loathing and hatred for Jazz, and was about to let it go. “Not funny, but also not worth my responsive energy” was my initial thought. And then Django Gold, senior writer for The Onion who penned the New Yorker piece, said this: “The […]

HEARING IT: CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT

I can partially understand Classic Jazz purists who jump into the pit of nostalgia as a refuge from the assault of generic modern music, but that method of escape also means they risk missing brilliant young talent like Cécile McLorin Salvant. She’s earned the right to be recognized as an individual with a great voice, but for […]