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 (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 […]

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 […]

RONALD SHANNON JACKSON, 1940-2013

I delayed making this post about drummer and composer Ronald Shannon Jackson because a part of me hoped that the news was a bad rumor, but I consider Vernon Reid an extremely reliable source for this instance—Ronald Shannon Jackson has left us at the age of 73. I’ve written on another site about my […]

MR. LEIGH REMIXES JANELLE MONAE & ESPERANZA SPALDING

Premium remixer and Facebook pal Leighton Hema – also known as Mr. Leigh – pulled together a groove-lover’s remix of Janelle Monáe and Esperanza Spalding’s “Dorothy Dandridge Eyes.” Here’s the Jazzy Soul-spiked original version for the sake of reference, and Mr. Leigh’s take is embedded below…

BILL LEE AND THE NEW BROOKLYN

There’s no doubt Brooklyn, or more specifically Fort Greene, is changing. For example, there was a church off DeKalb Avenue that used to hold services with its doors open so you can hear swinging Gospel tunes – and God’s word, of course. No one ever complained about the sounds until years later where the church […]