Photo: Merri Cyr
Sometimes an album just hits the mark. Let it Go is one of those records. There is something to it that just feels like home. I’ve spent two weeks soaking up the tracks, something that as Pete pointed out in a recent post is sometimes hard to do with all the music we [...]

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My latest eMusic download is Marco Benevento’s new one, Invisible Baby. Marco is a crazy-talented keyboard-man and composer from NYC, specializing in experimental effects-laden jazz-jam. I’ve been somewhat familiar with him from his work as a member of the Benevento/Russo Duo.
It’s an adventurous album - God knows how he makes some of those sounds. I’d [...]

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Outside of the guitarist community there are probably not too many folks who know Israeli born guitarist Oz Noy. A long time fixture of the NYC music scene he seamlessly blends jazz, soul, funk with a dash of pop for good measure into his own very distinctive groove. His resume includes backing everyone from [...]

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I’ll be honest here, I did not know much about Marcus Miller before I decided to write this piece. I only knew him as the bass player for Miles Davis. Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say:
… a jazz musician, composer and producer, perhaps best known as a bass guitarist with Miles Davis, Luther Vandross [...]

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It’s a giveaway frenzy here lately, so I have no choice but to once again bestow quality goods upon you people. The latest item will make any jazz fan happy. Even those who aren’t into jazz know a cool motherf**er when they see one, and Miles Davis was just that.
Well the Monterey Jazz Festival has [...]

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Who would’ve thought that three months after getting a brand spanking new, $2000 Apple iMac, that the most reliable computer in the house would be my 3 year old Dell? You know the ad with the cool Mac guy and the geeky Windows guy? The way I feel right now, I’d punch the smirking Mac [...]

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Many people heard of Nels Cline for the first time when he accepted Jeff Tweedy’s offer to become Wilco’s new lead guitarist in 2004. But Nels’ stature in the improvisational music community was already well established. One of his ongoing side projects (I guess you’d call it) is the Nels Cline Singers - a misleading [...]

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Speaking of violins, you can’t mention the instrument and the 20th Century in the same sentence without talking about Stéphane Grappelli. Mr. Grappelli, together with jazz guitar legend Django Reinhardt, founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France, the single hottest and most influential European jazz band of the first half of the 1900’s. They [...]

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It’s always nice to hear some contemporary jazz that harkens back to the classic age of Miles, Coltrane, Parker, Mingus, etc. I’m sure there’s a lot of great stuff out there, it’s only that I don’t expose myself enough to it. Thanks to the Music Choice Jazz channel that my wife plays during my kids’ [...]

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Allow this to push you into the week in mind blowing fashion…
Miles Davis
Royal Festival Hall, London
November 13th, 1971
1. Directions
2. What I Say?
3. Sanctuary
4. It’s About That Time
5. Honky Tonk
6. Funky Tonk
7. Sanctuary
Lineup:
Miles Davis (tp)
Gary Bartz (soprano & alto sax)
Keith Jarrett (keyboards)
Michael Henderson (bass)
“Ndugu” Leon Chancler (drums)
Charles Don Alias (percussion)
James Mtume (percussion)

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