Home Articles posted by Ekreader (Page 14)

Exploring the Music of Rodney Whitaker – When We Find Ourselves Alone – “Is He Ever Alone?

Rodney Whitaker’s new release When We Find Ourselves Alone his been in my music rotation for a while now and I am enjoying it more and more with each listen. After listening to the album several times, I went to his web page to find out a little more amount the Mack Avenue bass player. What I discovered aside from the fact that he has released seven albums as a leader or co-leader, but he has recorded and recorded with a plethora of artist that include:  Jimmy Heath, Eric Reed, Cyrus Chestnut, Vanessa Rubin, Kathleen Battle, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall,…

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This Date in Music – October 17, 1976 – Jazz Guitarist Gary Tu was born!!

When you listen to as many albums as I do over the course of a year, there are many that you forget, not because that they are not great, but because your mind can only remember so much! Anyway looking back at the albums that I wrote about on whatever day it is, serves as a good reminder! Today’s reminder is about jazz guitarist Gary Tu, who is celebrating his 38th birthday today. Here’s is last years post…… and Happy Birthday Gary!! (oh, by the way I’m listening to his album Looking East right now!!) Among the Jazz Artist who…

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Exploring the New Age Music of Germany’s Uwe Gronau – Thoughts of Tomorrow!!

The other day I visited the Zone Music Reporter Chart for August 2014 to check out what’s new in the world of New Age music. As I looked down the chartthe album at No 7 Thoughts of Tomorrow caught my attention, not just for the title,but also for the artist’s name Uwe Gronau. So I went to Spotify, figuring that I’d give the album the 30 to 60 second test and come back later to give it a full listen after checking out more of the albums on the chart. I think the album stayed long enough that I heard and…

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This Date in Music – October 16, 1969 – Jazz Trumpeter Roy Hargrove was born!

Today is the birthday of another of the great musicians of the last 20 years, who I  discovered last year when I listened to his album Earfood– what’s new!! It’s what happens when you’re paying more attention to the past and not the present. Anyway, today is the 45th birthday of trumpeter Roy Hargrove. From All About Jazz…. Trumpeter Roy Hargrove was born in Waco, TX on October 16, 1969. Inspired by the gospel music he heard in church on Sundays and the R&B and funk music that played on the radio, Roy began learning the trumpet in the fourth grade. By…

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Jazz Artists of the Day – Lee Konitz and Pharoah Sanders

Lee Konitz and Pharoah Sanders share an October 13th birthday    Lee Konitz And Pharoah Sanders   Two iconic jazz saxophone players share October 13th as their birthday. One, is alto sax player Lee Konitz. Konitrz is considered one of the main figures in the cool jazz movement. However, Konitz also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings throughout his career. The other,is  tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. Sanders is an important figure in the development of free jazz. In 1949 and 1950 Konitz was a member of Miles Davis’s band that recorded with the tracks that became the Birth of the Cool album. From Wikipedia: The…

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Jazz Artists of the Day – Lee Konitz and Pharoah Sanders on their shared birthday – October 13th!!

Two iconic jazz saxophone players share October 13th as their birthdays. one, alto sax player Lee Konitz, is considered one of the main figures in the cool jazz movement, although Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings throughout his career. The other, tenor saxophonist Pharoah Sanders is an important figure in the development of free jazz. Konitz recorded with Miles Davis  in 1949 and 1950 tracks that became the Birth of the Cool album. From Wikipedia.. The presence of Konitz and other white musicians in the group angered some black jazz players, many of whom were unemployed at the time, but Davis…

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Oct 12, 1954 – Jazz Guitarist Ed Cherry was born! Oct 9th Dave Samuels’ birthday! Lots from Michael Bloomfield!!

On this date in 1954 jazz guitarist Ed Cherry was born. This morning I listened to his latest release It’s All Good and it is! Here’s what some folks say about Ed’s guitar work: “Ed is a great, soulful, swinging underrated player deserving of wider recognition.” – Bill Milkowski 1/13/11″ “An expressive instrumentalist, Cherry has a hip, melodic approach that is a refreshing contrast to guitarists who frequently resort to playing ‘finger music’, the execution of rapid streams of notes that serve no musical purpose other than to fill space”– Jim Ferguson: Jazztimes – 06/02 “Particularly dazzling – Cherry’s guitar…

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Hot Rize – When I’m Free

Note to Hot Rize: 24 yrs between albums is too long!!   When I started to listen to a lot of music and collecting CDs, thanks to the used CD bins at Tunes in Marlton, in the early 2000s,  I found the music of Tim O’Brien, an amazing multi-instrumentalist and singer.  I also discovered the music of guitarist Charles Sawtelle. It took a while before I stumbled upon a great bluegrass album So Long a Journey (2002)  from the band Hot Rize. I discovered that both O’Brien and Sawtelle were members of the band, along with  Pete Wernick, and Nick…

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Exploring the Neo-Prog of the UK’s Cosmograf – Capacitor – Electrifying!

So once again I listen to a band, I like their music , I go to read about the band and I find, the band is mostly a one-person band and the music fits into the Neo-Prog sub-genre!! In this instance, the band is Cosmograf and the rock project leader is Robin Armstrong, a multi-instrumentalist from Waterlooville (near Portsmouth) in the United Kingdom. (We pause now to give in to my ADD and to find out more about Waterlooville) Waterlooville is a town in Hampshire, England, near the southern cost of England, approximately 8 miles north of Portsmouth. From Wikipedia:…

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Exploring the Crossover Prog of Umphrey’s McGee – Similar Skin!

One of the albums that has been in my rotation for a couple of weeks now is the latest release from Umphrey’s McGee Similar Skin. Umprhey’s McGee is a crossover prog band with a large following known alternately as “Umphreaks” and “McGeeks. Here’s what they say on their website about the band…..  Umphrey’s McGee has risen to the upper echelons of the improvisational-rock scene through their seamless compositing of diverse musical influences, from progressive-rock to metal to funk to folk to jazz-fusion to classic song-based rock-and roll, all woven together with infectious melodies, thought-provoking lyrics, pristine harmonies, blistering musicianship, and…

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