Home Articles posted by Ekreader (Page 19)

Exploring the Music of Ahmad Jamal on his birthday (July 2nd) Happy 84th Birthday, Ahmad!

On this date July 2nd in 1930  jazz, composer, pianist and educator Ahmad Jamal was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Now, while I have seen his name on the JazzWeek charts over the last several months when his latest release Saturday Morning (No 29 on the 2013 Jazz Week Year End Chart)  was on the charts. His name sounded sort of familiar, but I admit I didn’t know much about the man and his music. So when I read at Wikipedia today, that American music critic Stanley Crouch places him second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 I was…

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Explorations of Jazz Fusion – Jazz Rock and Finding Connections to My Vinyl Collection

So a few days ago in my post about the sub-genres of jazz, I wrote that I still had some sub-genres to add to the mix. One of those sub-genres is Jazz Fusion/Jazz-Rock, which  rose in the late 60s, kinda’ peaked in the 1970s, but managed to extend into the 1980s and 90s and many musician’s music still  fit into sub-genre today!  This is probably the  sub-genre that I have least explored at least as far as jazz bands go. From Wikipedia….. Jazz fusion, fusion, or jazz-rock are variants of a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and…

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Today in Music – July 1, 1915 – Blues Icon Willie Dixon was born!!

Today is the 99th anniversary of the birth of Willie Dixon(July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992) and I bet somewhere on almost every night of the year someone is playing one of the 500 songs that he wrote! It could be a jazz, blues or rock artist because Willie’s songs appeal to lovers of  many genres. He was one of the two artists, the other Muddy Waters, that were the most influential in shaping the sound of Chicago blues in the post World War II years, as well as, rock and roll in the 50s and 60s. I think…

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2014 Progressive Metal from Iran – Whispers in Crimson – Suicide in B Minor!

This morning I was reviewing the new progressive rock albums that have been released in June. Among the releases was Suicide in B Minor by Whispers in Crimson which was released on June 24th. What made the album particularly interesting to me was,  the band hails from Tehran in Iran. I knew that progressive metal had a strong following in the Middle East, but I also thought that it was difficult to produce metal music in Iran, which is actually pretty much the case according to the founder of Whispers in Crimson  Amirali Nourbakhsh,  who in the band’s biography at their…

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From the Archives – A Morning of Jazz – Wes Montgomery and Wynton Kelly – Smokin’ at the Blue Note!

Last night when I was sifting through my vinyl collection I came across the Wes Montgomery album Willow Weep For Me, Finding that album reminded me of this post I had written a while ago. I read the liner notes for the album which has always been a favorite and discovered that in the summer of 1968 Verve Records discovered previously unreleased tracks and the seven that are included on Willow Weep for Me were recorded at the same booking at The Half Note in Greenwich Village! In the notes Richard Lamb writes: The Half Note is one of the…

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Re-Exploring Jimmy Smith – Jimmy Smith’s Greatest Hits! (video)

By the time I became familiar with the music of Jimmy Smith in 1969, Jimmy had already recorded thirty-one (31) albums on the Blue Note label and an addition 25 albums on Verve! So I started with a Greatest Hits Album that covered the Blue Note years. The condition of the album cover may give you an idea of how much the album has been used over the years! Anyway the other day I was sifting through my vinyl albums, saw it, cranked up the turntable and gave it a listen. I picked out the side 4 of the second…

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Thursday June 26 – This Day in Music – Bill Broonzy was born – Celebrate with Dave and Phil Alvin’s New Album!

Last Thursday June 26 was either the 121st or the 110th anniversary of the birth of Big Bill Broonzy, depending on what you believe. Most researchers believe that Big Bill was born Lee Conley Bradley in 1903 or 1904, in Plum Bayou , Jefferson County Arkansas and is one of the  children of Frank and Mittie Bradley. But Big Bill told people that he was born in Scott, Mississippi. He also told people he had a twin sister, Laney. I spent all day yesterday looking at census records and other records at Ancestry.com to substantiate either claim. According to the…

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2014 Blues from Walter Trout – The Blues Came Callin’ – with Ex-Boss John Mayall!!

On Tuesday of this week the new album, The Blues Came Callin’ from Walter Trout was released, and it has been in my rotation since then, like all of Walter’s work it is amazing! The most amazing thing is that he recorded the album, while he was waiting for a liver transplant! He was doing exactly what the opening track of the album says he was “Wasting Away”, during the later part of his illness, Walter lost over 100 pounds! When I  went  to his website, and looked at his picture, my first response was that is not Walter!! But it…

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An Evening Spent Exploring the Sub-Genres of Jazz – from Swing to Hard Bop

As you may have surmised if you have read any of my posts, I am not a jazz guru. I am someone who has been listening to the music of the genre since the late 1960s. Until a few years ago, my listening has been limited to a select few musicians, including Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Smith, Miles Davis and a few others. However, within the last several years, I have listened to more and more jazz and within the last year my list of favorites has exploded!!  As a result, I have developed this website to write about my explorations…

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Life’s Soundtracks – Two Runs – Back to Back!! Dragonforce and JC Stylles!!

So yesterday I did something that I really never thought I could do again, I ran on back to back days! On Sunday, I ran four miles over one of the hardest course I have,i.e. it has  hill and a half in the run, and then today I came back and ran an easy 5K! And right now my legs and body feel pretty good, the real test will be tomorrow! Here are the times, I know boring!! Yesterday – 4 miles – total time 45:22 – splits 1 mile – 9:38, 2 mile 10:40 3 mile 10:41, 4 mile…

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