Home Articles posted by Ekreader (Page 19)

No Herbie Hancock – What was I thinking?? Happy Belated Birthday – Herbie!!

So last Saturday April 12th Herbie Hancock celebrated his 74th birthday, when I read that it was his birthday I started to think about his status in the jazz community and I asked myself – why haven’t you listened to more of his music through the years?? I think I’ve asked that question a dozen time, don’t you think?? And as usual my first response was – “Beats Me” But as I thought about it the only explanation that I can come up with is that when the roots of my music listening were being planted (1970 – 1975) Herbie…

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Neo Prog from the UK – Gandalf’s Fist- A Day in the Life of (..Ivan -Not! …) a Univeral Wanderer

When I first heard of the band Gandalf’s Fist…… ….. I discovered two guys who over the last few years have become good friends and have formed a band with a name that arose from an attempt by a mutual friend to impress a geeky girl. The band name that their friend created and the two friends have stolen is Gandalf’s Fist!  The two friends are  multi-instrumentalist Dean Marsh and lyricist/vocalist Luke Severn.  Their music is steeped in the British Prog rock scene of the 1970s….Continue Reading Sometime last week I saw that I had missed last  fall their latest release…

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Morning Music from Soprano Saxophonist – Jane Ira Bloom – Sixteen Sunsets….

Yesterday, I spent some time listening to the latest release from soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom Sixteen Sunsets and after the first few of tracks I knew that I was listening to a VERY special jazz musician. From her webpage biography…. Soprano saxophonist/composer Jane Ira Bloom has been steadfastly developing her unique voice on the soprano saxophone for over 30 years. She is a pioneer in the use of live electronics and movement in jazz, as well as the possessor of “one of the most gorgeous tones and hauntingly lyrical ballad conceptions of any soprano saxophonist – Pulse.” Her continuing…

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A Birthday for Gerry Mulligan (April 6) leads the Safari to his Music!!

So last Sunday April 6th was the day in 1927 that saxophonist Gerry Mulligan was born. Mulligan is another in what is becoming a long line of jazz musicians whose name I am familiar with, but whose music I never really listened to.  As I try to figure our why, the only explanation that I have is that I’ve always associated Mulligan with Dave Brubeck and since I really don’t care that much for Brubeck, I have never explored the music of Mulligan.- Mistake! So I in my usual style I started my exploration of Gerry Mulligan at Wikipedia where…

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The Safari Discovers Sahrawi singer Aziza Brahim and her No 1 album Soutak!

The No 1 album on the April 2014 World Music Europe Chart is Soutak from Aziza Brahim, Aziza  is a Sahrawi singer and actress. From Wikipedia She was born in 1976 in the Sahrawi refugee camps, where her mother had settled in late 1975, fleeing from the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. Her father remained in El Aaiun where he later died. Due to the Western Sahara War, Aziza never met him. At the age of 11, she received scholarships to study in Cuba, as many Sahrawi students at the time. She wanted to study music, but was rejected. She left school and returned to the refugee camps in 1995, pursuing…

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This Day in Music – Jazz Organist – Jimmy McGriff was born!!

Jiimmy McGriff  born on April 3,1936 in the Germantown section of Philadelphia!   On this date April 3rd in 1936 James Harrell McGriff was born in the Germantown section of Philadelphia.His musical journey started at the age of five when he started to learn to play the piano. By the time he reached his teen years he had expanded the group of instruments that he could play to include:  vibes, alto sax, drums and upright bass. Growing up Jimmy Smith was a childhood friend. After a stint as an Army MP during the Korean War, McGriff returned to Philly and became a police officer. During that…

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The Safari goes “Down Under” and finds Hibernal’s Progressive Rock “Audio Movie” Replacements

The other day I was reviewing the latest albums on Progstreaming and the sci-fi looking album art for Replacements from Hibernal caught my eye…. So I made it available offline at Spotify, put it on the iPhone and it became the soundtrack for some work around the house. The album was to say the least very different. it surprised me, when I first heard the narration about “The synths”,. I figured it was just a part of the opening of the album, but then on the second track “The City Ebbs Away”, came the voice of Artemis and  I soon realized…

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The Safari Visits RPWL (for real this time) – Wanted!!

RPWL is s neo prog rock band from Germany that was formed in 1997 as a Pink Floyd cover band. Three years after the band formed they started to make their own music. While their music was still rooted in the that  70s and 80s Pink Floyd Prog era their debut release God Has Failed met with positive reviews in most major progressive rock magazines. Since then the band has released five studio albums, three live albums and two DVDs! Their most recent release Wanted has been in my music rotation now for the last couple of weeks. I first came…

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The Safari Discovers the Jazz Piano of Helen Sung – Anthem for a New Day – and is happy!

Some people are born to play jazz and then others find jazz – at a Harry Connick, Jr concert?? Well at least one did! The one that did would be classically trained pianist Helen Sung!! Helen began her classical piano training in her hometown of Houston Texas at the age of five under the watchful eye of a teacher who did it her way and encouraged Helen to only listen to classical music. Helen walked the straight and narrow until that fateful day a friend took her to that Harry Connick, Jr. concert. It was there that Harry played a…

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Promises to Burn – Great Jazz Vocals and Music from The Janice Borla Group!

One of the jazz albums that has been in my rotation over the last week or so is Promises to Burn from the Janice Borla Group. Yes another jazz vocalist but Ms Borla is really a special vocalist Neil Tesser of the Chicago Reader sums up Janice’s vocalizations well…. “She shatters the stereotype of the jazz vocalist as a poseur or wannabe, infatuated with the idea of improvisation but lacking the mettle to carry it off: she’s a musician who happens to play voice…” “…A triumph of vocal improvisation.” From the opening number “Funkallero” which is a Bill Evans tune with words…

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