December 5th, 1899??? – A Blues Legend – Sonny Boy Williamson II is born!!

So one of those early bluesman who mightily influenced blues and rock performers in the 60s  and 70s was born on December 5th! Now the year he was born that may be in question in his review at the AllMusic Guide, Cub Koda writes: A moody, bitter, and suspicious man, no one wove such a confusing web of misinformation as Sonny Boy Williamson II. Even his birth date (stated as December 5, 1899 in most reference books, but some sources claim his birth may have been in either 1897 or 1909) and real name (Aleck or Alex or Willie “Rice” — which may…

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Today in Music – Dec 5, 1947 – Happy Birthday, Egberto Gismonti !!

Somewhere over the last several weeks I came across the name of Egberto Gismonti and even listened to his 1980 release Circense. From AllMusic guide…. This excellent release by Egberto Gismonti was conceived under the concept of a circus, an institution that has the ambivalent quality of being at the same time universal and regional; the “circense” tradition exists in almost all parts of the globe, but it is enriched by the smaller companies that keep struggling to survive in poorer setups, adding regional elements to the whole. It fits like a glove for the music of Gismonti, which also aims to…

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2013 Jazz from Cuba’s Roberto Fonseca – Yo! (that resonates here in the Philly Area)

                (Twin Sons of Different Mothers and times?) (tangentially speaking – about the headline the Yo – is usually followed by Adrian ….. here (ADD strikes again) Checking out the Roots Music Reports Jazz Chart this afternoon, I saw a name that interested me at number 12, right after the Duduka Da Fonseca Trio, was Roberto Fonseca and his latest album Yo. So the question before the house was who is this Roberto Fonseca and what does he play!! I download the album from Spotify and only got to listen to it on the…

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2013 – New Age Sounds from David Helpling and Jon Jenkins – Found

So I made a quick stop at the Echoes with John Diliberto’s website this morning and about all I had time for was to check out the album of the month which is Found from David Helpling and Jon Jenkins. After the visit I went to MOG put the album on and the wonderful music of this duo provided a perfect soundtrack for my morning. I think after listening to Found and reading about the music that the two create and the comparisons to other artist I have another all new sub-genre of New Age music to explore. The good…

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Today in Music – Dec 2, 1931 – Jazz Pianist Wynton Kelly was born!

On this day in 1931 jazz pianist Wynton Kelly was born in Jamaica. According to Wikipedia Wynton is maybe best know for the years he spent working with Miles Davis from 1959 to 1962. While that may be true for many listeners it’s not for me. I remember Wynton as a sideman for Wes Montgomery. If Jimmy Smith and Wes were the Dynamic Duo. Wynton and Wes were the Dynamic Duo 2 in my eyes and ears!! The son of Jamaican immigrants, Kelly was born in Brooklyn, New York.[1][2][3] He started his professional career in 1943, initially as a member…

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More from the Birthday Boy Jesse Cook as I go “Into the Night” and move “Closer to Madness”

So I was all set to go “Into the Night” with some Airbag a prog-rock band that was recommended by son Andrew and whose music I have been enjoying over the last two days. And then my ADD struck when I saw on the YouTube sidebar another of my favorites from birthday boy Jesse Cook and since I’m going back to work at Target tonight on this Black Friday Weekend, the title was right – so let’s go “Into the Night: and move just a little “Closer to Madness:…. …. and tomorrow you’ll hear about Airbag…

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Yesterday in Music Nov 29, 1964 Part 2 – Happy Birthday Jesse Cook!

  Yesterday I wrote about Chuck Mangione and how recognizable “Feels So Good” was in the 70s, how about if of this morning I play some music from my music library, that I instantly recognize Jesse Cook’s “Mario Takes a Walk!” Jesse Arnaud Cook is a Canadian guitarist, composer, and producer. Widely considered one of the most influential figures in “nouveau flamenco” (new flamenco) music, he incorporates elements of flamenco rumba, jazz & many forms of world music into his work. He is a Juno Award winner, Acoustic Guitar (magazine)’s Player’s Choice Award silver winner in the Flamenco Category, and…

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Today in Music – Nov 29 Part 1 – Happy Birthday – Chuck Mangione !

So today’s list of birthdays containing many artists who appear in my music library including: John Mayall who celebrates his 80th birthday today. Man, it seems like just yesterday I we were celebrating his 70th with that great concert album, Felix Cavaliere turns 69 (The Rascals) I have a couple of albums he recorded with Steve Cropper in my collection, and one of my favorite acoustic guitarists Jesse Cook celebrates birthday 49! So Happy Bithday Guys!! Finally the last one on the list is Chuck Mangionne. Though I only have one of his albums in my vinyl collection his big…

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Today in Music – November 28 – Happy Birthday Goh Kurosawa!

So I started this mornings birthday reviews at All About Jazz by looking for a younger jazz artists and one that caught my eye because of his name was Goh Kurosawa. I went to his page at All About Jazz where I read: ”It has been often said that to listen to Goh Kurosawa is to force oneself to abandon any notion of category or genre. While it is true that he flows effortlessly between flamenco, jazz, rock, samba and even classical, it should not be said that Goh has not firmly planted his flag in the fabled land of…

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A Night of Jazz starts with Walter Smith III and ends with Larry Goldings and I have a lot to listen to!!!

So last night I visit MOG and jumped around checking out jazz musicians,  it started with Walter Smith III Live in Paris which led to bassist Hans Glawischnig led to Antonio Sanchez, who actually appears in my library as he is part of Gary Burton’s Quartet and appears on his album Quartet Live. Antonio in turn led to Ari Hoenig.…Reading Hoenig’s biography at Wikipedia I saw that….. Since 2005 Ari has appeared with many of jazz’s finest up & coming guitarists such as Jonathan Kreisberg who’s a member of Ari’s Punk Bop Band and Israeli transplant Gilad Hekselman A trip to Gilad Hekselman revealed…

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