The Safari finds new Neo-Prog in the UK from Freedom to Glide – Rain!

So the Safari travels today to the UK to find some new Prog Rock in two locations. First in the West Midlands we find Andy Nixon and then in Derbyshire we meet Pete Riley. Both musicians are members of the leading Pink Floyd tribute act Dark Side Of The Wall. That though is not the band we had hoped to meet. The band we wanted to meet and learn more about is called Freedom to Glide and we have recently discovered the band and have listened to their latest album Rain.  The album is really interesting on a couple of…

Continue reading

Today in Music – Nov 12, 1944 – Booker T. Jones was born – “Happy Birthday Booker T!

So on this date in 1944 Mr Booker T Jones was born! For those of you too young to remember Booker T & The MGs here’s a little background on Booker… Booker T. Jones (born November 12, 1944) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.’s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement. Full Biography Now this is usually the part where I say Booker T. YES! it’s…

Continue reading

The Safari Starts with Anke Helfrich’s Birthday and my ADD Leads Me to New Jazz!!

   Ok so the Safari tonight started with a search for some jazz musicians born on the. The first name that caught my eye was right at the top of the list at the birthday list at All About Jazz – Anke Helfrich  a German pianist and, composer of modern jazz .  Helfrich grew up in Windhoek ( Namibia ) and Weinheim , where she took piano lessons. After initial successes as a national award winner at ” Youth jazzes “(1987) she studied in Freiburg and from 1989 on the” Amsterdamse Hooge School voor de Kunsten “inHilversum at Elkerbout Henk and Rob Madna . Due to their excellent statements she received a scholarship that her additional…

Continue reading

Exploring the Music of Russell Malone – finding Dianne Reeves – together they perform “You’ve Got a Friend”

Ok so to honor Russell Malone on his birthday today, I said I would listen to his 2010 release Triple Play. But when I went to MOG, there was a 2013 release listed at the top of his discography, so I downloaded that and listened to it! It was great! I came home tonight and discovered that, the album I listened to was Playground which was actually released in 2004! I don’t know why it’s listed as 2013 unless it has been re-released??? The last song on Playground  is Carol King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” a song that won both James Taylor…

Continue reading

The Safari Lunches with Persephone’s Dream from Pittsburgh, PA!

So the Safari didn’t have to travel far this week as I’ve been listening to Pan: An Urban Pastoral  from the Pittsburgh based band Persephone’s Dream. From the ProgArchives…… Claiming influences like RUSH, GENESIS and OZRIC TENTACLES, Pittsburgh,PA band PERSEPHONE”S DREAM (named after a Greek myth) was formed initially in 1993 by guitarist Rowen POOLE and bassist Christ SIEGEL. The duo drafted an intern named Judilynn NEIDERCORN to sing vocals and recorded the band’s first album, ‘Evening Mirage’, in Rowan’s dining room. Although the album was not released until 1997, it gained some radio play and a cut off the…

Continue reading

Today in Music – November 8, 1963 – Happy 50th Birthday Russell Malone!!

The first time I really heard the guitar of Russell Malone was one night a while back when I stumbled upon this video of Malone, Christian McBride and Benn Green performing Wes Montgomery;s “Jingles” and I was blown away by his talent!!  (and McBride and Green’s talent too!!) Anyway, today I get to say Happy Birthday to Mr Malone! Russell Malone was born on this date in 1963 in Albany Georgia…and is  is an essentially self-taught[1] swing and bebop jazz guitarist. He began working with Jimmy Smith in 1988, and went on to work with Harry Connick, Jr. and Diana…

Continue reading

People Music – from Christian McBride and Inside Straight

This morning I was in jazz mode and listened to the Christian McBride & Inside Straights release People Music. The album was released in May of this year. Inside Straight has everything I enjoy in jazz, lively vibes from Warren Wolf, piano from Peter Martin and smooth saxophone from Steve Wilson, All supported by the solid bass lines of Christian’s bass and Carl Allen;s drums.on the majority of the songs. On a few of the songs the piano duties are manned by Christian Sands and Ulysses Owens, Jr. handles the drums. Both are considered members of the Inside Straight family….

Continue reading

Music Safari runs with Norway’s Kerrs Pink – Mystic Spirit

There’s good news and bad news from last night’s run. The good news is the headlamp that I bought the other day works great. It makes the road visible to me and me visible to drivers! The bad news is that now I have no excuse for not running when it gets dark at five o’clock!! Last night’s run was pretty good. The first mile was 9:30 and the rest were around 9:50 minutes plus! The soundtrack for the run was a new to me Prog Rock band from Norway Kerrs Pink. I listened to their latest release Mystic Storm….

Continue reading

Life’s Soundtrack – Norway’s Prog Rockers Kerrs Pink’s latest – Mystic Spirit – Powers Another Good Run!

There’s good news and bad news from last night’s run. The good news is the headlamp that I bought the other day works great. It makes the road visible to me and me visible to drivers! The bad news is that now I have no excuse for not running when it gets dark at five o’clock!! Last night’s run was pretty good. The first mile was 9:30 and the rest were around 9:50 minutes plus! The soundtrack for the run was a new to me Prog Rock band from Norway Kerrs Pink. I listened to their latest release Mystic Storm….

Continue reading

New Prog from Sweden’s The Flower Kings – Desolation Rose

One of my son Andrew’s favorite bands is (are sounds better) The Flower Kings Over the years, I’ve listen a few times to their albums and have found them to be just ok. After listening to their latest release, Desolation Rose I am reconsidering my assessment and may just have to go back and listen to the other albums from these guys. Hell at their website I read…. They are regarded by many as one of the leading, if not THE leading, progressive rock outfit of the new millennium. The Flower Kings are led by progrock icon, guitarist, vocalist, composer,…

Continue reading