Goblin Rebirth – The Safari Explores Italian Prog Again!

Goblin Rebirth – Rock Progressivo Italiano • Italy   It seems that lately I have been enjoying more and more bands that fall into the sub-genre of Rock Progressivo Italiano (See Armonite, Unreal City). The latest one is Goblin Rebirth. Their self-titled debut album has been in my rotation for a few days. It was even the soundtrack for a walk yesterday, back from the garage that was repairing my daughter’s car! It is a really good instrumental album. Since the album was self-titled i thought Goblin Rebirth was a new band!! Wrong!! In reality they are what the name suggests,…

Continue reading

Colin Edwin – Explorations of his Music!

  Colin Edwin –  fretted and fretless bass guitar , double bass and guimbri. –Born July 2, 1970   Ihave explored the music of Colin Edwin, not through the band that he has been a member of since 1993 Porcupine Tree; but through his collaborations with Jon Durant and more recently with Armonite. So today July 2nd i thought it may be a good day to more extensively explore the man and his music.  What I discovered is that Colin Edwin, like many talented musicians has many different outlets for his musicianship! In addition to his work with Porcupine Tree,…

Continue reading

Colin Edwin – Explorations of his Music on His Birthday – July 2nd!

  Colin Edwin –  fretted and fretless bass guitar , double bass and guembri. –Born July 2, 1970 I have explored the music of Colin Edwin, not through the band that he has been a member of since 1993 Porcupine Tree; but through his collaborations with Jon Durant and more recently with Armonite. So today July 2nd is his birthday. So, I thought it may be a good day to more extensively explore the man and his music.  What I discovered is that Colin Edwin, like many talented musicians has many different outlets for his musicianship! In addition to his…

Continue reading

Terence Blanchard – Breathless

Terence Blanchard’s – Breathless – leaves me just that way!   One of the  albums that has spent considerable time in my music rotation over the last few weeks is Breathless the latest release from Terence Blanchard and the E-Collective. Terence Blanchard’s music career started in the 1980s first touring with Lionel Hampton and then replacing Wynton Marsalis in Art Blakey‘s Jazz Messengers. Since then he has been a prominent force in the jazz community.with 5 career Grammys out of his 13 career Grammy nominations, Terence has released twenty albums since his debut in 1984. Blanchard has probably reached his widest…

Continue reading

Eidos – Kingcrow – Great Prog Rock from Italy!

Eidos ****- Kingcrow – Progressive Metal – Italy   Over the last few days the album Eidos the latest release from Kingcrow has been in my music rotation and I like it more every time I give it a listen. Kingcrow is a progressive metal band from italy. The band was originally formed iin Rome, Italy in 1996 by guitarist Diego Cafolla and drummer Manuel Thundra Cafolla. The band was originally called Earth Shaker, but was changed to Kingcrow. The name was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s poem the Raven. Eidos is the band’s sixth album. The band members have…

Continue reading

Armonite -The Sun is New Each Day

Armonite: Rock Progressivo Italiano • Italy  –  Rating ****   Over the last few days, the album The Sun is New Each Day from the band Armonite has been in my music rotation. It is an interesting instrumental progressive rock album. The band has a distinctive sound generated mostly by the sound of an electric violin. That violin is being played by one of the two founding members of Armonite, Jacopo Bigi. Bigi and composer Paolo Fosso. Together they founded Armonite in 1996, while they were still in school.The band released its first album Inuit in 1999. After which the band…

Continue reading

Jaki Byard – Extraordinary Solo Jazz Piano!

Jaki Byard – Piano – (June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999)    2015 Update:I discovered the music of Jaki Byard in August of 2014 at that time the album The Late Show: An Evening with Jaki Byard: Live at the Keystone Korner, Vol. 3 , which had been released on Hightone in June was on the JazzWeek charts.The album is the third release that consists of live music from Jacki’s regular dates at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco, CA. . The music on the album was taken from performances from his appearance from 08/09/79 though 08/12/1979, So today ion the…

Continue reading

“Into the Night” with Tony Rice and Friends

Tony Rice – Guitarist Extraordinaire – Born June 8, 1951!   Celebrating his birthday today, June 8th, in addtion to Boz Scaggs is the great musician Tony Rice. Tony was born just a few months before me in the year of 1951. Tony Rice is a great guitarist whose solo work and work with brother Larry, Chris Hillman and Herb Pederson (Rice,Rice,Hillman &Pedersen) appear in my library! Here’s some background for those of you who don’t know Tony. From Wikipedia: Tony Rice (born David Anthony Rice, June 8, 1951, Danville, Virginia) is an American acoustic guitarist and bluegrass musician. He…

Continue reading

Haven – Kamelot – The Best of Progressive Metal

Haven – Kamelot  Progressive Metal from the United States   ****   The progressive rock album that has been playing on the iPhone over the last week or so is Haven from Kamelot. Kamelot is a progressive metal band from Tampa, Florida. If progressive metal is characterized by the following according to ProgArchives. a blend of heavy, guitar-oriented metal music enriched with compositional innovation and complex arrangements, usually expressed through diverse instrumentation and often (but not always) with odd-time signatures. Common, but not essential to define the movement, are the frequent use of keyboards, high-pitched vocals, concept lyrical themes and…

Continue reading

Night and Day – Vincent Herring

Vincent Herring – Night and Day – A 2015 Favorite!   Back on May 12 I was excited to see that saxophonist Vincent Herring had released a new album titled Night and Day. Then I saw on the album cover who Herring had playing with him on the album and I was even more excited! The other members of this quintet include: Brandi Disterheft on bass, Joe Farnsworth on drums, pianist Mike LeDonne and trumpeter, Jeremy Pelt, Both Disterheft and Farnsworth played with Herring on his last album Uptown Shuffle. About Night and Day On Night and Day. Mike LeDonne replaces…

Continue reading