The Ringers’ 3rd & 4th Gigs

BB King’s in NYC

Huge thanks to Scott of sgibson818 for the fantastic video & sound.

Howard Theater in DC

Huge thanks to GuitarHermitTV for the fantastic video & sound.  What a treat for those of us who couldn’t be there.

Keith Carlock, Wayne Krantz, Michael Landau, Jimmy Herring & Etienne Mbappe Are The Ringers

Listen to my extended interview with The Ringers, the first interview of the band. Jimmy Herring is of course known from Widespread Panic, Aquarium Rescue Unit, the Allman Brothers Band, Keith Carlock and Wayne Krantz from Steely Dan and their work with Tal Wilkenfeld, and Michael Landau from his work with people like Michael Jackson, Miles Davis, Pink Floyd, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell a.m.m.

They are just about to start their first tour, listen in here

UPDATE  Feb, 20th, 2013

I noticed a bunch of traffic to talking2musicians.com coming from http://www.burnthday.com/p/live-stream.html   Wasn’t familiar with the site so I checked it out and found myself watching and listening to The Ringers first concert via Ustream.  They now have audio files (MP3 & FLAC) posted for download. Or you can stream online here.

Hard to imagine these guys only had a couple of days to rehearse.  Essentially this should be considered a jam session, but what I heard gave every indication that this could indeed be something grand.  Keith Carlock was spectacular, as was Etienne Mbappe.  If they were doing straight ahead blues, or standards something like this would be a snap, but that’s not who these guys are.  It’s scary to think how good this could get if, given their busy schedules, they have a chance to play together often.

If you’re on the East Coast you don’t want to miss this — amazing.

Roots Radio on Demand

Looking for some great roots & blues music? Paul Harvey, a veteran radio personality based in the Netherlands, has a great radio-on-demand program. Paul has promoted, interviewed, and brought many great musicians to Amsterdam over the years. For example, he was the first person to interview Derek Trucks on European radio, and organized his first three concerts in Europe. His show not only presents some fantastic music, but Paul also gives you the story behind the music. Do yourself a favor and check this out.

Talking 2 Musicians

Check out my new site: Talking 2 Musicians

Here you can stream my interviews with musicians, or download the mp3, or subscribe via podcast.

Interviews include: Jimmy Herring, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, John Scofield, Chuck Leavell, Barbara Dennerlein, Jaimoe, Jerry Jemmott, Matthias Bublath, Jim Hart, and session great Louie Shelton.

West Coast “Cool Jazz” – Whites Guys Can Jump

THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 6, 2008.

 

IN MEMORY OF THE GREAT DAVE BRUBECK

There is no denying it, without Africans jazz, blues, and rock & roll would not exist. Given the history of racism in America it’s easy to understand why some black musicians resented whites playing jazz.

Although Louis Armstrong was the first jazz musician to make the cover of Time, the choice of Dave Brubeck as the next jazz musician to receive this honor certainly bruised some feelings.

Rocket In My Pocket — hKT

Rocket In My Pocket is the latest album from the hKT, a trio that represents the best of the vibrant Hamburg music scene.

Boris Netsvetaev (piano, keyboards), Philipp Steen (double bass, electric bass), and Kai Bussenius (drums) are three prodigious talents, who, despite extensive formal training, haven’t lost their connection to youth culture.

On this album they seamlessly weave a sound that incorporates elements of traditional jazz, retro fusion,  a bit of funk, and classical music.  The result is appealing to jazz fans with discerning tastes, but it’s also accessible to non jazz listeners. They are compositionally strong with emotional depth and considerable range, and as soloists they combine impressive skills with inventiveness and tasteful restrain.

I’m particularly impressed by their moodier pieces: “A Sketch in Dark Colours”, “Tekla”, “The Incredible Atmo”, “Desert Sun.”

 Michael Bailey, a senior writer at All About Jazz, has kindly shared his first impression with Jazzamatazz:

The jazz piano trio is a ministry unto itself.  The most durable of formats, the trio’s perimeter has been expanded in recently by Medeski, Martin and Wood, The Bad Plus and Soulive.  The Russian-led, German trio, Hammer Klavier Trio, takes the trio a step further with a classically-infused, harmonically-centered offering, Rocket In My Pocket.  

Pianist and composer Boris Netsvetaev conjurs a dozen rhythmically and melodically challenging originals for bassist Phillip Steen and drummer Kia Bussenius to cut their considerable chops on. Netsvetaev does this with a variety of keyboards without every losing the piano ambiance. “Desert Sun” sports a Fender Rhodes buffered by electronics.  “Suicide Train” is angular and precisely composed to take advantage of Bussenis’ dead time in odd meters. Steen plays a fine solo, arco, on “The Incredible Atmo,” rounding out a fine modern trio recital.  Michael Bailey

Tip of the hat to their label for this excellent promo film, it’s in German, but you’ll still get a good feel of what these guys are all about.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM HERE

Talkin’ Blues, Bluegrass & More with Jimmy Herring

Check out my interview with Jimmy Herring in All About Jazz and also my First Impressions look at his latest album Subject To Change Without Notice (Abstract Logix, 2012)

New York Times on Bonnie Raitt, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi

 

Each week, Val Haller, the founder of the music Web site Valslist.com, matches music from her baby boom generation to music of her 20-something sons’ generation.

Val Haller has a nice piece in the New York Times that recommends the Tedeschi Trucks Band to Bonnie Raitt fans.  Her own website is worth visiting regularly, she helps “busy adults keep up with what’s happening in modern music.”  Also a big thank you to her for mentioning this site in her article.

Barbara Dennerlein in 3D playing B3

To see the above clip in 3D you will need a pair of these

This clip is part of my latest Talkin’ Blues interviews on All About Jazz, the Internet’s most popular jazz website.  Click on the photo below to see more clips.

Don’t Miss Jazz Near You

Don’t you hate it when you read a review of a great concert you didn’t know about and wish you would have seen? Now a really useful website delivers what’s happening in jazz near you:

Jazz Near You in a Nutshell

Jazz Near You is a network of 200 jazz websites and counting. We aggregate and deliver all kinds of content from events and venue listings to news, articles, photos to what’s hot in your area. It’s also a tremendous advertising opportunity for a venue or presenter to reach readers in their hometown.

How Jazz Near You Works

Once you land on jazznearyou.com, the website determines your location and presents you with local information. The goal is to keep you informed on who is playing where and when in your area. If you travel, you can change your city and show the destination city’s event guide.

Check it out

Favorite Photo of All Time

The After Hours Version

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

click photo to see in full size

Lenny Kravitz Crashes a Church Choir’s Gig

Lot of fun, and check out the young guitarist Mike Smeeton (playing in the clip above) with the Smeetone’s Family Blues Band (dad and his four sons)

Carlos Santana with the Allman Brothers Band

*

*

*

*

A Couple of YouTube Clips that Caught My Attention

This is the first Multi camera concert video registration, created from video footage recorded by the audience and published on the internet

Todd Rundgren is a pioneer and has many music industry ‘firsts’ to his name. Here is another one, this time offered to him by his fans in the Netherlands. For the first time: a full 1 hour and 30 minutes multicam concert video registration, created from video footage published on the internet, recorded by the audience.

More info, production notes and all credits here:
http://www.keezer.nl/trmo

This girl had been playing bass for 10 months when she posted this cover of Chuck Rainey’s bassline for   Steely Dan’s “Peg”.  Going to have to keep an eye out for her.

Her youtube channel

 

 

Moogis is back, great news for Allman Brothers fans!

Great News for fans of the Allman Brothers Band,  there is still hope for Moogis, the HD video streaming subscription.  Here is their press release:

Finally. We’re baaaack! Moogis is, once again, here to bring you the music that you love.

Moogis will be on site and webcasting from The First Annual Peach Music Festival August 10 and 11 from Montage Mountain. That is the good news.

The even better news is: It will be FREE. That’s right. The ability for you to sign on to watch this fantastic event will cost nothing. You will be able to stream The Peach Festival into your home free of charge.

And, if that awesome news is not enough, there will also be an encore presentation of this show a few weeks later. So, even if you attend The Peach Festival in person, you will be able to watch the encore presentation.

As most of you know, the Moogis Archives have been offline for the last several months. Due to popular demand, Moogis will make these archives available to you until March 1, 2013 at the cost of $50. Considering the quality of these shows, the cost of an archive subscription is a real bargain.

We hope you enjoy The Peach Festival 2012 brought to you by Moogis.

*************************************************************************************************

Moogis has hours and hours of fantastic high quality video of the Allman Brothers Band on demand, $50 is a great opportunity for those of you who haven’t yet subscribed.   I really missed watching the Beacon run this year, so I’m hoping fellow AAB fans will support Moogis, it’s a great idea and a great service!

Imagine watching this in crisp clear HD video, what a band!!!!!!

26 minutes of the best Liz Reed solos over the decades

Talkin’ Blues with Chuck Leavell

Chuck Leavell talks about Keith Richards, the possibility of John Mayer doing an instrumental tour, Gregg Allman and much more.

Read my interview with Chuck on All About Jazz

My new interview with the Groovemaster Jerry Jemmott

Jerry Jemmott’s groove is the bedrock of guitarist B.B. King’s career defining hit, “The Thrill is Gone.” He was in the studio with Duane Allman and singer Wilson Pickett recording “Hey Jude,” a track that was instrumental in launching the late Allman Brothers Band guitarist’s musical career; and they were together again for flautist Herbie Mann’s Push Push (Atlantic, 1971), Allman’s first and only jazz sessions, and the last full album he recorded prior to his death on October 29, 1971. Jemmott was also there on December 13, 1968, when guitarist Mike Bloomfield called another six-stringer, an unknown Johnny Winter, up onstage at the Fillmore East—a Friday the 13th that turned out to be Winter’s lucky day.

Jemmott was with singer Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul herself, when she conquered San Francisco’s hippie community at the Fillmore West in March of 1971. The album, drawn from this series of concerts (with a surprise appearance by singer Ray Charles), earned her a gold record, and was something she would later refer to as a highlight of her career.

Jerry Jemmott’s blues credits are truly remarkable: in addition to B.B. King, Freddie King, Mike Bloomfield, Duane Allman, Otis Rush, Johnny Winter, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, there’s his legendary association with Cornell Dupree, Bernard Purdie, and King Curtis. In my last column, Jimmy Herring had this to say about him: “He’s a genius, there’s just nobody like him. He’s the sound that defined an entire generation. I love Jerry Jemmott, it doesn’t get any better than that.”

Another of his seminal achievements, which will no doubt be watched by generations yet unborn, was his collaboration with Jaco Pastorius on the instructional video Modern Electric Bass (1985). Even beyond its instructional value, because it was done so close to Pastorius’ death on September 21, 1987, it provides an invaluable insight into this extraordinary musician and composer. Pastorius had this to say about Jerry Jemmott: “He was my idol. That stuttering kind of bass line, bouncing all around the beat but keeping it right in the groove—well, they don’t call Jerry the Groovemaster for nothing. He’s the best.”

In this extensive interview Jerry Jemmott speaks about all this, as well as his wide ranging session work for Atlantic Records, and his current gig with blues/rock legend Gregg Allman.

Read the interview here.

Talkin’ Blues with Jaimoe

Check out my new interview with Jaimoe, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band.

President Obama sings with B.B. King, Jeff Beck, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Warren Haynes a.m.m.

UPDATE:  You can now watch a significantly edited version of the concert on PBS.  It’s a shame they cut so much from “Sweet Home Chicago” so for that reason, be sure to watch the clip below.

click photo to watch video

Watch Allman Brothers @ the Grammy Awards

Duane Allman’s daugher Galadrielle accepting the Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement for her father.  Watch the 20+ minute ceremony here.