This month marks Duane Allman’s 70th birthday. If you are a fan be sure to check out Photo tab on Talking2musicians with lots of b/w photos brought to life with color There’s also my epic Duane Allman profile piece on the web most popular jazz website, AllAboutJazz.
If you’ve read or listened to my interviews, then you know I’ve asked several musicians questions about what they would like to see if they could go back in time. Day dreaming about time travel seems to be a fairly universal pastime among music lover.
I decided to take it a step further than day dreaming and wrote a bit of fiction for music lovers. It’s the story of Nathan Ballew who has a brush with death and finds himself back in 1962 with his memory from 2013 fully intact.
The only drawback, he’s in the body of an 11-year-old. So what would you do in this situation?
You can download my eBook Anagrams on Amazon, or read some sample chapers there for free. Here’s the link
A true maestro of the mandolin.
After you flip through the above YouTube playlist of who didn’t make it, have a look at who has been inducted
(Darius Rucker, Eliot Lewis, Daryl Hall)
Most fans of Live from Daryl’s House (LFDH) will recognize Eliot Lewis as the keyboard player from the house band on LFDH. In fact, he is a multi-instrumentalist and quite a guitarist. He and Daryl are the only musicians to have appeared on every episode of the wildly popular Web- / TV-series LFDH.
I just did an interview(link) with Eliot which is now up on the Web’s most popular jazz website. He has a fascinating musical story, and some interesting insights into LFDH. As a kid, the father of his best friend was a rock music publicist. He got Eliot and his freind backstage access to some of the biggest names in early 70s music. In his early working years he did session work with the highly successful producer Dan Hartman (originally from the Edgar Winter Group) and later toured the world with the Average White Band for over a decade before joining the Hall & Oates Band.
Here is a clip of Eliot playing guitar on a episode of LFDH with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. This is a fun and wide ranging interview, check it out.
Heard the news today that Johnny Winter has died at age 70. You’ll notice on my post of 25 essential albums from 1960 to 1974 I listed Johnny Winter’s Progressive Blues Experiment. Talk about being blown away. I’ll never forget hearing that for the first time.
Forgive the headline hook, but that’s my own personal fantasy. Before going to sleep last night, I listened to a recording of the Allman Brothers Band from January 23, 1971. They were opening for Delaney and Bonnie at the Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY.
If you’re a serious Allman Brothers fan, you recall the laid back crowd reactions on the Fillmore recordings. Without even hearing any music, this crowd reaction will give you an indication of just how smoking hot Duane Allman and the band were that night in 1971.
BB King was only a couple of weeks away from his 87th birthday when he played the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 5, 2012. For the finale he was joined on stage by Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, and John Mayer.
Even now BB King tours nearly 300 nights a year, clearly the love he gives and receives keeps him going. I was lucky enough to catch BB King in a small lounge in Reno, Nevada in 1973 and it remains a vivid memory.
Here’s a tip, rent or buy his DVD about his life, it has interviews with Clapton, Santana, Derek Trucks, Dr. John and many, many more. It is a wonderful film about an amazing person.
He and his band, named “Stay Human,” do just that, and they just released a breakout album entitled “Social Music.” When you watch video clips of him on the streets, or listen to his album, it’s music without borders or labels, but with integrity. I caught up with Jon in San Francisco in the middle of a very hectic tour
He first gained attention as the “next big thing” in instrumental rock with his impressive guitar skills. On his just released album “YEP” on the Magna Carta label, he puts his singer/songwriter skills on display, backed up by the legendary Chuck Leavell (Rolling Stones, John Mayer, Allman Brothers), and Matt Abts and Andy Hess of Govt. Mule.
Listen to, or download these interviews here
It is difficult to impart to young people today what a phenomenon the Beatles were in the 1960s. Imagine, when the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, 73 million people were watching, and in 1964 the US population was only 192 million!
Sullivan’s failure to scoop the TV industry with[Elvis] Presley made him determined to get the next big sensation first. In 1964, he achieved that with the first live American appearance of The Beatles, on February 9, 1964, the most-watched program in TV history to that point and still one of the most-watched programs of all time. (Wikipedia)
At 8 o’clock on February 9th 1964, America tuned in to CBS and The Ed Sullivan Show. But this night was different. 73 million people gathered in front their TV sets to see The Beatles’ first live performance on U.S. soil. The television rating was a record-setting 45.3, meaning that 45.3% of households with televisions were watching. That figure reflected a total of 23,240,000 American homes. The show garnered a 60 share, meaning 60% of the television’s turned on were tuned in to Ed Sullivan and The Beatles. Source
Their appearance on Ed Sullivan took place exactly 80 days after the funeral of John F. Kennedy, which was another event whose impact on the American public is impossible to convey to anyone who didn’t live through it. You will often hear it said that we were in a collective state of mourning, and the Beatles appearance on Ed Sullivan was something that allowed the nation to come together with a sense of relief. Having lived through it, I agree.
In many ways the Beatles were the beginning of a universal youth culture, and they were at the center of the spirit of the 60s.
Up until this point, the world was much less interconnected. Prior to the Beatles, with the exception of a fluke, or one-hit-wonder, it would have been unthinkable to have a British artist at the top of the US pop charts. Our pop stars tended to have slick hair, and suddenly here were these guys from the North of England with (what was then considered) unbelievably long hair. Consider this quote from Elvis Presley while visiting the White House in 1970:
“The Beatles laid the groundwork for many of the problems we are having with young people by their filthy unkempt appearances and suggestive music while entertaining in this country during the early and middle 1960s.”
—Elvis Presley, recorded during a 1970 visit to Richard Nixon at the White House
For young fans of Breaking Bad who might be wondering where the final song of Breaking Bad came from, it is Baby Blue, by Badfinger. A perfect choice.
Signed by the Beatles’Apple label in 1968 as The Iveys, they adopted the name Badfinger in 1969. Badfinger had four consecutive worldwide hits from 1970 to 1971: “Come and Get It” (written and produced by Paul McCartney), “No Matter What”, “Day After Day”, and “Baby Blue”. Wikipedia
And if that weren’t enough, Todd Rundgren was the producer on Baby Blue:
Huge thanks to Scott of sgibson818 for the fantastic video & sound.
Huge thanks to GuitarHermitTV for the fantastic video & sound. What a treat for those of us who couldn’t be there.
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.
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.
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. Continue reading
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
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)
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.
Jazzamatazz 