Buddy Guy and Junior Wells ~ Alone & Acoustic These two Blues greats recorded this in one afternoon session in Paris, with Buddy on a twelve string and Junior on the harmonica, playing some Blues standards. Simple, raw, great Blues.
Dusty Springfield I Don't Want to Hear it Anymore Hoping to reinvigorate her career and boost her credibility, Dusty Springfield began recording an album in Memphis, Tennessee, where some notable blues musicians had grown up. The Memphis sessions at the American Sound Studios were recorded by the A team of Atlantic Records. It included producers Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin, the back-up singers Sweet Inspirations and the instrumental band Memphis Cats, led by guitarist Reggie Young and bassist Tommy Cogbill. The Memphis Cats had previously backed Wilson Pickett, King Curtis and Elvis Presley. Terry Manning (also a recording engineer, but in this case) a writer for the New Musical Express attended the recording sessions, and ended up assisting Tom Dowd. This song was written by Randy Newman. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusty_in_Memphis
Cecil Taylor...I began listening to him in the mid-1970s. This album from the late '50s is very interesting. All the features of hard bop are there but his creative boldness is pointing toward the new frontiers he would go on to explore in the decades ahead. My girlfriend (now my wife) and I attended one of his solo concerts in a small venue in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia in the '70s. He was astounding. It was an experience that truly left me stunned and deeply moved.
Rat Pack Live at the Kiel Opera House 1965. Loving it. The rat pack was the best there was, the best there is and the best there ever will be
This date has Kenny Dorham, Coltrane, Chuck Isreals, Louis Hayes and.....you got it Cecil Taylor.... This is a pure Hard-Bop Date....I transcribed every note KD plays on this whole album...
According to the reviewer at allmusic.com Dorham was not enthused with Cecil Taylor's presence on that session.
From both listening to some of Taylor's music and reading background information, he is highly intelligent but in many instances had difficulty meshing with other musicians because he wanted to explore complex and phrasing that was sometimes considered out of step with the group. His explorations into Free Jazz basically moved him out of many opportunities in the U.S. and he looked to Europe where more avant-garde music was accepted. http://www.jazzine.com/jazzstuff/biographies/cecil_taylor.phtml
these guys were awesome! and still going strong is Australia apparently. They've gone through many new members, most notably, the old singer, Doc Neeson, brought a special character to the band. They now have Gleeson fronting, while he's not the same, he's still good. if you like rock and roll, these guys are great!
Stan Ridgway Live - Northampton, MA 9/12/10 Neon Mirage Tour This Town They Call Fate Ring of Fire Live Call of the West
Nina Simone - Jazz as Played in an Exclusive Side Street Club Nina Simone's first official album, 1958's Jazz as Played in an Exclusive Side Street Club, is pure perfection, an amazing accomplishment for a 24-year-old pianist arranging and singing studio renditions of songs from her live set. Captured here are moments of intrigue, as Simone magically takes the listener through musical caverns that want to be explored again with repeated spins. The rendition of "Plain Gold Ring" is exotic and draws the listener back, just as the Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart classic "Little Girl Blue" (the alternate title of the album stamped on the label of the vinyl as well as on the back cover) is a gorgeous work of art, Simone adding the melody from the traditional "Good King Wenceslas" to the standard Janis Joplin would bring to rock audiences a decade later. The cover photograph of the artist on a park bench in Central Park is a play on her only songwriting contribution, "Central Park Blues," which concludes the LP. In her autobiography, Simone gives insight into the recording of this masterpiece, an album that sets different tones with each melodic adventure. The uptempo blues of "Mood Indigo" drops quietly into "Don't Smoke in Bed" and the even deeper blues of "He Needs Me." One can hear Billie Holiday's influence pushing Simone on her own musical path. While Roger Williams was tearing up the popular charts with his middle-of-the-road magic, Simone elegantly plays her jazz with adult contemporary leanings, cracking the Top 20 herself with "I Loves You, Porgy" in 1959. Jazz as Played in an Exclusive Side Street Club (aka Little Girl Blue) is a superb fusion of jazz, blues, and pop that reveals something new each time it is played. [Charly released the CD in Germany.] by Joe Viglione Allmusic.com http://www.allmusic.com/album/nina-simone-r427958/review
There's a programme on the TV right now about SYdney Bechet. Absolutely marvellous jazz soprano sax player ( and clarinet and sarussophone - man that has a deep sound!). They've got a guy playing now who has about the same sound as Sydney. The same power, if you get me. Relishing the music! It is a singer who used the saxophone as a megaphone! Right now it's 'petite fleur'... Heavenly
Stan Ridgway " Neon Mirage " / from the album Neon Mirage Stan Ridgway - Big Dumb Town Starring Jackie "Teak" Lazar: Talent scout and big wheel in Hollywood. Stan Ridgway - "Train of Thought" - Live at the Magic Bag March 15th, 2009 STAN RIDGWAY - THE BIG HEAT
