The Dirty Lowdown

Jack Bruce and His Big Blues Band Announce UK Tour and Perth Festival of Arts Performance

2012-03-04T18:18:00.001-08:00

Jack Bruce and His Big Blues Band will be hitting the road for a UK tour this month. The trek will be kicking off with a three day residency at Ronnie Scott’s in London before taking over the rest of the country. In addition to the tour, the group will be part of the lineup for the Perth Festival of Arts on May 26th.

Led by the Cream legend, the band consists of guitarist Tony Remy, drummer Frank Tontoh, keyboardist Paddy Milner, fellow bassist Nick Cohen, trombonist Winston Rollins, tenor saxophonist Derek Nash, and trumpeter Paul Newton.

Bruce will be handling bass, vocal, and piano duties throughout the performances.

Jack bruce with Ringo Starr, peter Framptom, et al

Jack Bruce and His Big Blues Band UK Tour Dates:

March 6, 2012: London – Ronnie Scott’s
March 7, 2012: London – Ronnie Scott’s
March 8, 2012: London – Ronnie Scott’s
March 18, 2012: Milton Keynes – The Stables
March 19, 2012: Milton Keynes – The Stables
March 20, 2012: Cambridge – Corn Exchange
March 22, 2012: Bath – Komedia
March 23, 2012: Cardiff – St. David’s Hall
March 24, 2012: Warrington – Parr Hall
March 25, 2012: Buxton – Opera House
March 26, 2012: York – Opera House
March 28, 2012: Salisbury – City Hall
March 29, 2012: Birmingham – Town Hall
March 30, 2012: Holmfirth – Picturedrome
March 31, 2012: Newcastle – Tyne Theatre
May 26, 2012: Perth – Perth Festival of Arts

From Kevin Johnson @ noTreble.com

CD Review: CAROLE KING FOUR CLASSIC ALBUMS

2012-03-04T12:06:00.001-08:00

Pearls: Songs of Goffin & King, Simple Things, Welcome Home, Touch the Sky

Most people will know Carole King for the album Tapestry which topped the album charts in 1971 for 15 weeks. Tapestry cleaned up at the Grammy Awards in 1972 winning Album Of The Year, Song of the Year - Carole King (songwriter) for "You've Got a Friend", and Record of the Year - Lou Adler (producer) & Carole King for "It's Too Late". She still holds the record for the longest time for an album by a solo female to remain on the charts for Tapestry at 306 weeks.

What’s more, she launched the “singer – songwriter” era of rock n roll which saw stars such as Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Carly Simon (who won Best New Artist in ‘72), Jim Croce and many others rule the charts for the next decade.

What many fans don’t realize is that Carole King had by 1972 cemented her place in rock history, along side former husband and songwriting partner, Gerry Goffin, as part of one of the most successful songwriting teams in history. She had her first No. 1 hit as a songwriter in 1961 at age 18, with Will You Love Me Tomorrow, recorded by The Shirelles. The song was notable as being the first #1 hit for a girl group. During her career she has written or co-written 118 pop hits according to the Billboard Hot 100 and in 2000 Billboard Magazine named her the most successful female songwriter of 1955–99.

Carole King “Wasn’t Born To Follow”

Here, King reissues four classic albums, Pearls: Songs of Goffin & King (1980),, Touch the Sky(1979), Welcome Home(1978),, Simple Things(1977). This is the first U.S. CD release for Touch the Sky, Welcome Home and Simple Things. And Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King is considered one of her finest recordings. It's a retrospective of classic songs written by the powerhouse creative team of King and former husband Gerry Goffin. Included among the ten tracks are many of the songs that put other artists on the map before King launched her solo career: "The
Loco-Motion" (Little Eva, Grand Funk Railroad), "One Fine Day" (The Chiffons, Rita Coolidge), "Chains" (The Beatles), "Hey Girl" (Bobby Vee, The Righteous Brothers, Donnie Osmond, George Benson), and more.

These albums, released in the eight years after Tapestry, simply over flow with unprecedented honesty and intimacy and helped solidify her status as one of the most successful and revered female songwriters in pop music history. Simple Things & Welcome Home are especially touching as she teamed up with her then husband Rick Evers, who died between the end of the recording of Welcome Home and it’s release.

Carole King “new Years Day”

If you are an aspiring songwriter, then these albums are like Graduate level texts, if you are a fan of the ‘60s & ‘70s, then these are must-have albums, and if you are just a fan of marvelous music, then you can’t go wrong. It’s been a long wait, but well worth it.

The Dirty Lowdown

Book Review: ‘The Jaguar’ by T. Jefferson Parker

2012-03-03T21:31:00.001-08:00

The Jaguar (Charlie Hood)

One only need to read a few reviews of T. Jefferson Parkers work, and consequently book reviews, to come to the realization that readers either love him or hate him. The Jaguar is no different. I think this is because his novels don’t conform to any one particular style of crime fiction. He is usually associated with ‘police procedurals’ when in fact a number of his novels are classic ‘whodunits’ and have nothing to do with ‘police procedurals’ as a style. He also can write in a hardboiled style, or a noir style and often mixes these together. I happen to think this is a good thing, and it isn’t the mixing of styles that loses me.

The Jaguar opens with the violent kidnapping of Erin McKenna, the beautiful and talented songwriter and performer. Erin also is the newlywed wife of a crooked Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, Bradley Jones. It is soon deduced that Erin has been kidnapped by Benjamin Armenta, the cut throat leader of The Gulf Cartel. Bradley will do anything to get her back, even to the tune of delivering a $1,000,000 ransom (or personal apology) and ending his illicit protection of Carlos Herredia and the North Baja Cartel in Los Angles. He has ten days to comply. If he does not, then Armenta will skin Erin alive.

T. Jefferson Parker “The Jaguar–A Charlie Hood Novel”

It soon becomes clear that Armenta must want more. A million dollars for a drug king pin is tip money, and Bradley realizes that it is his humiliation and probable death that is really desired. But, why didn’t they just kill him, then have have done with it.

But he doesn’t have time to answer these questions as the clock is ticking. He enlists the help of long time family friend and veteran L.A. County Deputy, Charlie Hood. Hood will deliver the money while Bradley, with a team of mercenaries tries to penetrate and assault Armenta’s well guarded jungle compound.

Erin soon learns that it isn’t the money that Armenta wants, it is her song writing talent. She is to compose the perfect narcocorrido, a folk ballad that records the exploits of the drug dealers, gunrunners, and outlaws. Armenta wants to celebrate his life in song and he has a fully equipped recording studio in his jungle mansion. Armenta proceeds to tell his life story to Erin, so that she will be able to write the song as truthfully as possible. How he was left to a life on the streets, practically begging for food and fighting off predatory gangs and lone men, little better than animals, that would prey on a young homeless boy. How he became first a thief, then a drug dealer and slowly built his empire.

During the first few days, Erin also sees first hand how he deals with those he perceives to have betrayed him or are outright enemies. He feeds a local reporter to his menagerie of lions and tigers and leopards. And his household watches the man devoured, alive. She also discovers that the reason Armenta’s third floor of his mansion is off limits. He uses it to house a colony of lepers and the nuns that care for them.

As Bradley and Charlie Hood race south via different routes they encounter the perils of travel in Mexico, highway robbers, vicious storms that wash away villages and villagers that live there. They encounter Mexican military who have their own agenda and may straddle both sides of the official stand on drug cartels. And, they encounter the mysterious Mike Finnegan, Charlie Hoods old nemesis, and his beautiful and flawed daughter – maybe –Owens.

Parker succeeds in telling a tense, interesting, story with characters that are full grown, if a bit of a stretch of the imagination is needed to believe them. The ‘style’ starts off as a thriller in the classic hunter/prey mode on crime fiction and noir, and dips it’s foot into the hardboiled. But more than anything, and this is admittedly my least favorite genre in noir, he employs a ‘gothic’ style, especially once the tale takes us to Mexico. The plot is also compelling, and drawn from a great and realistic premise. With the success that Mexican cartels have in transporting drugs into the U.S. today, it doesn’t take much to believe that at least some of them have coopted law enforcement and border control agents and that the millions they can use to tempt these agencies with make their civil service wages and pensions look paltry in comparison.

Where the book fails for me is that Bradley is stated to be a 21 year old L.A. County Sheriffs Deputy, yet he is an under cover agent and that asks the reader to accept a bit to much, as does the fact that he is obviously living beyond his salary; during the kidnapping Erin tells her kidnappers they have the wrong guy, that Bradley isn’t rich, and the kidnapper just smiles and looks around at the Porsche Cayenne, and classic cars and Erin’s new Toureg, and the big fishing boat. Then the security system that Bradley has on his large estate. Bradley is obviously wealth beyond what his mother could have left him, or his salary would bring, regardless of being descended from Joaquin Murrieta. And that Charlie Hood, a seasoned detective, and friend of Bradley’s doesn’t suspect this is also a stretch. Further, though Parker succeeds in making us empathize if not sympathize with Armenta, he also makes too much of a caricature of him. And the seemingly invincible Mike Finnegan seems to exist as nothing much more than a deus ex machina – the god in the machine – he seems to appear to either miraculously save the day, or to devilishly throw an unlikely cog in the works.

Despite these faults, as usual, I like the book, but, only liked. The gothic style in crime fiction is not for everyone. I still can’t bring myself to reread Cornell Woolrich, yet he is almost universally thought of as one of the masters of Noir Fiction, which I simply adore. Perhaps, and I would not be surprised, one day Parker will be viewed in the same league as Woolrich.

The Dirty Lowdown

Article first published as Book Review: The Jaguar by T. Jefferson Parker on Blogcritics.

DVD Review–“Todd” by Todd Rundgren

2012-03-02T13:10:00.001-08:00

Todd

In 1967 a new pop-wunderkind rolled out of Upper Darbey on the edge of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a psychedelic garage rock band that was going to be the answer to The Beatles and The Who. The band was called Nazz and their first self titled album, though hardly a commercial success, would deliver two of their best songs, "Open My Eyes" of which the flip side was "Hello It's Me". “Open My Eyes” was the song the record company pushed, but a Boston DJ named Ron Robins accidentally played the “B” side one night and “Hello It’s Me” became a number one hit at WMEX in 1968. Several weeks later it was on the playlist of Boston's other Top 40 radio station WRKO and eventually at other stations across the country.

After a trip to England in ‘68, the band was back in the studio to cut their second album whose original title was to be Fungo Bat. The project was an ambitious project, planned as a double album. When the record company initially signed the group, they dressed them up in Beatles hair cuts and Mod fashions and marketed them along side The Monkees as a hip, tennybopper band. In hind sight, the look was two or three years out of date, and the main creative force, Todd Rundgren, was not to be restrained musically. Instead of American pop songs in the mode of The Beatles, Fungo Bat was full of piano-based Rundgren material, heavily influenced by singer/songwriter Laura Nyro.

Heavily cut down, the album was eventually released as Nazz Nazz. The album flopped and Rundgren left the group soon after.In 1970 Rundgren formed a quazi-band called Runt, which consisted of Rundgren on guitars, keyboards & vocals, assited by Hunt Sales and his brother Tony on drums and bass. In case you are wondering, these were comedian Soupy Sales kids. Rundgren also was the producer. For Rundgren cultists, the self titled album, Runt, is considered Rundgren’s first solo work. Upon its release in June 1970 the critics were divided. but the fans weren’t and "We Gotta Get You a Woman" became a hit single. The record runs the gamut on musical styles from blues-styled guitar workouts ("Birthday Carol", "Broke Down and Busted") to power pop ("Devil's Bite", "Don't Tie My Hands") to Laura Nyro-styled piano pop ("We Gotta Get You a Woman", "Baby Let's Swing", "The Last Thing You Said") to rock 'n' roll ("Who's That Man") to piano ballads ("Believe in Me", "Once Burned", the middle section of "Birthday Carol"), as well as including more experimental numbers and first displaying Rundgrens sarcastic tendencies and prog-rock leanings on "I'm in the Clique", "There Are No Words".

“We Gotta Get You A Woman” from Runt

Despite Rundgren’s never settling on one style, or maybe because of it, he became extremely successful and developed a cult following which was cemented by Something/Anything? in 1972 and featuring the top 20 U.S. hits "I Saw The Light" and an up tempo remake of the Nazz near-hit "Hello It's Me", which reached #5 in the U.S.. By this point in time (Rundgren had started experimenting with drugs) his broad mastery extended beyond multiple instruments to production, engineering and the use of computers.

By the time he did the 1974 album Todd he had been dubbed “Rock’s Renaissance Man” by Rolling Stone . Todd , performed here in its entirety for the first time live since its release, is considered by some as his best album. It showed his growing interest in the synthesizer, and its ability to expand the textures of rock music. Much of the album is intensely experimental. However, it is not without its share of pop songs. Todd also tinkers with the synth-heavy progressive sound he would take further with his later band Utopia. Rumor had it that Rundgren and his record label fought over the release of the song "Izzat Love?" as a single. The artist insisted the song was indicative of a music style he no longer wished to pursue, and Rundgren won under threat to never record again should the song be released. Another indication of Rundgrens wish to explore and include in his ‘style’ many musical elements was the inclusion of "Lord Chancellor's Nightmare" which is a cover of a Gilbert & Sullivan song from their 1882 comic-opera "Iolanthe". His biting sarcasm would also shine through on tunes like “Heavy Metal Kids”.

“Izzat Love"/Heavy Metal Kids”

The filming is out standing and the performance, 37 years after it’s last performance, is top drawer. The band consists of Todd’s former band mate from Utopia, Kasim Sulton on bass. The Cars’ Greg Hawkes on keyboards, The Tubes Prairie Prince on drums, Jesse Gress (the editor of Guitar Player Magazine) on guitars, Bobby Strickland on sax, and a full choir.

In addition to the concert, which was recorded in Todd’s hometown, Philadelphia at the Keswick Theatre, Roy Firestone – the Emmy Award-winning TV personality, interviews Todd for over an hour. It’s an informative trip back through time and is not only of interest to the die-hard fan, but is entertaining and funny in places. What becomes clear as you watch the concert interview is that Rundgren, in essences, is an extremely talented musician, song writer, producer, engineer and also the “adult rock star”. Throughout his career he never succumbed to the hotel room trashing, groupie collecting cliché that many ‘70s rocker became. And, he never failed to follow his muse, wherever it led him in style and substance.

You’ll want to add this to your collection, and also you’ll want to visit his vastly entertaining website, Tr-I.Com where this multi-faceted artists contributions to state-of-the-art music are on display. As a songwriter, video pioneer, producer, recording artist, computer software developer, conceptualist and most recently inter-active artists has made a lasting impression on both the form and content of pop music. he really is A Wizard, a True Star.

The Dirty Lowdown

Bishop T.D. Jakes & Codeblack Ent. Highlight Awareness for Missing Persons of Color

2012-03-02T07:38:00.001-08:00

Bishop T.D. Jakes and Codeblack Entertainment Highlight Awareness for America's Missing Persons of Color

Woman Thou Art Loosed!: On the 7th Day Will Help Bring National Awareness to This Crisis

Bishop T.D. Jakes, senior pastor at The Potter's House of Dallas, Inc. and Codeblack Entertainment, announce their joint support of the Black and Missing Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization that brings awareness to missing persons of color.

According to recent statistics, persons of color make up an estimated 40 percent of missing people in the United States. Of that 85 percent were Black - far greater than their approximately 13 percent share of the U.S. population and yet they were the subject of fewer than 23 percent of all news reports.

The collaboration was created as a campaign to support the April 13 theatrical release of Woman Thou Art Loosed!: On the 7th Day, produced by T.D. Jakes and distributed by Codeblack Entertainment.

The film's plot elements deal with the impact of abduction on an African-American family. Outreach offered at The Potter's House along with the vital information and awareness championed by the Black and Missing Foundation, Inc. created an opportunity to form a relationship to address the issue of abduction in the film and the lack of media coverage when persons of color are reported missing.

Black and Missing Foundation, Inc. (BAM FI) was established as a non-profit organization, by a veteran law enforcement official and public relations specialist, whose mission is to bring awareness to missing persons of color, provide vital resources and tools to missing person's families and friends and to educate the minority community on personal safety.

"African Americans are unlikely to receive a national alert or to be featured in the media when their loved ones go missing," said Bishop T.D. Jakes. "In an effort to bring awareness and help turn the tide on these daunting statistics, Codeblack Entertainment and The Potter's House are helping to bring this issue to the forefront."

To do just that, The Potter's House has created a multi-tiered relationship. BAM FI will be featured at the popular MEGA TOTZ and MEGA KIDZ conferences held June 29th and 30th and July 19th-21st, respectively. At both conferences, the foundation will be able to present safety workshops as well as provide child identification kits so that families are prepared in a crisis.

The Potter's House Center for Counseling and Behavioral Health has joined the efforts and will be listed as a resource for BAM FI clients and will be open to serve individuals and families referred by the trailblazing foundation. Additional efforts will increase awareness through scheduled posts and campaigns via Facebook, Twitter and in-house correspondence to all five churches under The Potter's House umbrella.

Additionally, Codeblack Entertainment will help further awareness, education and support of BAM FI through a variety of traditional, non-traditional and social media marketing efforts.

"It is so important to educate our community on this issue, especially since an overwhelming number of missing persons in the United States are of color," said Derrica Wilson, co-founder, Black and Missing Foundation, Inc. “We are so pleased that The Potter’s House along with Bishop T.D. Jakes and Codeblack Entertainment will use their platform to help find our missing men, women and children.”

The Foundation asserts that relationships with organizations are key, but that any effort can help bring a loved one home.

"Together we can find the thousands of individuals missing from our communities and bring them home or provide much needed closure for their families," said Natalie Wilson, co-founder, Black and Missing Foundation, Inc. "We can all play a part-big or small- in addressing this issue."

To learn more about Black And Missing Foundation, Inc. and for profiles of missing individuals, throughout the nation, as well as news, information, and tips, please visit BAM FI's web site: www.bamfi.org.

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Film Synopsis

Woman Thou Art Loosed!: On the 7th Day is a compelling story that unites love, suspense and faith into one heart-wrenching package. David (Blair Underwood) and Kari (Sharon Leal) Ames seem to have the perfect life until their young daughter is kidnapped, and over the course of seven days they begin to uncover secrets about their past that threaten to rip their marriage and lives apart.

Pastor, Entrepreneur and Filmmaker, T.D. Jakes proudly presents the second installment in his thought-provoking Woman Thou Art Loosed! film franchise entitled, Woman Thou Art Loosed!: On the 7th Day. This dramatic thriller stars Golden Globe® Nominee Blair Underwood (Madea's Family Reunion, Set It Off) and Sharon Leal (Why Did I Get Married Too?, This Christmas). Also starring Nicole Beharie (American Violet), Nicoye Banks (NBC's "Law & Order"), Emmy Award® Nominee Pam Grier (2012, The Man with the Iron Fists, Just Wright), Reed R. McCants (Civil Brand) and Jaqueline Fleming (2012, Contraband; HBO's "Tremé").

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Neema Barnette, Woman Thou Art Loosed!: On the 7th Day underscores the impact of secrets, lies and deception on the lives of the featured characters.

Produced and distributed by Codeblack Entertainment and executive produced by T.D. Jakes for T.D.J Enterprises

Key Links
Official Film Trailer: http://youtu.be/XK3nfpfTRbs
Official Film Site: http://tdjakeswtalmovie.com/
Official Film Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WomanThouArtLoosed7thDay
Black and Missing Foundation, Inc Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bamfiorg
Black and Missing Foundation, Inc Twitter: https://twitter.com/BAM_FI
Black and Missing Foundation, Inc PSA: http://youtu.be/zMmBQW4wLYQ

About Black and Missing Foundation Inc.:

Black and Missing Foundation, Inc (BAM FI) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization whose mission is to bring awareness to missing persons of color; provide vital resources and tools to missing person's families and friends; and to provide educational training on personal safety. BAM FI offers a free clearinghouse, which highlights profiles and information on missing persons of color, nationally. Visit www.bamfi.org for more information.

About Codeblack Entertainment:

Launched in 2005 by entertainment industry veteran Jeff Clanagan, CODEBLACK Enterprises LLC is a global new media & entertainment content company focused on connecting with diverse African-American and urban audiences wherever they are. CODEBLACK proudly delivers its content across the globe through television, motion pictures and a wide range of digital media. Visit Codeblackentertainment.com more information.

About TDJ Enterprises:

Bishop T. D. Jakes is a charismatic leader, visionary, provocative thinker, and entrepreneur who serves as the senior pastor of the 30,000-member church The Potter's House located in Dallas. Under the T.D.J. Enterprises umbrella, a for-profit organization, are film, music, bestselling books, and other products helping disseminate a faith-based message to a wide audience. Visit http://www.tdjakes.com for more information.

About The Potter's House:

Located in Dallas, The Potter's House is a 30,000-member nondenominational, multicultural church and humanitarian organization led by Bishop T. D. Jakes, twice featured on the cover of Time magazine as "America's Best Preacher" and as one of the nation's "25 Most Influential Evangelicals." The Potter's House has five locations, The Potter's House of Dallas, The Potter's House of Fort Worth, The Potter's House of North Dallas, and The Potter's House of Denver and a Spanish language church, Casa de Fe. www.thepottershouse.org

The Dirty Lowdown

Book Review: “The Hunter” by John Lescroart

2012-03-01T18:51:00.001-08:00

The Hunter

John Lescroart is officially credited with writing two series (actually four) of legal and crime fiction. Dismas Hardy and Abe Glitsky. But in the world of the reader,what he has really done is write crime and legal novels that tell wonderful stories featuring San Francisco as a setting and have many of the same characters. Sometimes those characters are just background characters and some times they are the main protagonist or a minor protagonist from one book to the next. It’s like a chronicle of a group of acquaintances and friends over a lifetime.

If you are a fan of series fiction, this is indeed a treat as it manages to keep the stories fresh while still continuing the tails of the characters you know and love. If you aren’t a series fiction fan, then you only get great stories and marvelous books. That’s not such a bad thing.

The Hunter, then is either the fourth Abe Glitsky novel or the third in the Wyatt Hunt series, which was established in 2005 with the first book, The Hunt Club. The Hunter opens with Wyatt trying to recruit his best friend, San Francisco detective, Devin Juhle for Hunts “Hunt Club” , a thriving detective agency. Juhle works for the chief of homicide, Abe Glitsky. Hunt has just broken up with Gina Roake, a San Francisco defense attorney, who first (and last) appeared in 2007s The Suspect as the main protagonist.

Juhle turns him down. Later, at a meeting with a client, a wealthy group of women whom Hunt has been hired to vet applicants for admission to their exclusive ladies club, Hunt receives an anonymous text message.The message says, “How did your mother die?” Hunt was adopted at a young age, and really can’t answer that question. He tries to call the texter back, but get’s no voice mail, no answer and comes to the conclusion that the texter used a disposable phone.

But this question leads Hunt to wonder just how, and for that matter who his real parents were. After further provocative texts messages from the same person Hunt, with the aid of his agency and Juhle, sets out to answer this question. It leads him to Catholic Charities who were the adoption agency where he eventually finds out that his mother was murdered and his father was suspected, tried twice, and twice acquitted by a hung jury.

He also comes to possess a letter from his father, who had given him up for adoption, stating that he did not kill his mother, and had to give him up so he’d have a chance at a better life. Hunt sets out to investigate the decades old murder. and to find his father. The twists and turns, dead ends and strands of hope lead from San Francisco’s hippie havens, to the tombs of the Catholic church and along the way, Hunt and his employees, again with the help of Juhle, follow clues that lead from Indiana to Jim Jones religious killing ground of Jones Town, to the mountains of Mexico. Eventually, new murders ate uncovered, or occur. One to a Hunt Club investigator.

Lescroart is such a successful story teller that he effortlessly keeps many ‘balls’ in the air. There is the encyclopedic knowledge of San Francisco and it’s many historically significant eras and it architecture, restaurants and quaint commercial centers and distinct culture which are always a background and always reveal something new and enjoyable. Then there is his ability to craft a faultless mystery and the hunt for clues. Then, his characters are full blown realistic and individually drawn so well that you’d love to spend a meal with the lot of them in conversation. And for the coup de grace, he always finds some off the beaten path point of interest to add yet another layer to the story. In this instance, it is a small village in Mexico, famous for it’s weaving. This avoids the obvious cliché of the drug lords and drug battles that the media covers on a daily basis leading to mexico as a whole being painted as a lawless crime zone no tourist would want to visit. Teotitlán del Valle, is indeed a real place and the village is still famous for their hand woven rugs and textiles and would be a beautiful place to visit.. Lescroart paints this village in such a way that when he stops writing NY Times Best Sellers, will guarantee him a career as a tour guide or travel writer. perhaps an ambassador.

He also, with his trade mark research employed to not only use a subject, but educate the reader, exposes the evolving adoption process in California and other environs. He does the same thing in exploring the damage to the human psyche when the mind and the soul are exposed to more than it can handle and the process and symptoms leading to what the general public refer to a nervous breakdown.

Lescroart wins on all levels. And none of the intricate detail drag on the pace, or the plot. Like the master he is, it’s just enough. And it is grand mystery writing.

The Dirty Lowdown

Article first published as Book Review: The Hunter by John Lescroart on Blogcritics.

JAZZ L.A. - Jeff Gauthier Named First Executive Director of The Jazz Bakery

2012-03-01T10:45:00.001-08:00

The Board of Directors of the Jazz Bakery today announced the appointment of Jeff Gauthier as the Bakery's first executive director. With experience as a nonprofit manager, concert promoter, music producer and musician in Los Angeles, Gauthier brings many relevant skills to the 20-year-old nonprofit organization. Gauthier will work closely with Ruth Price, Bakery founder, President and Artistic Director.

Culver City recently agreed to transfer a parcel of land adjacent to the Kirk Douglas Theater to the Jazz Bakery for a new jazz performance and cultural center to be designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. The hiring of an executive director marks an important step toward strengthening the Bakery’s organizational resources and capacity, and establishing a new home for this cherished Westside institution. Ruth Price said, “I've been impressed by Jeff for years as a musician, record company producer, and forward-thinking entrepreneur. This is serendipity at its best!”

Jeff Gauthier. Photo by Peak.

Gauthier’s duties will include development and fundraising, and support of the Board’s planning and capital campaign for construction of the new center. “This new cultural center, which will include two performance spaces, a gallery, a community space and a café, presents an incredible opportunity for the Jazz Bakery to become a center for jazz and creative music on the West Coast,” said Gauthier. “I’m honored and thrilled at the chance to help realize this vision.”

Ruth says, “While we develop our new home, our Movable Feast concert series will continue to bring music to our audiences, presenting in venues around Los Angeles." The Movable Feasts have brought artists John Abercrombie, Mose Allison, Brian Blade, Eliane Elias, Jim Hall, Charles Lloyd, and many others, to diverse crowds at a variety of venues including the Musicians Institute, Zipper Hall, and REDCAT. For more information about the Movable Feast series, please go to www.jazzbakery.com.

Gauthier’s hiring also brings new opportunities for the Jazz Bakery and Angel City Arts to collaborate, beginning with the co-production of the 2012 Angel City Jazz Festival. As former executive director of Angel City Arts, Gauthier and festival founder/artistic director Rocco Somazzi established the four-year-old festival as one of the West Coast’s premier showcases for contemporary music. This year’s festival will take place October 5-14, with the theme “Artists and Legends: Innovative artists pay tribute to their legendary mentors." Concerts will take place at UCLA’s Royce Hall, REDCAT, The John Anson Ford Amphitheatre and LACMA. Performers for the festival will be announced in early May. For more information about the Angel City Jazz Festival, please go to www.angelcityjazz.com.

Jeff Gauthier has been named a Downbeat Magazine “Rising Star” as both violinist and producer for several years running. He is the founder of Cryptogramophone Records which was named #4 Best Jazz Label in the 2007 Downbeat Critics Poll. Gauthier has produced more than 60 jazz and classical recordings, working with Alan Broadbent, Alex Cline, Nels Cline, Mark Dresser, Peter Erskine, Bennie Maupin, Alan Pasqua, Jimmy and Stacy Rowles, and many others. He also produced the long-running Cryptonight concert series in Culver City. As a classical violinist he has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, L.A. Opera, Long Beach Symphony, Carmel Bach Festival and Oregon Bach Festival. As an improviser he has performed and recorded with the Jeff Gauthier Goatette which includes Nels Cline, Alex Cline, David Witham and John Fumo. He has also performed and recorded with Adam Rudolph and Yusef Lateef, with Vinny Golia’s Large Ensemble, and with many other creative musicians on both coasts. Gauthier is a graduate of California Institute of the Arts.

The Jazz Bakery is a California non-profit organization dedicated to presenting America’s music in all its non-commercial diversity, and to keeping jazz alive by cultivating new audiences and fostering new talent. Founded in 1992 by jazz vocalist Ruth Price, the Jazz Bakery has achieved international acclaim through her uncompromising artistic vision, and has earned a reputation as one of the best places anywhere to experience live jazz. Price’s vision includes a performance space with theater seating that creates focused interaction between the artist and audience, a space where the sound is the highest fidelity, the lighting is appropriate, the quality piano is well-maintained, and every seat is the best in the house. Look for the Jazz Bakery on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/thejazzbakery

Ruth Price. Photo by Gregory Dahl

Ruth Price - Jazz Bakery Founder, President & Artistic Director

310-275-8961

Courtsey of: Matt Merewitz - matt@fullyaltered.com - 347-384-2839

The Dirty Lowdown

CD Review: “Under Fire” by Green River Ordinance

2012-02-29T12:28:00.001-08:00

Under Fire

The instrumentation is as original and honest as the band themselves. There’s drums, but not the usual rhythms and beats. There’s mandolins, banjos, baritone guitars,12 string guitars, upright bass, accordion, lap steel, old vintage amps and old vintage guitars and percussion instruments that are unidentifiable, but perfect in the arrangements.

There’s nothing safe and mainstream or traditional yet the harmonies are brilliant. The influences are rock, pop,roots, country and even blues but they wouldn’t fit comfortably into any of those pigeon holes. Musically, there is not a weakness. the song writing is honest, original, it’s about what they were feeling. they are heart caressing stories of love, the road, life.They are Jamey Ice (guitar, banjo, mandolin), Josh Jenkins (vocals, guitar, piano), Joshua Wilkerson (guitar, keyboard/piano,
vocals), Denton Hunker (drums, percussion) and Geoff Ice (bass,vocals). They are headed to stardom. They are the real deal and they are dead serious. Checkout the new single:

“Heart Of Me” by Green River Ordinance

I see a little Joshua Tree U2 in them, a little influence from The Byrds, The Eagles, the harmonies are that good, and maybe better. They are showmen on top of being top drawer song writers and musicians.Their ideas are fresh and welcome, inventing their own sound. And, they remain accessible to a wide audience. They are built to shock, they aren’t staging a rebellion, the are just doing it different than anyone before them. This is their third album, and it’s a masterpiece. This album may just set their course to the future. The album may be Under Fire but this band is aiming the gun.

The band will kick off an extensive North American tour on March 29 in
Houston, TX, crossing the country with special guest Graham Colton.
Tickets are on sale now at greenriverordinance.com.

When they hit your city, don’t miss them.

GREEN RIVER ORDINANCE 'UNDER FIRE' TOUR DATES
3/29 -- Houston, TX @ House of Blues - Bronze Peacock
3/30 -- Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Main Room
3/31 -- Waco, TX @ Common Grounds
4/1 -- Austin, TX @ Stubbs Jr
4/4 -- Norman, OK @ Meacham Auditorium at University of Oklahoma
4/6 -- St. Louis, MO @ Old Rock House
4/7 -- Little Rock, AR @ Rev Room
4/11 -- Birmingham, AL @ Workplay
4/12 -- Knoxville, TN @ Relix Variety Theater
4/13 -- Nashville, TN @ 12th & Porter
4/14 -- Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl
4/16 -- Charlotte, NC @ Chop Shop Noda
4/17 -- Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
4/19 -- Washington DC @ Jammin Java
4/20 -- New York, NY @ Webster Studio
4/21 -- Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
4/22 -- Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Life
4/24 -- Akron, OH @ Musica
4/25 -- Columbus, OH @ Basement
4/26 -- Milwaukee, WI @ Shank Hall
4/27 -- Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
4/28 -- Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry - First Ave
4/30 -- Des Moines, IA @ Wooly's
5/1 -- Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room
5/3 -- Indianapolis, IN @ "Earth House"

The Dirty Lowdown

Dianne Reeves at Jazz at Lincoln Center - NYTimes.com

2012-02-27T15:43:00.001-08:00

Grandeur with refinement: that describes the aura of Dianne Reeves, whose concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall on Friday evening revealed her more than ever to be the vocal heir of Sarah Vaughan, whose voice could also travel anywhere. To call Ms. Reevesa warbler or a songbird isn’t just to trot out shopworn terms for a female jazz singer, but to point out how many of her introductions to songs are wordless, improvised exercises in tonal coloration.

Enlarge This Image

Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times

The singer Dianne Reeves performed on Friday at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Hall.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/27/arts/music/dianne-reeves-at-jazz-at-lincoln-center.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

MUSIC REVIEW

A Jazz Singer Demonstrates the Fine Art of Holding Back

Dianne Reeves at Jazz at Lincoln Center

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

These preludes have the feel of preparatory meditations before Ms. Reeves plunges into fresh musical territory. Within the semi-orchestral settings of her band — Peter Martin on piano, Romero Lubambo and Peter Sprague on guitars, Reginald Veal on bass and Terreon Gully on drums — the drums kept a lower-than-average profile. Rather than punching out hard rhythm, they supplied complex textural seasoning. Instrumental solos were tasty but never ostentatious.

That lack of exhibitionism also characterized the way Ms. Reeves treated many of her songs as internal monologues. A major exception was a lusty blues rendition of “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road),” in which she flirted with gut-busting volume, building the song up slowly to a crest, before gradually subsiding. Even at its peak, you sensed power held in reserve. Her restraint created its own kind of suspense, as you waited to see how far she would go.

“Stormy Weather,” a song that most singers belt to the rafters, was reconceived as a private struggle; rather than dramatize her sorrow, she fought to contain it. For sheer gorgeousness there was nothing to match two numbers — Bob Marley’s “Waiting in Vain,” its reggae pulse smoothed out, and a playful bossa-nova-flavored “Our Love Is Here to Stay” — in which Ms. Reeves’s voice danced with Mr. Lubambo’s sparkling guitar. During a light jazz-funk rendition of Ani DiFranco’s “32 Flavors” Ms. Reeves dug deeply into this defiant feminist retort to an insult that is also a proclamation of individual complexity: “I am a poster girl with no poster/I am 32 flavors and then some.”

Prefacing her own song “Nine,” an idyllic reminiscence of childhood, Ms. Reeves remarked that she was watching the news less these days, the better to celebrate innocence. As she sang of “running endless through a field of emerald green beneath a broad open sky” and of a time when “any child could wear a paper crown and be a king or queen at 9,” you wanted to follow her back to an age “when our imaginations soared on golden wings.” As the song makes clear, it is not about escaping reality but about rediscovering a personal source of spiritual nourishment.

Red Holloway dies at 84; Versatile L.A. jazz saxophonist

2012-02-27T15:31:00.001-08:00

Holloway's career stretched from the bebop era to 21st-century jazz fusion. He played with an array of A-list stars, including Sonny Rollins, Lester Young, Red Rodney and Lionel Hampton.

Eric Schneider, left, and Red Holloway perform with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra during a tribute to legendary South Side saxophonist Eddie Johnson at the University of Chicago in 2010., (E. Jason Wambsgans, Chicago Tribune / April25, 2010)

By Don Heckman, Special to The Times

February 27, 2012

Red Holloway, a tenor and alto saxophonist who was one of Los Angeles' most highly regarded jazzartists for more than four decades, died Saturday in San Luis Obispo. He was 84.
The cause was kidney failure, complicated by several strokes, according to family spokeswoman Linda Knipe.
Holloway's career reached from the post-World War II arrival of bebop to 21st century jazz fusion. Whatever genre he played, the powerful muscularity of his sound, combined with his propulsive sense of swing, consistently made him one of the most listenable tenor saxophonists in jazz.
His creative focus was enhanced by far-reaching versatility. "Music to me is music," he told Jazz Journal International some years ago. "I really don't care what kind it is. I just try and figure out how I can make that particular type of music swing. That's what is important."
Holloway had already affirmed that viewpoint early in his career, when he played with an A-list of artists covering the full gamut of jazz — from Sonny Rollins and Lester Young to Red Rodney, Lionel Hampton and dozens of others.
His capacity to enhance his style with lyrical expressiveness also made him a favorite companion to singers such as Etta James, Joe Williams, Carmen McRae and Jackie Ryan.
James W. Holloway was born May 31, 1927, in Helena, Ark. His mother was a pianist and his father played violin. He and his mother moved to Chicago when Holloway was 5, where, at his mother's insistence, he began piano lessons, supplementing them with banjo and harmonica.
After taking up the tenor saxophone at the age of 12, Holloway played his first job as a professional musician in 1943 with bassist Eugene Wright's Dukes of Swing. At 19, he joined the U.S. Army, eventually serving as headmaster of the U.S. Fifth Army Band.
When he was discharged from the service, Holloway returned to Chicago, frequently playing with such artists as Roosevelt Sykes, Willie Dixon and B.B. King. And his intimate understanding of the subtleties of the blues always remained an essential part of his music.
In the early '60s, he began to achieve visibility with the wider jazz audience via a 21/2 -year run with organist Jack McDuff, working alongside newly arrived guitarist George Benson.
Holloway moved to Los Angeles in 1967. Two years later he played in the house band at the famed jazz club the Persian Room. He retained the position for 15 years, meeting and often performing with some of the biggest names in the jazz world.
From 1977 to 1982, Holloway was teamed with veteran bop alto saxophonist Sonny Stitt, recording a pair of albums together. In addition to more than a dozen albums under his own name, he recorded with McDuff, Clark Terry, Plas Johnson, Horace Silver, George Benson and John Mayall.
In the mid-'60s, Holloway moved to the Central California coastal town of Cambria, where he ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2004. From the early '90s until this year , he played a prominent role in the town's Famous Jazz Artist Series. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Los Angeles Jazz Society in 2004.
Holloway, who was divorced, is survived by sons Michael and John; daughters Lianne Holloway, Marsha Aregullin and Denice Holloway-Rivers; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. A third son, James "Binkey" Holloway, died in 1995.
news.obits@latimes.com

CD Review: “Blue Moon” by Ahmad Jamal

2012-02-26T13:24:00.001-08:00

Blue Moon

There are few people alive who can honestly be said to have been an influence on Miles Davis. Fewer still who are named in the same breath with jelly Roll Morton, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum and Thelonious Monk when speaking great jazz piano players.

But Ahmad Jamal is that person. Miles once said “All my inspiration comes from Ahmad Jamal.”. He introduced the concepts of space, silence and dramatic dynamics into jazz performance, proving the adage that it is often what you don’t play that is genius. And what is even more amazing is that at 81 years young, he still manages to make his music fresh, young and brilliant. Blue Moon is not just his latest album, it’s just his latest masterpiece.

As Chris May at AllAboutJazz said, “It is tempting to say that, at age 82, Ahmad Jamal carries on getting better and better, but that would be to miss the point. The pianist long ago reached a level of perfection from which it is simply not possible to get better. It is a level, however, to which he habitually returns.”

“Autumn Rain” Ahmad Jamal from the album “Blue Moon”

In this marvelous collection, Jamal turns to a place where he has not only made his own mark, but from where he has often found his favorite songs. Broadway, and the classic American Cinema. He’s also the guy who covered Clint Eastwood’s piano parts in Bridges Of Madison County. he also includes here three of his original compositions, giving a new interpretation to “Autumn Rain” (above), “Morning Mist” and “I Remember Italy.”

The sound on this JazzVillage release is brilliant and you soon realize that those ‘Classical Music’ engineers have a trick or two. Jazz Village is the Jazz label for Harmonia Mundi. The sound captured on this disk is so ‘live’ that you’ll wonder if you aren’t sitting on stage.

The second thing you will realize is that the arrangements are so modern. Jamal is accompanied by bassist Reginald Veal, drummer Herlin Riley and percussionist Manolo Badrena. Veal has caught my ear in the past with his work with Wynton Marsalis and Joshua Reddman. These guys together just lock down the rhythm. There is no slacking, no laid back brushes and sleepy plucking, the tempo is spot on and almost pop music in style. But Jamal’s ensemble playing is swinging, flawless and masterful.

Once this one is done with you, look through JazzVillage’ small, but bound to grow catalog.

The Dirty Lowdown

Kirk Whalum “Romance Language”

2012-02-26T11:31:00.001-08:00

Romance Language

Grammy Winning Saxophonist’s reimagined take on the John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman masterpiece.

It takes a load of talent to dare to make an iconic album and it takes a lot of confidence to dare to remake a masterpiece by the acknowledged master of your instrument. Kirk Whalum has that talent. And, apparently he backed it up since Romance Language went to number one on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Charts shortly after it’s release, naturally, on Valentines Day.

It’s also sadly appropriate that the man who toured for years as the warm up for Whitney Houston would release this album now.

Whalum is often labeled ‘smooth jazz’ but he has garnered 12 Grammy Nominations in just about every musical genre except Death Metal; with music ranging from pop to R&B to jazz, he finally won Best Gospel Song (“It’s What I Do”-featuring Lalah Hathaway) .

The Coltrane/Hartman classic was made in 1963. Though Coltrane and Hartman had known each other since their days playing with Dizzy Gillespie's band in the late 1940s Hartman is the only vocalist with whom the saxophonist would record as a leader. Initially when producer Bob Thiele approached Hartman with Coltrane's request that the two record together Hartman was hesitant as he did not consider himself a jazz singer and did not think he and Coltrane would complement one another musically. However, Thiele encouraged Hartman to go see Coltrane perform at Birdland in New York to see if something could be worked out. Hartman did so, and after the club closed he, Coltrane, and Coltrane's pianist McCoy Tyner, went over some songs together. On March 7, 1963 Coltrane and Hartman had decided on 10 songs for the record album, but en route to the studio they heard Nat King Cole on the radio performing "Lush Life", and Hartman immediately decided that song had to be included in their album. They settled on seven tracks, but “Afro Blue’ was cut from the final pressing.

Kirk Whalum “You Are To Beautiful” from Romance Language

Here, all six tracks that were included in ‘63 are included along with four modern and romantic ballads. Covering Hartman’s original vocals is Kirk’s brother, Kevin and he does more than justice to the tunes. Kevin Whalum's sophisticated voice, are always cool while Kirk Whalum's sax solos and fills are simply beautiful, warm and nuanced. The aural Valentine unfolds with the grace of an intimate, seductive love letter.
Genuinely heartfelt, suave, debonair and poetically passionate.

The crack musicians accompanying the Whalum's are John Stoddart
(piano, keyboards, organ, backing vocals as well as production), Marcus Finnie (drums), Braylon Lacy (bass), Kevin Turner (electric guitar), Michael "Nomad"
Ripoll (acoustic guitar), Ralph Lofton (organ), George Tidwell (flugelhorn, trumpet), and percussionists Bashiri Johnson and Javier Solis. Whalum's 83 years-young uncle, Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum, poured his distinctive, emotion-charged voice into the
broken-hearted "Almost Doesn't Count" and the poignant bonus track, "You Are So Beautiful."

In addition to the traditional CD and digital version, an extended and enhanced digital version of Romance Language will be released as the world's first complete LiveAudio optimized album for JAMBOX by JAWBONE, a leader in personal mobile technology devices. LiveAudio allows music to be enjoyed in a 3D-like, surround sound experience from a single, small Bluetooth wireless speaker. This one-of-a-kind
version of Romance Language will be available exclusively at www.kirkwhalum.com/JAMBOX.

The Dirty Lowdown

The Corner of Jazz and Hip-Hop By NATE CHINEN

2012-02-25T18:11:00.001-08:00

Chad Batka for The New York Times

Chrisette Michele singing with Robert Glasper at the Blue Note.

February 24, 2012

The Corner of Jazz and Hip-Hop

By NATE CHINEN

A FEW tracks into “Black Radio,” Robert Glasper Experiment’s hazily soulful new album, there comes an accidental manifesto, culled from studio banter among the members of the band. “People think of jazz musicians, they pigeonhole us,” this collage begins, before moving on to complaints about the coarsening of musical standards, the sway of industry “bigwigs” and the dull complacency of popular taste. It’s a pretty sour train of thought until this closing conviction: “The best thing you can do for people, I think, is just be honest, man.” (And a grace note: “Yo, we’ve got to do something, man.”)

“Black Radio,” due out on Tuesday, is the fourth Blue Note release by Robert Glasper, a pianist who has spent the last decade or so building on a dual firmament of acoustic jazz, and artisanal hip-hop and R&B. It’s the album he has been hinting at for years: an earnest confab with some of the artists in his network, like the politically minded rappers Lupe Fiasco and Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) and the vibe-oriented singers Erykah Badu, Meshell Ndegeocello, Musiq Soulchild and Chrisette Michele. Strikingly, given that each of its 12 tracks features at least one guest vocalist, the album unfolds as a coherent statement rather than an all-star mishmash: Robert Glasper and friends, not Robert Glasper and Friends.

Just as strikingly, “Black Radio” is the rare album of its kind that doesn’t feel strained by compromise or plagued by problems of translation. It convincingly mirrors the texture and mood of contemporary black bohemia, largely because Mr. Glasper and his band — the bassist Derrick Hodge, the drummer Chris Dave and the saxophonist Casey Benjamin — are an integral part of that scene, with sideman credits that include not only the album’s guest roster but also the likes of Maxwell, whose most recent arena tour had the Experiment’s rhythm section at its core.

“There’s been a lot of attempts at fusing jazz and hip-hop,” said Don Was, the veteran record producer recently appointed president of Blue Note. “Many times you see the Scotch tape holding the two things together. And I think Robert’s done it seamlessly. Because that’s who he is.”

Mr. Glasper, 33, has a strong but slouchy build and the garrulous, unselfconscious air of a guy accustomed to putting others at ease. Born and raised in Houston, he grew up playing in church and attended the same arts-intensive high school that has produced so many serious young jazz musicians, like Jason Moran, another forward-thinking pianist on Blue Note. (Mr. Dave went there too, as did Beyoncé.)

“It’s totally natural. It’s home,” Mr. Glasper said of the new album’s style during an interview that began at his upstairs apartment in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn. “I was playing that kind of stuff before I was playing jazz: R&B stuff, church vibe.”

And while “Black Radio” takes cross-pollination to proud extremes — its early stretch finds Ms. Badu on a head-bobbing version of the jazz standard “Afro Blue,” followed by Lalah Hathaway on a faithfully slinky cover of Sade’s “Cherish the Day” — Mr. Glasper has been pursuing this agenda virtually from the start. “Mood,” the 2003 debut that got him signed to Blue Note, features interludes and chord progressions reminiscent of hip-hop production; it also features Bilal, the eclectic soul singer whom Mr. Glasper had met during their freshman orientation at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music.

Mr. Glasper’s first three Blue Note albums follow an arc that he now attributes to strategy: “I wanted to do a few trio records, so no one can sit there and say, ‘This cat can’t really play.’ ” His first such outing, “Canvas” (2005), suggested youthful emulation of his jazz-piano hero, Mulgrew Miller. The follow-up, “In My Element” (2007), inched closer to a hip-hop sensibility, while “Double Booked” (2009) superficially straddled the divide, with its first half involving his acoustic trio and its second half featuring the Experiment.

Respect flowed from both constituencies, sometimes in unexpected ways. Q-Tip was a regular at Mr. Glasper’s trio gigs well before they became collaborators; Lupe Fiasco first encountered his music by way of an in-flight entertainment menu. And at some point Mr. Glasper began to notice that his trio’s following skewed younger and more African-American than the current norm in jazz. “All the club owners were like, ‘Hey, we don’t usually see this kind of crowd,’ ” he said. “And I love the fact that you go to my show, you see a 17-year-old black kid and an 80-year old white woman, bopping. To Dilla.”

That would be J Dilla, the visionary producer whose exactingly elliptical innovations have resonated almost as deeply in certain jazz circles as they have in hip-hop and R&B. (He died, after a debilitating illness, in 2006.) If anyone in jazz deserves credit for his post-bop incursions, it’s Mr. Glasper, who put a tribute called “J Dillalude” on “In My Element,” and often alludes to the producer’s work even when playing standards. His arrangement of Thelonious Monk’s “Think of One,” from “Double Booked,” opens with a skittering refraction of the theme before the trio kicks in, gradually sidling into “Stakes Is High,” the J Dilla-produced title track from a 1996 De La Soul album.

“Nobody plays Dilla like us,” Mr. Glasper said, and then leaned toward my recording device. “End quote.” He laughed and clarified: “I’m one of the only jazz musicians who can say I worked with him. I was at the crib.” (As he occasionally reminds his audiences, he was there when J Dilla created “Reminisce,” a woozy track on Bilal’s 2001 debut.)

The creative exchange between jazz and hip-hop has always worked best when jazz provided source material rather than a methodology. Miles Davis wanly flirted with the concept during the same era that yielded classic jazz-informed hip-hop by Guru, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. “The precedent was set,” Lupe Fiasco said. “It was just waiting for somebody who was a master with jazz, in its own right, to come in and bridge the gap. It was a matter of the stars aligning, and they aligned over Robert, and the Experiment. They play hip-hop and jazz, but with a mastery of both. And not a schooled mastery.”

Of course the same could fairly be said of the trumpeter Roy Hargrove, who appeared on the Holy Trinity of millennial neo-soul albums — D’Angelo’s “Voodoo,” Common’s “Like Water for Chocolate” and Ms. Badu’s “Mama’s Gun” — and later made a splash with his own “RH Factor” (Verve), which featured those artists and a handful of others. Mr. Glasper, who pulled a sideman shift on an RH Factor tour, agreed that Mr. Hargrove’s crossover effort was the obvious precursor to his own. “The difference is that I made it a bit more mainstream,” he said, citing the scarcity of solos on “Black Radio,” and its focus on songs. “And when we do our hip-hop stuff, it’s a little more actual hip-hop vibe.”

That’s true, and it has something to do with the art of reverse engineering. Playing “Stakes Is High,” for instance, also means emulating a sample at its core: the syncopated chord sequence from “Swahililand,” a 1974 track by the jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal. “It’s truly a postmodern statement, in that Robert’s music is an outgrowth of the music that hip-hop used to sample,” said Eli Wolf, an executive producer of the new album. “And on top of it he’s incorporating elements from the hip-hop of that era.”

That process plays out with appreciable subtlety on “Black Radio,” which was recorded over four days in a Los Angeles studio, with minimal advance preparation. All the instrumental tracks were recorded live, often in a single take; in most cases the vocalist was there too. “It was like a freeway of artists coming in and out of the studio,” said Ledisi, who recalled seeing Bilal and King, a female R&B vocal trio, when she arrived.

“It was very, very, very loose,” Mr. Glasper said, “and very jazz in that way.” He noted another, more literal jazzlike touch: his acoustic piano filigree, which runs throughout, as accent and signature. And then of course there’s the agility of his band, with a rapport that points toward jazz even when the music doesn’t.

We’ll be seeing more along these lines, and not just from Mr. Glasper. Blue Note has committed to releasing “Live Today,” the yearningly melodic debut by Mr. Hodge. Mr. Dave said he had his own solo albums in the works. The suave young singer José James has earned a following by blending jazz, hip-hop and soul. And last year, before he won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, Kris Bowers played on Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Watch the Throne.”

A cynic might characterize this burst of like-minded activity as a function of commerce, and Mr. Glasper wouldn’t necessarily disagree. But he and his band mates, in separate conversations, also kept returning to the idea of honesty.

“If you’re honest with yourself, your influences will shine through,” he said. “And you’ll write songs that sound like you, and you’ll incorporate things that you actually like, and not feel like you have to follow these certain guidelines.”

He paused and punctuated the silence with a chuckle. “People always tell me, ‘Oh, man, you’re the future of jazz.’ I’m like: ‘No, I’m now. I’m relevant now.’ ”

On a MissionTo Celebrate The Different

The Doors : “Mr. Mojo Risin’ The Story Of L.A. Woman

2012-02-25T11:35:00.001-08:00

Where were you in ‘71? I was one year and a few months away from joining the Army and catching the tail end of Vietnam, The Doors had performed their last live set in December (with Jim Morrison), largely because of his evermore erratic behavior. On December 12, 1970, at The Warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana, Morrison had an apparent breakdown. Midway through the set he slammed the microphone numerous times into the stage floor until the platform beneath was destroyed, then sat down and refused to perform for the remainder of the show.

But no matter, The Doors were poised to release an album in the new year that everyone thought would see them reclaim their post as the premiere act in rock n roll. The album was finished in March and included guitar work by Mark Benno from Leon Russell’s ‘Asylum Choir’ and Jerry Scheff (Elvis Presley, The Association, et al) on bass. The album contained two Top 20 hits and went on to be their second best-selling studio album, surpassed in sales only by their debut. The album explored their R&B roots, although during rehearsals they had a falling-out with Paul Rothchild, who had produced them from the start. Rothchild denounced "Riders on the Storm" as 'cocktail jazz', he quit and handed the production to Bruce Botnick.

The Doors “Mr. Mojo Risin’ The Story Of L.A. Woman”

As soon as the album was finished, Morrison packed up and moved to Paris. Of course, Morrison died on July 3 and that meant that L.A. Woman was the last studio album. The singles "L.A. Woman", "Love Her Madly", and "Riders On The Storm" remain mainstays of rock radio programming, and the latter, as of November 25, 2009, was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for its special significance to recorded music. In the song "L.A. Woman" Jim Morrison scrambles the letters of his own name to chant "Mr. Mojo Risin". During the sessions, a short clip of the band performing "Crawling King Snake" was filmed. So far as is known, this is the last clip of the Doors performing with Morrison. Morrison would, on June 16, make his last known recording. He befriended two street musicians at a bar and invited them to a studio. This recording was finally released in 1994 on a bootleg CD entitled The Lost Paris Tapes.

This fascinating, for the diehard fan as well as someone new to the band, documentary celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the release of that album. It contains rare as well as archival footage of the band on stage and in the studio. It also contains additional footage that wasn’t in the original broadcast and contains new interviews with the surviving band members, not to mention Elektra Records co-founder Jac Holzman, manager Bill Siddons, and engineer/co-producer Bruce Botnik. Filmed in HiDef, it features DTS-HD Master Audio. It’s available in Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray.

The Dirty Lowdown

CD Review: “Always You” by Michael Addison

2012-02-24T12:14:00.001-08:00

Always You

This transplanted Philly acoustic guitar troubadour has crafted an album of marvelous ballads, rock tinged indie pop and in places nearly epic chamber music piece. He not only blesses us with insightful, romantic song writing but a voice that reaches sweet highs and baritone lows and all in the right places.

It’s easy to see and hear why Los Angles has adopted him as a favorite son on the music circuit. It’s also a cinch that he’ll draw the best and brightest musicians to play his music. Here he is joined by that great drummer from the chart topping main stream band ‘Collective Soul’, Ryan Hoyle and the veteran of Carnegie Hall (with the Houston Symphony), and sessions with Usher, Justin Timberlake, and numerous movie scores, Christine Wu on all strings. Larry Marciano lends his Jim Morrison-like voice, electric and acoustic guitars and production skills to the set.

They are joined in the studio by Mikey Hachey on bass, from the ska band, Urban Legends, Carl Byron on keys and Vanessa Bryan on backing vocals.

For a debut record, Addison has shown courage in offering up songs of complex melodies and some daring vocals. The album has a mainstream feel, but still retains that Indie rock/pop vibe. With his song writing talents, musical vision and that rangy voice, not to mention some respectable guitar work reminiscent of the Goo Goo Dolls, Dashboard Confessional and The Foo Fighters, he should get a lot of mileage.

Michael Addison “Come Back To Me”

Michael Addison is starting production on his sophomore release on Leap day, February 29, so bookmark his site (follow the link above) and follow the progress, and check for any tour dates. Ad while you are at it, get the record from all the usual places. You’ll be hearing his name a lot, no doubt.

The Dirty Lowdown

Billy Strange dies at 81; guitarist, arranger for Presley, Nancy Sinatra

2012-02-24T07:07:00.001-08:00

Billy Strange was one of the hottest players on the L.A. studio scene. He arranged Nancy Sinatra's 'These Boots Are Made for Walking' and played guitar on the Beach Boys' 'Pet Sounds' album.

Guitarist Billy Strange once took the kind of phone call that thousands of musicians receive only in their best and wildest dreams.
"I was staying at a hotel in Nashville in 1965 when my telephone rang and this unmistakable voice said, 'Billy, this is Elvis. I'd like for you to stop by my studios and play some music with me,'" Strange told an English newspaper in 2002. "I was absolutely thrilled, so I went along and he just sat at the piano playing gospel songs. We had a lot of fun; so much so that we never got around to recording anything that first day."
That made it a rare day in Strange's life in the 1960s: He not only was one of the hottest players but also a successful songwriter, arranger and recording artist working in L.A.'s' top recording studios at what may have been the pinnacle of a long career in which he contributed to hit records by artists such as Presley, the Beach Boys, Phil Spector, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, the Everly Brothers, Dean Martin, Willie Nelson and the Partridge Family.
Strange, who died Wednesday in Nashville at 81, is most widely known for his role as musical arranger of Nancy Sinatra's first No. 1 hit, "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'," in 1966 and her 1967 duet with her father, "Somethin' Stupid." Strange also was the budding pop singer's co-star on her eerie song "Bang Bang (He Shot Me Down)," on which the only accompaniment to her wistful vocal were the strums and runs from Strange's tremolo-soaked electric guitar.

Read The Full Article Here.

The Dirty Lowdown

Book Review: “The Spy Who Jumped Off The Screen” by Thomas Caplan

2012-02-23T16:24:00.001-08:00

The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen: A Novel

In an attempt to join the lofty heights of ‘Spy Fiction’ idols Ian Flemming (James Bond), Charles McCarry (Paul Christopher), John le Carré, Robert Ludlum and Tom Clancy, Thomas Caplan and his Movie Star Spy, Ty Hunter aims for the sun, but like Icarus he rapidly falls.

The novel opens with a home invasion in one of rural Kansas City’s wealthiest homes belonging to one of the wealthiest men in the world. But this is no ordinary home invasion nor home invader.

The first approximately 40 pages develops a sense of place, introduces action and excellent character development, which is done so well you’ll be close to adding these characters to your Christmas card list, but, sadly, it has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the story except to introduce a minor character that the story could have done without and a freighter that you will not get to know beyond the fact it carries an elicit cargo.

It does serve as an entry for the longest preface in history.

The real story involves Ty Hunter, the worlds biggest movie star who is recruited by none other than the President of the United States to investigate the possible disappearance of nuclear missile in the decommissioning of a post Soviet Missile base.

The suspected thief of these nuclear warheads is yet another of the worlds wealthiest men, Ian Santal. Santal made a name for himself, firstly as a man of science as a professor at England’s Cambridge University. After his academic acclaim, he turned his hand to the stock market and made billions. Now, in his third incarnation, he is an international man of mystery, and broker of illicit nuclear devices.

Another suspect is Phillip Frost, an M.I.T. Grad who decided to join Santal’s financial firm out of college and who until just recently was on the U.N. Team certifying nuclear devices as decommissioned. An unlikely and slightly fantastical pair of villains would have made Flemming blush, although clearly Caplan was paying homage to Flemming’s Thunderball (Santal owns, and a good deal of the action takes place on a super high tech yacht). Caplan even references the James Bond Movies in a supporting character who supplies our hero with high tech gadgets, but he even fails here as well mistaking ‘M’ for ‘Q’. The reader would, I think, expect a spy novelist to know this.

The first 200 pages of the novel are filled with stops and starts and a meandering plot that had me hard pressed to read a whole chapter every night, and tempted me to put the novel away and not finish it. But, after these 200 pages which seemed more like 600, the story takes off. Further, the first part of the novel will make it apparent that Caplan is the master of the run-on sentence. Sentences that will run half a page encompassing entire paragraphs. I wondered if the editor’s gave him a certain allowance of commas and he decided to use them all up here.

The protagonist , Ty Hunter sounds a worthy successor to James Bond. He is part Bond, and part Jason Bourne. He is the worlds number one box office attraction with good looks to eclipse all other Hollywood pretty boys. And his cover, once he is recruited by none other than the President, is a good one, but the character fails on many fronts.

Having been sent out in the world to find the missing nukes, the first thing Hunter does is stop off to have lunch with his mother. Then, when the action and the story start to play about the half way point, Hunter’s attempt at Bond style one liners does not come off as sophisticated, but as sophomoric.

Still, you get a glimpse of an interesting read from here to the end, and you can see it was a marvelous idea, but just doesn’t quite live up to the authors goals.

the book has an Introduction by Bill Clinton, who was a classmate of the President at Georgetown back in the early ‘60s. In the intro he does praise the novel for it’d display of the privileged life style and he does mention the all too real threat of nukes falling into the wrong hand but, fortunately, eschews any literary criticism.

Caplan is the author of three previous novels that were more in line with the historical thriller/epic genre as well as the world of high finance, and the privileged lives of other American characters. As promising a character as Ty Hunter is, Caplan would be better served not exploring the spy game in the future.

The Dirty Lowdown

Article first published as Book Review: The Spy That Who Jumped Off The Screen by Thomas Caplan on Blogcritics.

PDX Jazz Fest RUSH Tickets Available for Dee Dee Bridgewater and Roy Haynes - $15 Day of Show, PCPA Box Office Only

2012-02-22T22:28:00.001-08:00

Dee Dee Bridgewater and Roy Haynes

to Headline 2012 U.S. Bank Portland Jazz Festival

Presented by Alaska Airlines at Newmark Theatre

RUSH Tickets Available! $15 starting at 10AM on the day of the show

Available exclusively at the PCPA box office at 1111 SW Broadway

For seating in 2nd Balcony only

Photo Credit: Mark Higashino Photo Credit: Carol Friedman

Bridgewater to Pay Tribute to Billie Holiday - Thursday, February 23 at 7pm

Haynes to Make Portland Debut as a Leader - Friday, February 24 at 7pm

Three-time GRAMMY® Award winner Dee Dee Bridgewater will perform repertoire from her recent GRAMMY® Award winning project, in a program titled "To Billie with Love: A Celebration of Lady Day" paying homage to Billie Holiday on Thursday, February 23 at 7pm at the Newmark Theatre. Bridgewater has been a torchbearer for female vocalists in the tradition of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan for the past 40 years. The former Tony® Award winner, awarded for her role in The Wiz on Broadway, will be joined by pianist and music director Edsel Gomez, saxophonist Craig Handy, bassist Kenny Davis, and drummer Lewis Nash.

Holiday's influence as a jazz icon looms large, and in the case of NEA Jazz Master Roy Haynes there is a direct historical link. Haynes, now 86, joined Lester Young's band in 1947, and that year Billie performed with them in New York, and in 1959, the indefatigable Haynes played on Holiday's last show. Haynes will make his much anticipated and long overdue Portland debut as a leader with his Fountain of Youth band, which he has led for the better half of the last decade, on Friday, February 24 at 7pm at the Newmark Theatre.

Newmark Theatre & PCPA Box Office

1111 SW Broadway (at Main Street)

Walk up sales only, 10AM - 5PM

www.pcpa.com/newmark

(503) 248-4335

www.pdxjazz.com

For media information, contact:
Maureen McFadden @ maureen@dlmediamusic.com

###

Late Night Dance Party Following Charlie Hunter Solo, February 25 @ Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR

2012-02-21T19:23:00.001-08:00

The Cornelia Street Cafe–Greenwich Village - February 20-27, + Announcing a New Series at The Cafe!

2012-02-20T18:40:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Cornelia Street Café is a true New York City landmark, an epicurean destination, an artist's café that cultivates and inspires, and one of the few remaining Greenwich Village bastions for creative music, spoken word, art, theatre, cabaret and much more

The Cornelia Street Cafe is Proud to Announce

"Spotlight On New Talent"

A NEW monthly series, dedicated to showcasing some of the most brilliant up-and-coming jazz musicians

March 22 - Trumpeter John Raymond Kicks off the series with a CD release celebration for Strength & Song (produced by Jon Faddis), featuring Jon Raymond (trumpet), Gilad Hekselman (guitar), Javier Santiago (piano), Linda Oh (bass) & Obed Calvaire (drums)

April 12 - Drummer Devin Gray CD Release featuring Ellery Eskelin, Mike Formanek & Dave Ballou!

# # # #

This Week at The Cafe, February 20-27:

Tuesday, February 21, 8:30 PM
ARTHUR VINT QUARTET

Arthur Vint, drums; Matt Vashlishan, alto sax; Jesse Elder, piano; Steve Whipple, bass

Tuesday, February 21, 10:00 PM
ERIC BURNS QUINTET, FEATURING RICH PERRY

Rich Perry, tenor sax; Eric Burns, guitar; Chris Pattishall, piano; Adrian Moring, bass; Arthur Vint, drums

Wednesday, February 22, 8:30 PM

THE JOSTEIN GULBRANDSEN TRIO, CD RELEASE: RELEASE OF TENSION

Jostein Gulbrandsen, guitar; Ike Sturm, bass; Ronen Itzik, drums

Thursday, February 23, 8:30PM
JIM BLACK TRIO, CD RELEASE: SOMATIC ON WINTER & WINTER
Jim Black, drums; Teddy Klausner, piano; Chris Tordini, bass

Friday, February 24, 9:00 PM

MARIO PAVONE, MYTHOS SEXTET

Tony Malaby, tenor sax; Dave Ballou, cornet, trumpet; Craig Taborn, piano; Philippe Crettien, soprano sax, tenor sax; Gerald Cleaver, drums; Mario Pavone, bass, compositions

Saturday, February 25, 9:00 PM
DAVE LIEBMAN, RICHIE BEIRACH DUO

Sunday, February 26, 8:30 PM
CARNATIC SUNDAYS FEATURING RAJESWARI SATISH
Rajeswari Satish, vocals; Arun Ramamurthy, violin; Akshay Anantapadmanabhan, mridangam

Monday, February 27, 8:30 PM
CLASSICAL AT THE CORNELIA: NOVA
Gina Izzo, flute; Erika Dohi, piano

# # # #

"LIVE FROM CORNELIA STREET" PODCASTS

NOW AVAILABLE - Click Here to check out live performances from The Cafe

Awards & Distinctions:

"A CULINARY AS WELL AS A CULTURAL LANDMARK"

Proclamation, City of New York, 1987

One of Top 150 Jazz Venues in The World - DownBeat

Jazz Venue of The Year, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2011

- The NYC Jazz Record

Zagat Nightlife - Award of Distinction

New York Post's Must Bar

Poetry Calendar's Best Poetry Series in New York

Time Out's Top 100 Restaurants

The Village Voice's Best of New York Food

Village Arts Award Inspired Cuisine

Where Magazine Best Neighborhood Ambiance

Waterford Crystal Award of Distinction Best Wine-By-The-Glass Program.

RESONANCE RECORDS TO CELEBRATE WES MONTGOMERY AT INDIANAPOLIS' JAZZ KITCHEN, MARCH 6

2012-02-20T16:37:00.001-08:00

HOMETOWN EVENT WILL COMMEMORATE RELEASE OF
ECHOES OF INDIANA AVENUE & LATE GUITARIST'S 88TH BIRTHDAY

Look For The Review Of The Long Awaited Album, Here, On The Dirty Lowdown

FIRST FULL ALBUM OF PREVIOUSLY UNHEARD

MONTGOMERY MUSIC IN OVER 25 YEARS

RESONANCE & MONTGOMERY FAMILY DONATING
CHARITY AUCTION PROCEEDS TO AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION

In conjunction with the release of Wes Montgomery's Echoes of Indiana Avenue and the late guitarist's 88th birthday, Resonance Records announces an album release and birthday celebration event on Tuesday, March 6 at The Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis. The event will begin at 6:30pm and pay homage to the guitarist in his hometown, featuring performances by the The Indy Jazz Guitar Summit, as well as speeches by special guests, including Dr. David Baker, Robert Montgomery (Wes' son), Melvin Rhyne & Mingo Jones (both of whom are featured on the album), Duncan Schiedt (jazz photographer) and Zev Feldman (Echoes of Indiana Avenue producer and Executive Vice President & General Manager of Resonance Records). Additionally, WICR-FM host Chuck Workman will serve as the master of ceremonies for the event.
"I can't think of a better way to pay homage to Wes than to celebrate the new album and his birthday in his hometown," states Feldman. "We're honored to have the Montgomery Family's support and delighted to organize this event with the individuals who knew Wes and were a part of his life."
Additionally, Resonance Records recently commenced an eBay auction for the album, benefiting The American Heart Association (AHA). The winner will receive LP #0001 of a hand-serialized limited first edition pressing of 1,000 (which are already sold-out), as well as a sealed copy of Echoes of Indiana Avenue in CD format (with deluxe digi pack). All proceeds from the auction will benefit The American Heart Association in their ongoing efforts to raise awareness and prevention of heart disease (in honor of Montgomery, who died of a heart attack). The auction will end on Friday, February 24 at 20:42:31 EST.
Resonance & the Montgomery Family will present a check for the auction proceeds to Lynne Griffin (Cultural Health Initiatives Director for The American Heart Association) at the March 6 event.

CLICK HERE FOR AUCTION DETAILS

**
With a lot of sleuthing and a team of experts on the case, long lost tapes of Wes Montgomery have been discovered and restored. Resonance Records will release Echoes of Indiana Avenue - the first full album of previously unheard Montgomery music in over 25 years - on March 6, which would have been Montgomery's 88th birthday. Over a year and a half in the making, the release will provide a rare, revealing glimpse of a bona fide guitar legend. The tapes are the earliest known recordings of Montgomery as a leader, pre-dating his auspicious 1959 debut on Riverside Records. The album showcases Montgomery in performance from 1957-1958 at nightclubs in his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana, as well as rare studio recordings. The release is also beautifully packaged, containing previously unseen photographs and insightful essays by noted music writers and musicians alike, including guitarist Pat Martino and Montgomery's brothers Buddy and Monk.
**

Wes Montgomery

Album Release & Birthday Celebration @ The Jazz Kitchen

Tuesday, March 6 · 6:30pm

*$10 cover at venue*

*Call for advance dinner reservations*

5377 N College Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46220
Phone - (317) 253-4900
Web - thejazzkitchen.com

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH THE OFFICIAL PROJECT EPK ON YOUTUBE:

Wes Montgomery · Echoes of Indiana Avenue

Resonance Records HCD - 2011 · Release Date: March 6, 2012

For further information on this and other Resonance Records releases, visit: ResonanceRecords.org

Resonance Records is a program of the Rising Jazz Stars Foundation,

a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.

For media information, please contact:

DL Media · 610-667-0501

Jordy Freed · jordy@dlmediamusic.com

###

CD Review: “Stories From The Steeples” by Mary Black

2012-02-17T12:45:00.001-08:00

Stories From the Steeples

Mary Black could have named this album, Stories from the Hall Of Fame. She I join for duets on three tunes by the revered vocal likes of Janis Ian, the Irish legends, Finbar Furey and Imelda May, who has topped the Irish charts more than once.

And the tunes. Ahh, the tunes. The song writers are amongst the best breathing. “Fifi The Flea” by the Hollies, Graham Nash, Tony Hicks and Allan Clarke, Australia’s own Paul Kelly. There’s three tunes written by the lead singer of the Irish Pop/rock group The Coronas, proving that Danny O’Reilly is more than just a rocker.

And it’s fitting that Black receive this kind of support. Mary Black was a star in Ireland in the late ‘70s as a member of general Humbert, and in the early ‘80s she went solo. But it wasn’t until 1990, after winning the Irish Independent Arts Award For Music, that she crossed the pond. In ‘89, she cut the multi-Platinum album, No Frontiers. She was gaining audience and critical acclaim throughout the world. With sellout crowds in the U.S., England, Europe, and Japan under her belt, she cut the album The Holy Ground, which was certified Platinum the day it hit the streets.

That success brought the opportunity to not only bring her music to America, but a chance to headline along side legendary performers such as Emmylou Harris, Joan Baez, Mary Chapin Carpenter and fellow countryman, Van Morrison.

“Ring Them Bells” Mary Black & Joan Baez

You can tell from the video above that Mary Black sings traditional and contemporary folk songs. This isn’t the “new age” Celtic songs of Enya, nor is it the pop/rock of Sinead O’Connor, though in Ireland she is considered as much of a star female vocalist as either of them.

The songs on Stories From the Steeples are brilliant and beautiful, celebrating love, life, loss and struggle. Black’s voice is at once, strong yet fragile. It is so pure that it is easy to see why in the UK it is used to compare the fidelity of other musical offerings. When she sings a song like the anti-war plea, “All The Fine Men’ you can feel the sorrow, but also the hope. In the Ricky Lynch penned “Marguerite And The Gambler” you can feel the longing and lust in the doomed love affair. An innocent, beautiful girl is in love with a rogue gambler, and her father tries to save her.

When she sings the Imelda May Irish chart topper, “Mountains To The Sea” she makes it her own. And one of my favorite is the Paul Kelly tune (who we reviewed last summer, here on these pages), “the Night Was Dark And Deep”. Black turns this tune into Irish Soul music.

The album comes in two beautifully produced editions, Stories From the Steeples is the standard CD complete with a booklet where Black talks about what each song means to her, and she credits a long line of musicians as well.

And Stories from the Steeples: Special Edition which a Special 'book' edition includes three bonus tracks. It is beautifully created by Blix Records, who brought Black to the states way back when.

The Dirty Lowdown

Quad-core iPad 3 to be announced March 7?

2012-02-17T08:22:00.001-08:00

If the rumors prove true, an LTE, quad-core, Retina display iPad 3 will be announced on March 7 - but it's a big if!

It's been a busy week on the iPad 3 rumor mill, and things have progressed considerably with "reliable sources" suggesting an official iPad 3 announcement is likely on March 7. Further, the same sources indicate that the next iteration of Apple's tablet could be powered by a quad-core processor and include - as we already suspected - a Retina display. The Retina display like on the iPod Touch & iPhone 4, is the sharpest, most vibrant, highest-resolution display technology. There's some suggestion that the device could feature LTE connectivity (through AT&T)- though this latter point seems shrouded in uncertainty. Time to take the cautious stick to the iPad 3 rumor cauldron ...

The Dirty Lowdown

Free eBook for American Readers from Mike Faricy!

2012-02-17T06:22:00.001-08:00

For all my US readers. Today thru Saturday Amazon is offering a FREE download of Chow For Now. Crime fiction written with a sense of humor and even a little romance. Please get your copy and then tell 2-300 of your closest friends. Thanks, The US link follows Get It Now, Free!

“Sometime private eye, Dickie Mullins would be a lot better off if only he ignored ex-wife Rae Nell's get rich schemes. But then, that's not how Dickie operates. Rae Nell has just been hired by rip-off artist Terry Taggert to promote his unique line of steaks. What better way to introduce the dining public than an open house at Dickie's Emporium of Dance, a meat market of a slightly different nature. By the time the open house is concluded Rae Nell's fling with her boss Terry Taggert has erupted into a very public affair and Terry's wife, heiress Helen Hardy, is looking for justice. Meanwhile, Terry's assistant, Luther Suggs, is increasing the body count just as the health department closes down Dickie's Emporium of Dance. Did we mention the fur coat scandal? Fortunately for Dickie his girlfriend D.J. is still talking to him, and eventually he listens.
You're hooked from the first page to the final word of this hilarious read. Hang on tight for plot twists and turns sprinkled with wonderful surprises along the way. Another magnificent cast of Faricy's madcap characters and incredibly fast moving action make this a must read.”

"Faricy is America's hottest new mystery writer..." The Dirty Lowdown
"Lucky us - A hilarious tale, completely entertaining..." The Irish Gazette
"Delightfully amazing... You have to wonder what's going on in there..."
The Crime Wave
"Suspenseful crime fiction with a sense of humor and romance... Faricy is the Carl Hiaasen of Minnesota." Jail House Talk !

The Dirty Lowdown

BASSIST CHRISTIAN McBRIDE RECEIVES FIRST GRAMMY® AWARD AS LEADER FOR THE GOOD FEELING - "BEST LARGE JAZZ ENSEMBLE ALBUM"

2012-02-13T21:28:00.001-08:00

BASSIST CHRISTIAN McBRIDE RECEIVES
FIRST GRAMMY® AWARD AS LEADER FOR
THE GOOD FEELING - "BEST LARGE JAZZ ENSEMBLE ALBUM"

The Good Feeling

Mack Avenue Records bassist Christian McBride received his first GRAMMY® Award as a leader at the 54th Annual GRAMMY® Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles. McBride won in the "Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album" category for his big band debut, The Good Feeling.

"The project couldn't be more aptly titled," states McBride, reflecting on the win. "That's exactly how I feel!"

"As one of the most prolific musicians of his generation, Christian has won several GRAMMY® Awards as a sideman but had never been nominated as a leader," states Denny Stilwell, President of Mack Avenue Records. "When news broke that he received his first nomination for the ambitious big band project, we were thrilled for him. And now that he has won, we are even more thrilled. Congratulations, Christian!"

In 2011, in addition to The Good Feeling, McBride also released the critically-acclaimed album, Conversations With Christian (on November 8).

**
For over 20 years, McBride has appeared in numerous musical settings with just about any musician imaginable in the jazz as well as R&B and pop worlds. From playing with the likes of Milt Jackson, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny; to playing with and/or arranging for the likes of Isaac Hayes, Chaka Khan, Lalah Hathaway, Sting and the legendary James Brown, what has always been unique about McBride is his versatility. In addition to his work in the neo-soul arena with The Roots, D'Angelo, Queen Latifah and others, the Philadelphia native has also led his own ensembles: The Christian McBride Band, A Christian McBride Situation and his most recent group, "Inside Straight" (fresh off their critically acclaimed 2009 effort, Kind of Brown). There are many sides to the musical persona of McBride, and The Good Feeling has him realizing another one: as the leader, arranger and conductor of his big band.
McBride's first foray into the world of big band composing and arranging dates back to 1995, when he was commissioned by Jazz At Lincoln Center to write Bluesin' in Alphabet City, featured on The Good Feeling and originally debuted by Wynton Marsalis & The Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra. Since that time he has composed a number of pieces for larger ensembles including The Movement Revisited, a five movement suite dedicated to four of the major figures of the civil rights movement: Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
At McBride's core is The Good Feeling, his first full-fledged big band recording, that is presented in a truly impressive fashion. He sought the advice of some of the most accomplished arrangers around, such as Jimmy Heath and John Clayton; and referenced material by the likes of Oliver Nelson, Duke Ellington, Thad Jones and Don Sebesky, among others The album features classic, "staple" tunes along with original McBride compositions (the perfect balance and platform on which to showcase the band).
**

CHRISTIAN McBRIDE'S RECENT CRITICAL RECOGNITION:

NPR "All Things Considered" Interview

Associated Press Review

WNYC "Soundcheck" Interview & Performance

Los Angeles Times Review

Boston Globe Review

Philadelphia Inquirer Review

DownBeat Interview

(McBride's book agency).

Christian McBride · The Good Feeling and Conversations With Christian
Mack Avenue Records · Release Dates (respectively): Sept. 27, 2011 & Nov. 8, 2011

For more information on Christian McBride, please visit: christianmcbride.com

For media information, please contact:

DL Media · 610-667-0501

Jordy Freed · jordy@dlmediamusic.com

For press materials on Christian McBride, Mack Avenue artists or

Mack Avenue Record labels in general (including album covers, promotional photos and logos), please visit: media.mackavenue.com

MACK AVENUE · the road to great music · mackavenue.com

###

PDX Jazz @ Jimmy Mak's Presents Thelonious Monk Competition Winner Ben Williams

2012-02-13T19:10:00.001-08:00

Rising Star Ben Williams and Sound Effect

PDX Jazz @ Jimmy Mak's

Monday, March 12th @ 7:00 and 9:00pm

Photo Credit: Jati Lindsey

Thelonious Monk Competition Winner to make Portland Debut

PDX Jazz, the presenting organization of the Portland Jazz Festival, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Jimmy Mak's. The first program in the PDX Jazz @ Jimmy Mak's series will feature award-winning bassist Ben Williams and his quartet Sound Effect. Williams, winner of the prestigious 2009 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition will perform material from his Concord Jazz debut, State of Art, on Monday, March 12th @ 7:00 and 9:00pm.

The bassist/composer leads a quartet comprised of saxophonist Jaleel Shaw (Roy Haynes), Fender Rhodes player and acoustic pianist Christian Sands (Christian McBride), and drummer John Davis (Cassandra Wilson).

A Washington D.C. native, Williams grew up listening to a diverse range of sounds including jazz, hip-hop, R&B, gospel, and classical, which can all be heard in his music. Williams remarks,

"There's never a dull moment in jazz; you're always discovering something new. There's always something to be done that hasn't been done yet."

He is an esteemed student of music, graduating from the Duke Ellington School of Music and receiving a B.A. in Music Education at Michigan State University. Williams is pursuing a Master's degree in Jazz Studies at the illustrious Juilliard School. He has performed and worked with musicians such as: Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Roy Hargrove, Mulgrew Miller, Cyrus Chestnut, Ron Blake, Rodney Whitaker, Stefon Harris, Karriem Riggins, and many others. Williams was recently announced as iTunes "Jazz Breakthrough Artist of 2011."

Williams is also a member of the Pat Metheny Unity Band, a new quartet project from the guitarist which also comprises saxophonist Chris Potter and drummer Antonio Sanchez. The band will debut with tours in Europe and the U.S. this year.

"An opulent listening experience of modern, orchestral jazz, brimming with passionate improvisations, deliberate contrapuntal melodies and plush harmonies."

- John Murph, DownBeat Magazine

Ben Williams and Sound Effect

NPR Tiny Desk Concert

PDX Jazz @ Jimmy Mak's Present Ben Williams and Sound Effect

Monday, March 12th @ 7:00 and 9:00pm

Ben Williams - bass

Jaleel Shaw - saxophone

Christian Sands - Fender Rhodes & acoustic piano

John Davis - drums

Ticketing Info:

Guaranteed reserved seats (with dinner), at $20

General admission (seating not guaranteed), at $15

For online tickets, click here.

Coming April 30th: One night only, two shows

Three-time GRAMMY® nominated vocalist Tierney Sutton

Jimmy Mak's is located at:

221 NW 10th Ave. (between Davis and Everett)

503-295-6542
For more information on Jimmy Mak's, please visit: http://www.jimmymaks.com/

http://www.pdxjazz.com

For media information, contact:
Maureen McFadden @ maureen@dlmediamusic.com

###

CD Review: “The Alialujah Choir”

2012-02-13T13:58:00.001-08:00

The Alialujah Choir

Don’t be put off by the band, and albums, name. This is not church music….but maybe it should be…..

I hadn’t heard this Portland band before, and I couldn’t let any musicians with cross my home ground without giving them a listen. I am spectacularly glad I did, because what you find here, in their self titled album, is their love for roots folk music has created a beautiful and compelling work . The harmonies, which reach sacred heights, harken back to some of the giants that have graced the folk music scene since the late ‘50s. Less pop orientated than Peter Paul and Mary. The group is more evocative of the Seekers, at least to my ear.

“The Alialujah Choir is Adam Shearer and Alia Farah of Weinland, and Adam Selzer of Norfolk & Western and M. Ward.The album echoes the sincerity of the the band’s origin. Shearer, Selzer and Farah began writing and recording songs at Portland’s Type Foundry with no commercial ambitions. They simply wanted to take shelter from the chaos of touring and make music together.”

The songs presented here are wonderful in and of themselves, but the harmonies this trio attain lift the melodies to a meditative state of grace that is aimed for but seldom achieved.

A House A Home (trailer) from The Alialujah Choir on Vimeo.

It’s truly amazing what can happen when the passion for music is allowed to step to the forefront and any commercial ambitions, or desires to serve any master but the muse is shelved.

The songs here are filled with emotion, truths, humanity, and an openness that is both startling and welcome. Selzer’s skill as a producer and sound engineer at Type Foundry are gaining notice in the world of music. He has recorded The Decemberists, M. Ward, Peter Broderick, Laura Gibson, Minus 5, and recently Robert Deeble, who was recently reviewed on these pages.

The album will be released tomorrow, Valentines day and can be pre-ordered on Amazon by following this link: The Alialujah Choir.

It is a breath of fresh air when you hear a work that features no ego, no affectations or licentiousness. What you do get is a shared passion for making music, and a devotion to the songs. This is a debut album that bodes well for these three artist.

The Dirty Lowdown

Music In New York: This Week at The Cornelia Street Cafe - February 13-20, + Announcing a New Series at The Cafe

2012-02-13T12:01:00.001-08:00

The Cornelia Street Cafe is Proud to Announce

"Spotlight On New Talent"

A NEW monthly series, dedicated to showcasing some of the most brilliant up-and-coming jazz musicians

April 12 - Drummer Devin Gray CD Release featuring Ellery Eskelin, Mike Formanek & Dave Ballou!

# # # #

This Week at The Cafe, February 13-20:

Monday, February 13, 6:00 PM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANGSTON! Malesha Jessie, soprano; Ellen Mandel, piano; Denise Burse, actor; Michael Early, actor; Phillip James Brannon, actor
Tonight, as part of the ongoing series celebrating the birthdays of poets with words and music, we celebrate the life and work of Langston Hughes.
VALENTINE'S DAY - Tuesday, February 14, 9:00 PM
BLUE TUESDAYS: JAY CLAYTON
Jay Clayton, vocals; John di Martino, piano

Wed Feb 15, 8:30PM
NEW BRAZILIAN PERSPECTIVES:HELIO ALVES
Helio Alves, piano; Hans Glawischnig, bass; Rogerio Boccato, percussion; Alex Kautz, drums
Thursday, February 16, 8:30 PM
ARUAN ORTIZ QUINTET
Aruán Ortiz, piano; Noah Preminger, tenor sax; Brad Shepik, guitar; Rashaan Carter,, bass; Eric McPherson, drums

Friday, February 17, 9:00 PM
JED DISTLER, SOLO PIANO
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF THELONIOUS MONK
Jed Distler, piano

Saturday, February 18, 9:00 PM
JOHN MCNEIL'S URBAN LEGEND
John McNeil, trumpet; Bill McHenry, tenor sax; Steve Cardenas, guitar; Matt Penman, bass; Diego Voglino, drums
Sun Feb 19, 8:30PM
CLASSICAL AT THE CORNELIA: WASHINGTON SQUARE WINDS
Caryn Freitag, flute; Amy Yamashiro, oboe; Elyssa Plotkin, clarinet; Anna Morris, bassoon; Casey Cronan, horn
Sun Feb 19, 10:00PM
TOMOKO OMURA QUINTET
Tomoko Omura, violin; Glenn Zaleski, piano; Gilad Hekselman, guitar; Colin Stranahan, drums; Noah Garabedian, bass

# # # #

"LIVE FROM CORNELIA STREET" PODCASTS

NOW AVAILABLE - Click Here to check out live performances from The Cafe

Awards & Distinctions:

"A CULINARY AS WELL AS A CULTURAL LANDMARK"

Proclamation, City of New York, 1987

One of Top 150 Jazz Venues in The World - DownBeat

Jazz Venue of The Year, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2011

- The NYC Jazz Record

Zagat Nightlife - Award of Distinction

New York Post's Must Bar

Poetry Calendar's Best Poetry Series in New York

Time Out's Top 100 Restaurants

The Village Voice's Best of New York Food

Village Arts Award Inspired Cuisine

Where Magazine Best Neighborhood Ambiance

Waterford Crystal Award of Distinction Best Wine-By-The-Glass Program.

Upcoming HIGHLIGHTS at The Cornelia Street Cafe:

Wednesday, February 22, 8:30 PM

THE JOSTEIN GULBRANDSEN TRIO, CD RELEASE: RELEASE OF TENSION

Jostein Gulbrandsen, guitar; Ike Sturm, bass; Ronen Itzik, drums

Thursday, February 23, 8:30PM
JIM BLACK TRIO, CD RELEASE: SOMATIC ON WINTER & WINTER
Jim Black, drums; Teddy Klausner, piano; Chris Tordini, bass

Friday, February 24, 9:00 PM

MARIO PAVONE, MYTHOS SEXTET

Tony Malaby, tenor sax; Dave Ballou, cornet, trumpet; Craig Taborn, piano; Philippe Crettien, soprano sax, tenor sax; Gerald Cleaver, drums; Mario Pavone, bass, compositions

Saturday, February 25, 9:00 PM
DAVE LIEBMAN, RICHIE BEIRACH DUO
Dave Liebman, tenor sax; Richie Beirach, piano

Cornelia Street is proud to present a rare duo appearance of jazz icons David Liebman and Richie Beirach

Sunday, February 26, 8:30 PM
CARNATIC SUNDAYS FEATURING RAJESWARI SATISH
Rajeswari Satish, vocals; Arun Ramamurthy, violin; Akshay Anantapadmanabhan, mridangam

Wednesday, February 29, 8:30 PM
BLUE TUESDAYS: SHEILA JORDAN AND JAY CLAYTON!
Sheila Jordan, vocals; Jay Clayton, vocals; Jack Wilkins, guitar; Cameron Brown, bass

For the full schedule of music, theatre and literary/spoken word events please contact Red Cat Publicity or visit www.corneliastreetcafe.com

# # # #

LISTINGS INFORMATION:

Venue: The Cornelia Street Café

"A Culinary As Well A Cultural Landmark"

Proclamation, City of New York, 1987

For reservations and more info call 212 989 9319, located at 29 Cornelia Street, Greenwich Village, NYC 10014, email us - info@corneliastreetcafe.com

Event: Feb 13-20 @ The Cornelia Street Café

Showtimes: Weeknights: 6:00 PM, 8:30 PM, 10:00 PM, Weekends: 6:00 PM, 9:00 PM and 10:30 PM (doors open @ 5:45 PM-early shows, & @ 8:30 PM-late shows)

Cover Charges + Minimums: Sun-Thurs-$10 cover + $10 minimum, Fri-Sat-$15 cover + $10 minimum, cover charges may vary, please consult the website, as of March 1 the cover charges will be as follows: $20 (includes a drink) weeknights and Sundays, $25 (includes a drink) on weekends

Press Enquiries on the Cornelia Street Cafe,

Please Contact: Jason Paul Harman Byrne - Red Cat Publicity

Tel (347) 578 7601, Email Redcatjazz@mac.com

Prez Fest 2012 Celebrating Dizzy Gillespie

2012-02-13T05:35:00.001-08:00

The Jazz Committee,

Midtown Arts Common

at Saint Peter’s Church

Presents

Prez Fest 2012

Celebrating Dizzy Gillespie:

Trumpeter, Composer, Arranger, Bandleader

and NEA Jazz Master

Featuring Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra,
David Sanchez Quartet
The New York University Jazz Orchestra conducted by
Rich Shemaria
featuring “Special Guest Trumpeter”
and other festival participants:
Donald L. Maggin, Stanley Crouch, Gary Giddins, Jimmy Heath, Mike Longo & Jeanie Bryson
Sunday, March 4, 2012
619 Lexington (at 54^th Street), New York City
New York, NY – The Jazz Committee, Midtown Arts Common at Saint Peter’s Church, will present
“Prez Fest 2012 – Celebrating Dizzy Gillespie.” The festival takes place on Sunday, March 4 with a panel discussion on Dizzy Gillespie at 3:30 PM, Jazz Vespers at 5 PM and Concert at 7:30 PM “From Big Band to Bebop to Afro Cuban – The Music of Dizzy Gillespie” includes Dizzy’s celebratory Afro Latin pieces for big band, arrangements of classic pieces for big band and small ensemble as well as Dizzy Gillespie-inspired compositions.
“Dizzy Gillespie (1917 – 1993) trumpeter and a founding father of modern jazz, was a major figure in 20^th-century American music. His signature moon cheeks and bent trumpet make him one of the world’s most instantly recognizable figures. In a nearly 60-year career as a composer, band leader and innovative player, he had a major effect on the jazz world. In the early 40’s, along with alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, he initiated be-bop, the sleek, intense, high-speed revolution that has become jazz’s most enduring style. In subsequent years, he incorporated Afro-Cuban music into jazz, creating a new genre from the combination. In 1956 he formed a big band which,at the behest of the United States State Department, toured the Middle East and South America. In the last decade of his life he became ubiquitous on the concert circuit as a special guest. He had a Latin band and small groups. In the naturally effervescent Gillespie, opposites existed. His playing was meteoric, full of virtuosic invention and deadly serious. But with his endlessly funny asides, his huge variety of facial expressions and his natural comic gifts, he was as much a pure entertainer as an accomplished artist. In some ways, he seemed to sum up all the possibilities of American popular art.” Peter Watrous – The New York Times, January 7, 1993.
“His playing showcases the importance of intelligence. His rhythmic sophistication was unequaled. He was a master of harmony – and fascinated with studying it. He took in all the music of his youth – from Roy Eldridge to Duke Ellington – and developed a unique style built on complex rhythm and harmony balanced by wit.” Wynton Marsalis Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life.
Donald L. Maggin, author of Dizzy—The Life and Times of John Birks Gillespie, will moderate the panel The Life and Continuing Legacy of Dizzy Gillespie at 3:30 PM. Panelists include Stanley Crouch, Gary Giddins, Jimmy Heath and Mike Longo. The David Sanchez Quartet leads the music at Jazz Vespers at 5 PM. The 7:30 PM concert emceed by Jeanie Bryson showcases two big bands: The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra led by Arturo O’Farrill and the New York University Jazz Orchestra conducted by Rich Shemaria, featuring “Special Guest Trumpeter.” The David Sanchez Quartet also performs.
Prez Fest is an annual jazz festival that showcases the talents of jazz legends no longer with us and about whom people should learn more. Over the past several years Billie Holiday, Billy Strayhorn, Art Blakey and Gil Evans have been celebrated. The name “Prez Fest” blossomed out of “To Prez with Love,” an annual tribute to Lester Young held at Saint Peter’s for more than 30 years.
The Jazz Committee, Midtown Arts Common at Saint Peter’s Church, produces Prez Fest. Other events produced by The Jazz Committee include All Nite Soul, Jazz on the Plaza (free Thursday concerts at midday, May-August at 53^rd and Lexington), and First Tuesdays, (a free professional development seminar series for musicians) in collaboration with Chamber Music America.
Prez Fest 2012 is made possible in part with public funds from the Fund for Creative Communities, supported by the New York State Council on the Arts and the Manhattan Community Arts Fund, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.
Prez Fest 2012 – Celebrating Dizzy Gillespie takes place on Sunday, March 4 at Saint Peter’s Church at 619 Lexington Avenue (at 54^th Street.) 3:30 PM: Panel moderated by Gillespie’s biographer Donald L. Maggin with Stanley Crouch, Gary Giddins, Jimmy Heath and Mike Longo. Free The Dizzy Gillespie Legend Wall – an exhibit about Dizzy. 5 PM: Jazz Vespers — music of Dizzy Gillespie led by David Sanchez Quartet. Free Will Offering 7:30 PM: Concert — Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, David Sanchez Quartet, and”Special Guest Trumpeter” with the New York University Jazz Orchestra. $25 Suggested Donation for tickets available at the door. $10 student suggested ticket donation with student ID. $20 tickets available in advance at www.saintpeters.org/events 212 935 2200. “E” train to Lexington Avenue or “# 6” to 51^st Street.

Contacts: Co-Chair Jazz Committee: Lynne Mueller 917 207 4953
Director of Music for the Jazz Ministry: Ike Sturm 212 935 2200

DENVER COMIC CON ANNOUNCES HIGH CALIBER CELEBRITY GUESTS, ARTISTS, EXHIBITORS AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES'

2012-02-12T10:24:00.001-08:00

DENVER COMIC CON ANNOUNCES HIGH CALIBER CELEBRITY GUESTS, ARTISTS, EXHIBITORS AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES'

Feb. 8th, 2012, Denver CO: Denver Comic Con and Literary Conference is excited to announce a legion of celebrity guests, renowned comic book talent and international exhibitors for the Mile High City’s first full scale comic and pop culture convention. The 3 day event will kick off on Father’s Day weekend with a cast of talent that reads like the who’s who of Hollywood Heroes, Sci Fi, and Animation, including; Kristin Bauer (True Blood), Michael Uslan (Exec. Producer - The Dark Knight Rises, The Dark Knight, Batman Begins), Billy West (Futurama, Ren & Stimpy, Looney Tunes), Tom Kane (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Wolverine and the X-Men, The Powerpuff Girls), Jasika Nicole (FRINGE, She’s Out of My League, Take the Lead), Mark Ryan (Transformers), Steven Seagle (Ben 10, Generator Rex, Ultimate Spider-Man), and Greg Weisman (Gargoyles, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Young Justice). Exciting new comic book guests include Eisner Award winner Georges Jeanty (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Amy Reeder (Batwoman, Madame Xanadu, Fool’s Gold), Mike Grell (Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Action Comics), Peter Gross (Unwritten, Lucifer, Book’s of Magic), Ethan Nicolle (Axe Cop, Chumble Puzz) and Golden Age artist Allen Bellman (Captain America Comics, The Human Torch, Sub-Mariner Comics) among others.

[For a complete list click here.]

Since September 2011, the locally based Comic Book Classroom (an after school program teaching underserved children to read through comics) has gradually built an impressive roster of talent for their largest fundraiser to date - Denver Comic Con. Set to take place at the Colorado Convention Center in trendy downtown Denver, the benefit boasts a high caliber celebrity lineup coupled with education and literary opportunities spanning the five days surrounding Father’s Day weekend.
In just a few short months, CBC has amassed over 275 local volunteers for the pop culture conference, highlighting the best and brightest artists of Denver and from around the world, with an array of programming opportunities, colorful exhibitions, and the recent addition of Tokyo Japan’s own Manga University (Manga Publisher and educator). Denver Comic Con also boasts visually appealing appearances from the cosplay community (elaborately costumed capers), video gaming competitions, workshops, autograph signings, and special programming, all culminating in a fan-centric awards ceremony on the last day of the con. All of the proceeds raised from the Denver Comic Con will benefit the CBC, which is currently active in 8 Colorado area schools.
Throughout the weekend the comic convention will feature an overwhelming number of celebrity guests ranging from the red carpet to the book publishing bullpen. With a number of respected names already listed, the convention is putting its best foot forward for its first year including Kristen Bauer best known as Pam, the icy, foul-mouthed, scene-stealing vampire on HBO’s hit series, True Blood. The three day event will also feature Michael Uslan, best known for his Hollywood credits in the Batman franchise such as the The Dark Knight and the much anticipated trilogy-ending finale, The Dark Knight Rises. He is a perfect fit for the con as he is an authority on comic book history as instructor of the first accredited university courses on comic books (Indiana University 1971) as well as the first textbook on comic books (The Comic Book in America).
The Denver Comic Con will also feature a number of big guns from the animation world including star voice actors Billy West and Tom Kane. West is best known for his voice-work on Ren & Stimpy, Doug and Futurama where he originated fan favorites, Philip J. Fry (Futurama) and Stimpy (Ren and Stimpy). Tom Kane, best known as the Voice of Yoda in Star Wars The Clone Wars, has a tremendous vocal range that has led to a busy career. Every week, he records literally dozens of movie trailers, commercials, network TV promos, video games and cartoons. In addition to voicing Yoda, he has voiced lead roles in The Powerpuff Girls, Robot Chicken, Kim Possible, The Avengers, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Iron Man, The Wild Thornberrys, Wolverine and the X-Men and many more. Lastly, Colorado’s own Steven T. Seagle will be returning to Denver for a spotlight appearance at the con. Seagle is a comic book and television writer known for his work as the creator of the international boys’ action series BEN-10 franchise and his numerous shows are part of regular programming on the Cartoon Network and in a forthcoming series from Marvel/Disney.
Preceding the Denver Comic Con on June-13th-15th, event producers are also hosting a one-of-a-kind literary conference featuring keynote speaker Scott McCloud and special guests, James Bucky Carter, Robert Weiner and Charles Hatfield for the inaugural Rocky Mountain Conference on Comics and Graphic Novels at the Hyatt Regency directly across from the Convention Center. Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss the academics of graphic storytelling with some of the nation’s top comic-centric literary talent and scholars.
The Denver Comic Con and Literary Conference is set to take place on Father’s Day weekend on June 13th-17th. For ticketing information, hotel discounts and for up-to-date announcements about the convention check out the official website at www.denvercomiccon.com and www.comicbookclassroom.org to learn more.

- ### -

HELP PROMOTE THE DENVER COMIC CON WITH A BANNER!!
.
COMPLETE ARTIST AND GUEST LIST:
Movies/TV Guests
Kristin Bauer
Jasika Nicole
Michael Uslan
Mark Ryan
Animation Guests
Billy West
Tom Kane
Steven Seagle
Greg Weisman
Comic Book Guests
Barry Kitson
Jason Aaron
James O'Barr
Gail Simone
Bob Layton
Georges Jeanty
Amy Reeder
Rebekah Isaacs
Mike Grell
Mike Allred
Peter Gross
Michael Zulli
Ed Stein
Mike Keefe
Sean Gordon Murphy
Allen Bellman
Mike Baron
Katie Cook
Ethan Nicolle
Noah Van Sciver
Zach Howard
David Uslan
Ron Fortier
Literary Guests
Scott McCloud
James Bucky Carter
Robert Weiner
Charles Hatfield
ABOUT DENVER COMIC CON: DCC/LC is Denver’s premiere fan experience, covering the worlds of comic books, film, and related media, taking place June 15-17, 2012 at the Colorado Convention Center. For the latest news and information, visit www.denvercomiccon.com
ABOUT THE LITERARY CONFERENCE:
The Rocky Mountain Conference on Comics and Graphic Novels serves as the literary conference component of Denver Comic Con and will take place from June13-15, 2012. RMCGG is devoted solely to the scholarly study and teaching of the sequential arts, and is currently accepting proposals from nearly any field of study and across the disciplines, such as art, theory, history, and pedagogy. Please see http://www.denvercomiccon.com/literarycon/call-for-papers/for more details.
ABOUT COMIC BOOK CLASSROOM: Comic Book Classroom is a nonprofit organization that educates through alternative approaches to literacy, learning, and character development. CBC creates programs for underserved students, schools, and communities via comic books, graphic novels, and related media. CBC’s Executive Director, Illya Kowalchuk, M.Ed., will run the educational programming for the convention. CBC is the organizer and producer for the DCC/LC. www.comicbookclassroom.org
Contact:
Ami Heinrich
ami@tsnunamipublicity.com
303.442.1139 xt. 700
Tsunami Publicity

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EMILY LAZAR POISED TO BECOME FIRST FEMALE MASTERING ENGINEER TO WIN ALBUM OF THE YEAR GRAMMY

2012-02-12T09:52:00.001-08:00

EMILY LAZAR POISED TO BECOME FIRST FEMALE MASTERING ENGINEER TO WIN ALBUM OF THE YEAR GRAMMY

(standing L-R: Joe LaPorta, Butch Vig, Pat Smear, James Brown, Chris Shiflett, Taylor Hawkins;

seated L-R: Nate Mendel, Emily Lazar, Dave Grohl)

Photo courtesy of The Lodge

"Not only was it an honor to work with Emily Lazar on "Wasting Light", but an incredible (and historic) privilege to have worked with the first female mastering engineer to be nominated in the album of the year category! We're very, very excited for her."--Dave Grohl

Emily Lazar, President and Chief Mastering Engineer of The Lodge, may well become the first female mastering engineer ever to win the most coveted honor at this year's Grammy Awards: She is up for Album of the Year for her work on Foo Fighters' "Wasting Light" album.

Lazar's discography encompasses every genre including but not limited to work with David Bowie, Lou Reed, Morrissey, The Shins, LCD Soundsystem, Vampire Weekend, Depeche Mode, Bjork, Wu Tang Clan, Garbage and literally dozens more over the last fifteen years--not to mention soundtrack credits ranging from Training Day to HBO's Six Feet Under.

Lazar was already amassing an incredible resume'--having worked at Masterdisk on albums by the likes of Paul McCartney, Luscious Jackson and more--by the time her alma mater NYU invited her to teach in their Music Technology Graduate program in 1996. It was during that time she opened her own mastering facility in her apartment where the early incarnations of The Lodge were born. She quickly became recognized for her talent and ability to combine old school analog mastering techniques with modern digital technologies and became a highly sought after mastering engineer in the New York music and studio scene. It didn't take long before she needed to expand her operations and by 1997 she relocated and settled The Lodge in the heart of Greenwich village at its current location.

Lazar will be joining the Foo Fighters at the 2012 Grammy Awards February 12 at the Staples Center, as well as at various related events leading up to the ceremony that week in Los Angeles. She'll be the one looking young and lovely and nothing like what you'd expect from an established mastering engineer.

For more information contact Laura Eldeiry at

laura@nastylittleman.com or visit www.thelodge.com

Nasty Little Man PR | 110 Greene Street | Ste. 605 | New York | NY | 10012

CD Review: Robert Deeble “Heart Like Feathers”

2012-02-11T14:44:00.001-08:00

Heart Like Feathers

Seattle’s Robert Deeble has been busy, lately. After a six year hiatus from making records, he is releasing Heart Like Feathers. A mainstay on the indie folk scene since 1994, Deeble says "I felt my personal life starting to slip,I wanted to re-build who I am at home and not on the road."

That story is told clearly in the songs on Heart Like Feathers. "Undertow," the first single which will have a “B” Side cover of Bob Dylan’s “Ring Them Bells”, grapples with the struggle of fidelity in a relationship. "Or infidelity depending how you view it," elaborates Deeble. Here’s the track, “Ring Them Bells”, which is not included on the album.

Joining Deeble in creating this wonderfully introspective folk album is folk heroine Victoria Williams, named one of the 100 greatest living song writers by Paste Magazine. The album also features Stephen Hodges (drummer with Tom Waits and Mavis Staples) on percussion, Ric Hordinski (co-founder of noted Americana band Over The Rhine) with guitar on "Eucharist" and "The Colors of Dying" and Anna Lynne
Williams of ethereal dream-pop band Trespassers William with vocals on "Undertow."

Jeremy Summer is on Bass, Drummer Jeremy Dybash (formerly with Velour 100, Damien Jurado and Rosie Thomas), Neal Vickers on Cello and Lili De La Mora on additional Backing Vocals. Amanda Lawrence appears on Viola and Tim Westcott supplies “ambience.”

Deeble’s voice reminds me a bit of John Lennon in places, and there are no doubt influences from that place. I also here a bit of James Taylor, in the personal delivery and nature of the songs themselves.

Robert Deeble “Eucharist”

The album is filled with wonderfully produced music that is perfect for quiet times, and meditating on life challenges and rewards. Deeble is a talented singer and song writer which is evidenced, not only by this long awaited album, but by his career recording and performing with the likes of Sam Phillips, Low, and Pedro The Lion over the years. He is a talent to be reckoned with. Oh, by the way, that six year hiatus resulted in not only the new record but also a family – Deeble and his wife recently became foster parents to a baby girl that they have raised since she was three days old. Let’s hope it’s not six more years before we hear more from him.

The Dirty Lowdown

CD Review: Elephant Micah “Louder Than Thou”

2012-02-11T13:01:00.001-08:00

Louder Than Thou

Louder Than Thou is the latest album from the underground folk mad scientist, Elephant Micah who is known as Joseph O’Connell at family reunions. O’Connell’s day job is as a folklorist, helping document grassroots music communities. That cataloging of folk and roots music seeps into his own songs to produce tunes that are at once familiar folk tunes, yet somehow morph into something else much as the jazz of Charlie Parker morphed into avant-jazz in the hands of Ornette Coleman.

Let’s call it avant-roots. First, O’Connell is an amazingly talented song writer with a more than passable voice. His sense of harmony, and his voice itself would have fit wonderfully into, say, The Eagles. But the traditional instrumentation of acoustic guitars, lap dulcimers, gentle use of drums and percussion which fit nicely into that ‘70s singer song writer mode, are joined by electronic noise, sound effects, textural play and ensemble improvisation. It may sound weird in words, but believe me, it works in sound in wonderful ways.

Elephant Micah “If I Were A Surfer”

WIRE magazine said this: “A beautiful slice of narcoleptic folk that captures the lugubrious nothing-to-do feel of late summer days as well as the slow motion dance of dust in a ray of sunlight.”

And NPR Music/WNYC’s Spinning On Air: “Elephant Micah makes songs and tosses them, like messages in bottles, into the vast figurative oceans surrounding Indiana. Joe O'Connell has been performing and recording as Elephant Micah for 10 years, creating songs gracefully poised between the poetic and the plainspoken.”

A number of the tunes are almost trance like in the slow beat and delivery. It makes for a very effective delivery of the lyric. Contrary to the title, the music isn’t loud in the traditional sense. It’s the imagery, the story itself that is loud.

Louder Than Thou is a low-fi, minimalist, revelatory work, and a haunting take on American folk music. What’s more amazing is he has been doing this for some ten years now alongside other masters of post-roots mood music such as Califone and Sun Kil Moon yet, he remains mostly a well kept secret.

The record follows an already extensive catalogue of limited, home-produced, and otherwise difficult-to-find recordings, which have circulated far and wide among a small yet dedicated fan base. This music’s cult also includes peer musicians like Magnolia Electric Co., Dark Dark Dark, and Breathe Owl Breathe, who have toured with, accompanied, or covered the songs of Elephant Micah. Follow the link above to further explore his sound.

The Dirty Lowdown

CD Review: Aimer et Perdre - To Love & To Lose Songs 1917 - 1934

2012-02-10T16:29:00.001-08:00

Aimer Et Perdre: To Love & Lose Songs 1917-1934

Want an unusual Valentines gift for the music lover in your house? This would be hard to beat. This is truly one from the heart. The unique pre-war music of the Cajun
bayous, the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine and Poland, and the American rural countryside has been collected to narrate the human odyssey of love gained and love lost. Early songs of unbridled anticipation and desperate longing color the canvas of love, courtship, dejection and marriage... a never-ending cycle. The accompanying 60-page booklet features many rare, previously unpublished images and comprehensive lyrical translation. Three original artworks by Robert Crumb provide a backdrop for these sublime songs of passion and despair. Respectfully crafted by Christopher King and Susan Archie for Tompkins Square. 36 Songs on 2CDs. Pre order it now at Amazon.

Tompkins Square specializes in folk and ethnic music as well as period specific music collected from the history of the U.S. and other country’s from around the world.

The Dirty Lowdown

CD Review: “Digging Me, Digging You” Amy Cervini

2012-02-10T11:54:00.001-08:00

Digging Me Digging You

On this, her third album, Amy Cervini pays tribute to one of her childhood idols, Blossom Dearie. Dearie was the original jazz pixie, she was a little lady with a little girls voice. She played piano and sang and was most known as one of the last “supper club” performers. More of an entertainer than an jazz adventurer, she had a small but pure voice and an impeccable swinging sense of rhythm.

Miles Davis and Gil Evans were among her famous fans, and John Lennon, of all people, would become a big fan in the late ‘60s. She once said her key influences included Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and the team of George Burns & Gracie Allen. That speaks volumes about the nature of her music and the importance of humor therein, particularly mischievous, impish humor. Jazz vocal authority Will Friedwald described the storytelling in her singing as being like a striptease, "giving up secrets only slowly and reluctantly." She wasn’t vampish. She never sold sex appeal, but she was hip enough to hang with Miles and Gil. And she brought a certain playfulness to her songs.

Amy Cervini is the perfect choice to reinterpret Dearie’s works. The songs she has selected from Dearie’s catalog include something for the jazz purist, something for the cabaret lover and something for the music lover in general. Cervini is know on her previous two albums for crossing genres, and with Dearie’s music, she does the same. Time Out New York has praised Cervini's work for "tearing down boundaries between old and new jazz styles, rock, pop, country and more – a reminder of Duke Ellington’s old axiom that there’s just two kinds of music, good and bad."

Amy Cervini Quartet

The album opens with "Everything I Got Belongs to You," a Rodgers & Hart number, which is a perfect mix of swing and sly wit. Track 2 is Dearie’s own "I Like You, You're Nice". Other highlights are the Dave Frishberg tongue in cheek, “My Attorney Bernie” co-written with Dearie’ pal, Bob Dorough. The title track is drawn from the song Dearie wrote for John Lennon, “Hey John” says it well, “ you’re digging me digging you” . Also, don’t pass over “Once Upon A Summertime”, the title track of of Dearie’ 1959 album that inspired her pals, Gil Evans and Miles Davis to cut their own versions a couple years later. It’s a beautiful tune and make’s you realize that Dearie wasn’t just a novelty voice on the jazz scene.

But, speaking of double entendre, have a little fun on “I’m Shadowing You” (written by Dearie and Johnny Mercer) which has a great guitar part by Jessie Lewis followed by a super clarinet by Anat Cohen, who is becoming a regular on these pages (see the review of 3 Cohen's from Nov.). “A Doodlin’ Song” is another Bob Dorough tune that’s fun, and I love Cervini’s take on “Tea For Two” cut at half speed, it sounds fresh and morphs into a different animal than we are used to.

Amy Cervini is from Canada and is yet another product of the jazz Mecca, The New England Conservatory. Cervini has recorded two previous solo albums – Lovefool (2009, Orange Grove) and Famous Blue (2007, Orange Grove) – which saw her range interpretively from Cole Porter, Billie Holiday and Leonard Cohen to the Cardigans, Feist and Depeche Mode. Live, she has performed in clubs and concert halls from Toronto to Tel Aviv and in prime New York venues. You’ll love this January 2012 release.

The Dirty Lowdown

CD Review: Jack DeJohnette “Sound Travels”

2012-02-09T11:45:00.001-08:00

Sound Travels

Filled with Latin rhythms, Caribbean passion merging perfectly with contemplative meditations and some straight ahead jazz, legendary jazz drummer Jack DeJohnette delivers up a disk that feels much younger than his 70 years. There’s even a tune that should light up the album orientated rock stations, the bluesy tune with a 7/4 time signature, “Dirty Ground” with Bruce Hornsby on vocals.

Other co-conspirators in this marvelous work include Bobby McFerrin on vocals and percussion and last years surprise Grammy Winner, Esperanza Spalding on acoustic and electric bass as well as an improv vocal on one tune. Joining them are new talents Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet and Lionel Loueke on guitar, plus jazz main-stays, saxophonist Tim Ries, percussionist Luisito Quintero and on one track pianist Jason Moran.

Perhaps the most influential jazz drummer of the last half of the 20th century, Jack DeJohnette was one of the first drummers to incorporate free jazz and world music into his playing, all the while maintaining that deep groove of jazz and R&B in his style. Consequently, he was drawn to play with some of the greatest players and composers in the post bebop era. He played with Bill Evans in 1968 on the acclaimed Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Then, in ‘69 he became a mainstay with the Miles Davis group and a key component of Davis’ master piece of fusion, Bitches Brew.

He’s led several groups since the early ‘70s, including Compost, a jazz-rock group, Directions (with John Abercrombie, Alex Foster, Warren Bernhardt, and Mike Richmond); New Directions (with Abercrombie, Lester Bowie, and Eddie Gomez); Gateway (with John Abercrombie and Dave Holland); and Special Edition (with David Murray, Chico Freeman, Arthur Blythe, Peter Warren, and others). Since the 1980s, he has been a member of what has become known as Keith Jarrett's Standards Trio alongside Jarrett and Gary Peacock. In 2003 he formed Trio Beyond with Larry Golding on organ, and guitarists John Scofield.The trio is a tribute to the great Tony Williams Lifetime trio. He also plays as a member of the Bruce Hornsby Trio.

Jack DeJohnette - Sound Travels from Normal Life Pictures on Vimeo.

This album displays wonderful melodies and deep grooves and DeJohnette composed all the tunes. He also plays piano (his first instrument) on nearly all the tracks and his passion and tenderness are apparent on the two “bookend” lyrical solos that start and end the album. The addition of Esperanza Spalding on some of the tracks is pure genius, and she improvises beautifully over the chord changes in “Salsa For Luisito”.

One other highlight song is “Sonny Light”, a tribute to the great Sonny Rollins. It’s a dance tune dripping in Caribbean rhythms and featuring the nylon-string guitar mastery of Lionel Loueke. And, you’ll enjoy the angular melody of “Indigo Dreamscape” and it’s smooth groove. This is a new arrangement of the tune, first heard on DeJohnette’s 1990 Parallel Realities album which featured Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny. The new arrangement makes room for Spalding on bass and the horn section. It’s a nice track and feels fresh and full of light.

Sound Travels is a welcome addition, and a great present to himself on this milestone birth year. It’ll make you smile, it’ll make you move and it’ll make you relax and forget the troubles in your life and in the world for just a little while.

The Dirty Lowdown

CD Review: Candy Dulfer “Crazy”

2012-02-08T13:05:00.001-08:00

Crazy

Though you usually find her albums in the “Smooth Jazz’ section, Dulfer’s music has always been about more than ‘just jazz’. She strays, or more correctly invades the lands of funk, R&B, soul, pop, techno and more. No country is safe when this sexy, high-energy , seemingly out-of-control, but always calculating lady steps on the stage or into the studio.

This marks the 22nd years since her debut album, Saxuality, in 1990. That album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album .But, take note. She was only 21 years old when that album was cut. And even then, she was no stranger to the stage having opened for none other than Madonna at 17. At 18, Prince invited her on stage to play an improvised solo during one of his European shows. At 19 Dulfer appeared in Prince's "Partyman" video. Also, leading up to her debut recording, Dulfer worked with the Eurythmics and Pink Floyd, live, at Knebworth in 1990. Not a bad resume before your 21st birthday.

“Crazy” Candy Dulfer

Once again, Candy has pushed the limits on Crazy to make an album that is high-energy, dancable, funky, sexy and fun. A good deal of the thirteen tracks you’ll find here were co-written and produced by multi-instrumentalist Printz Board - whose mile-long list of credits includes musical director for the Black Eyed Peas for more than a
decade, as well as work with a broad range of artists: Macy Gray, Mariah Carey, Sergio Mendes Gomez, Katy Perry, Burt Bacharach and dozens more.

"I wanted to return to working with Ulco Bed, a great guitarist and my
songwriter partner since we were both very young," says Candy, a
native of the Netherlands and the daughter of jazz saxophonist Hans
Dulfer. "We hadn't recorded together for a long time, so I was looking
forward to connecting with him again. But I also wanted to work with
someone who could show me something new, something I'd never done
before. When I met Printz, I knew right away that we could do
something great together. I was surprised at how easy it was. I would
put a beat down and just play a few licks, and it would be enough to
inspire him to put together a whole chord sequence and write a song."

In many way, that statement defines Dulfer; respecting the past and embracing the new. It’s that versatility that keeps her music fresh and up-to-date, while still being enjoyable to the traditionalist.

Like every other CD that I have of hers, Crazy kicks off like a party. Literally! The opening track is a red hot
saxophone riff, with all the chatter, clinking ice cubes, and noise of a very righteous party. It all comes to a halt when a neighbor hollers out, demanding some quiet.

Not a snowballs chance, baby. The title track picks up where the party noise leaves off, and keeps the intensity level well beyond the acceptable range of peace and quiet. Built on a call-and-response between Printz's lyrics and Candy's punchy alto riffs. It is this “live feeling” that marks Dulfer’s albums with a vital energy and brings the listener right into the party. You’ll find your self trying to flag down a bartender, even if you’re sitting in your living room.

The album continues exploring different tempos and moods through "Hey Now" , “Flame”, ‘Good Music’ and the beautiful, spontaneous and, yes, complicated "Complic8ted Lives". The chord progression in the sax line is very interesting, even without the vocal track on top. Before you know it, the neighbors are back. One tries to call the party, but of course, no one hears.

"Electric Blue" is next, inspired by the neon lights of Tokyo. Dulfer plays quirky sax lines over a rap track. The tune swings, and not like Glenn Miller. "Get your ass on the floor." commands Printz, and you’re apt to obey.

“In Or Out” is a slow R&B vocal track. then there is “I Do”, a sext dance number before Printz indulges his fascination with the vocorder on "Rocket, Rocket," a track that morphs his voice into an electronic layer that merges seamlessly with his keys and Candy's fresh alto licks.

The party progresses from there with “No End, even after the police arrive at the door, accompanied by the same irritated neighbor. But the music keeps coming for just a bit longer.

In the home stretch, it's the sultry and suggestive "Please Don't Stop," followed by the "Too Close," a quiet instrumental ballad that shifts the festivities into a more laid back vibe.

Once again Candy Dulfer has made a CD that will appeal to a wide audience, from the boulevard cruisers, to the house party dancers and even the jazz fan.

Dulfer’s band is on tour now, in Japan and Europe through April, check her web site for venue’s and dates.

The Dirty Lowdown

CD Review” “Beautiful and Wild” by Amelia White

2012-02-07T11:04:00.001-08:00

Beautiful and Wild

The first impression I got was a voice like a young Ronstadt with a definite Dixie hue; passionate, pure, made to sing poetry. In many ways her voice IS the album title - Beautiful and Wild - although the title was inspired by someone else.

The music, despite the Nashville pedigree, is more folk music, maybe folk/pop Roots Music, Americana, than country. The influence are drawn from a large swath of musical history; The Beatles (listen to the way “Skeleton Key” matches the guitar notes – played marvelously by Doug Lancio – to the lyric the way The Beatles did “I Want You”) The Stones, Neil Young, a thousand blues men and women and a splash of James Taylor for tenderizer.

The lyrics are poetry, with mysterious hidden meanings, not narratives. The themes and imagery of the songs are bad love (“St. Christopher”) the loss of loved ones (“Beautiful and Wild”, “Sidewalks”), life’s ups and downs (“Mercy”, “Rider Ghost”) and other themes where souls are lost and found as they connect with demons and saint in this world and others. Out of that Mulligan Stew of musical mileage, White manages to paint pictures with words and sounds that are full of emotion, lay the soul bare, are subtly sexy, and most of all, honest and real.

“Beautiful and Wild” Amelia White

Beautiful and Wild is professionally and wonderfully produced by Marco Giovino (Band of Joy) and is peppered with some great players: Doug Lancio, from John Hiatt’s band is on guitar and mandolin. John Jackson (Bob Dylan and Shelby Lynn) on guitar and harmonica, Frank Swart covers the lowdown on bass. he’s played with Patty Griffin, American Astronaut (formerly Billy Nayer Show) & Funkwrench and engineered the first recordings for The Pixies. Marco Giovino not only produces, but bangs the drums and plays the accordion and shakes your soul on other percussion instruments.

On keys is the Grammy Winning Billy Earheart who not only played piano for Hank Jr. for 21 years but is the original Hammond B-3 Organist and pianist for The Amazing Rhythm Aces. Billy E is the soul of the south on keys and has also toured with R&B legend Al Green, Eddie Hinton, Memphis Slim, BB King and has appeared on over 200 albums to date.

There’s a nice little string section on some of the cuts. Molly Thomas is on violin and Larissa Maestro on cello. Backing and other vocals are provided by A.J. Croce (Jim Croce’s son), Ann and Regina McCrary, the great gospel singers from the BCM Mass Choir who have toured with Dylan – who Regina has partnered with for over 20 years! “Everything that I shared and experienced onstage with Bob Dylan has played a big role in who I am and where I am today in my life.” says Regina. They’ve also toured with Stevie Wonder, Tyler Perry. Regina also acts, she’s been in the stage version of the blockbuster hit comedies “Madea’s Family Reunion,” as Momma Mattie, and “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” as Angelo. She has also appeared in the following touring plays: “Something Within,” “What A Difference A Day Makes,” “Gotta Find Me An Angel” and “Crazy Love,” starring Tommy Ford from the hit TV show “Martin,” .

We’ve also got Tomi Lunsford, Mando Saenz, Scott Carter and Melissa Wolf on vocals.

Beautiful and Wild is White’s fifth studio album following 1999s Comes and Goes, 2001s, Blue Souvenirs which led to relentless North American and European tours. Then came Black Doves and then the critically acclaimed Motorcycle Dream which was also a hit for Ann McCue.

Beautiful and Wild may just be her best to date. It’s easy to catch this lady in a live show, ‘cause she is a true road warrior, check here for dates and venues or here is the schedule:

Feb. 9th New Haven CT. CAFE NINE 9 pm sharp ( two sets 9, and 10 one is the great Rob Morseberger, and one is me with Rob sitting in)

Feb. 10th Somerville, Ma. BULL MCCABES PUB , 8 pm Sharp ( one set with Russell Chud, and some special guests on bass and drums and vocals for a few tunes)

11th Live Radio interveiw on WMBR Boston/Cambridge radio 9:30 AM with DJ DOUG GESSLER

Feb. 12th New York, New York THE LIVING ROOM - great spot... 7 pm sharp is the Great Clare Burson , 8 pm sharp is Amelia with Special guests as sidemen Peter Calo and Rob Morseberger, and Clare Burson on guest vocals...

Feb 16th Family Wash East Nashvllle

9 pm Rob Morseberger opens solo

10 Amelia and full band plus special guests

Feb. 17th The Rudyard Kipling Louisville, KY w/ Rob Morseberger

Feb. 18th Kentucky Coffeetree Cafe Frankfork, KY w/ Rob Morseberger

Feb. 19th Ragamuffin Music Hall Atlanta, Ga. w/ Rob Morseberger

Feb. 23-25 Amelia White @ Folk Alliance International, Memphis Tn.

And while you are at it, give her some love on FaceBook

The Dirty Lowdown

Book review: " Top Suspense – Favorite Kills" by The Top Suspense Group

2012-02-05T15:48:00.001-08:00

Favorite Kills (Top Suspense Anthologies)

Once again the Top Suspense Group has assembled an anthology of some of the greatest suspense short fiction you'll read this year. The Top Suspense Group is a collective consisting of multiple award-winning authors with millions of books in print.

This year they've raised the stakes, collecting their very best short stories, all major prize-winning tales and personal favorites, each one a knock-out punch of suspense. It’s a breathtaking, wild ride of seething sex and unexpected twists, dark humor, and certain death. This suspense writing cabal consists of Max Allan Collins, Bill Crider, Stephen Gallagher, Lee Goldberg, Joel Goldman, Ed Gorman, Libby Fischer Hellmann, Vicki Hendricks,, Naomi Hirahara, Paul Levine, Harry Shannon and Dave Zeltserman.

Rarely has a more dangerous group of individuals been assembled! Killers, one an all… the unforgettable characters of course. The the first story by Dave Zeltserman, is the second Julius Katz story in the series and won the Ellery Queen Mystery Readers Award for favorite story in 2010. If you aren’t familiar with the Julius Katz series, he is Boston's brilliant and eccentric PI. The story is entitled “Archie’s Been Framed” Archie is Julius's secretary, research assistant, official biographer, and all around man Friday but in actuality, Archie is a two-inch piece of advanced technology Julius wears as a tie clip. When Archie is accused of murder Julius must figure out who, what, and why.

Next story is by one of my favorite authors, Harry Shannon and entitle “Night Nurse” and was nominated for the Stoker Award for horror, and won the Black Quill Award. After reading this story you never flirt with a nurse again.

Next story is by Paul Levine and entitled “Solomon & Lord Drop Anchor” featuring the wackiest married couple in crime fiction since Nick & Nora.

Naomi Hirahara gives us “Number 19”, a dark tale proving that no good deed goes unpunished. When a waitress with a potential for violence feels empathy for an immigrant who she sees being taken advantage of, she forms a plan.

Vickie Hendricks, who is famous for her gritty, darkly sexual stories, gives us a glimpse of her humorous, lighter side with “ Sweet Dreams”, it’s a tale of pot smoking grannies with a dream of a Hawaiian vacation, and a nefarious plan on how to fulfill it.

Next up is Libby Fischer Hellmann with her Agatha and Anthony nominated story, “House Rules”, a noir story, set under the Las Vegas sun that plays out like the Keystone Cops meet the Mafia. I love this one.

Then comes the master, Ed Gorman, with a dark suspense tale reminiscent of Shirley Jackson or Ira Levin. “Angie” is one of those stories that will stick with you for a good long time.

Next is the incomparable Joel Goldman with “Knife Fight”, the story of a public defender who administers her own brand of justice to clients she knows are guilty.

Lee Goldberg gives us a story inspired by traffic school. “Jack Webb’s Star” is a darkly funny story about a heist that could only happen in Hollywood. The author of TV’s brilliant, but obsessive-compulsive detective, Monk, is on top of his game.

Stephen Gallagher gives us the the International Horror Guild best short fiction nominee,”Restraint” , a story of a woman who will go to any extent to keep her children safe from her violent ex husband who tries to wreck their lives, even when he is dead.

Bill Crider’s “Top Of The World” is a sexy, twisting story of crime and punishment, or the lack there of. It was a finalist for the Short Mystery Fiction Society, Derringer Award. A tale of a pair of bank robbers who share a forbidden love, and a thirst for crime.

And finishing out this dirty dozen is Max Allan Collins, the author of the graphic novel, “Road to Perdition”, that became the hit 2002 movie starring Tom Hanks. It features Collins’ series character, hit man, Quarry. “A Matter of Principal” was chosen by Jeffrey Deaver for his Best Noir Of The Century anthology. The story was also made into the film,The Last Lullaby, starring Tom Sizemore.

The Top Suspense Group has proven with this, their second collection, that great short fiction is not a dying art form. This anthology is one that readers will want to turn to again and again, and the group not only writes great crime stories, they have presented a finely crafted eBook, complete with a wonderful cover, a searchable and clickable table of contents, title pages for each story, and Forwards from each author, saying a bit about the story. Expect only the best from the Top Suspense Group, because that is exactly what you will get.

The Dirty Lowdown

Article first published as Book Review: Top Suspense â€“ Favorite Kills by The Top Suspense Group on Blogcritics.

CD Review: “Lights Out” by Big Deal

2012-02-05T14:53:00.001-08:00

Lights Out

What happens when surf legend Dick Dale’s guitar tech meets an English school girl from an artistic household? Sounds like a movie script, doesn’t it? Well, I’ll tell you what happens, because it’s a Big Deal.

Alice Costelloe is that English school girl. Her grandmother gave her a guitar when she was six, and she still composes on it, even though it’s too small. Her voice is dreamy. Beguiling, Sweet even. But the lyrics aren’t all sweet and innocent. While captivating, the lyrics are real. Dealing with real life doubts, emotions and inanities.

“I’m just hoping you slip up, Miss a step, fall into my arms, Mess with my head”

The second half of this duet is American Kacey Underwood. A rebellious rock n roller from the California desert who grew up on Zeppelin, Hendrix, Metallica and Depeche Mode. His was a strict, religious family. He taught himself guitar when he found his brothers guitar hidden under a bed. He hit the road, and eventually became Dick Dale’s guitar tech. He quit that job for an English education at Cambridge, but school wasn’t in his blood. He dropped out and eventually earned a living in his band, Little Death. He taught music at a girls school to make ends meet and that is where he met Alice.

“I’ll make it work, you’re cool like Kurt”

They hit it off well, they started writing songs together, and Alice’s family became Kacey’s second family. From the first track, a picture of a stripped down Fairport Convention and an unplugged Nirvana entered my head. The music has a folk feel but is deeply personal rather than social commentary. The chemistry is captivating. When you hit play, get ready to stop whatever you are doing and listen. The songs are infectious.

“Chair” Big Deal

Big Deal consists of one acoustic guitar and one electric guitar. It’s honest music, it’s about the song. It’s captivating, but restrained. The songs sound as if they were com- posed in the bedroom and the emotion is flammable and the flame is mesmerizing.

“I’m a mess, I’m a wreck, But you wouldn’t know it ‘cause I’m at my best when with you”

18 months after they met. Many shows behind them and Big Deal offers up Lights Out. Released on January 24th it’s their debut album. No doubt, we’ll be hearing from this couple for a good long while, and that is beautiful to think about.

“Distant Neighborhood”

If you want to catch them in concert, here are the dates and venues. For up to date info on appearances, check their Facebook Page:

Upcoming Tour Dates:

3/11--The Glasslands with 2:54--Brooklyn, NY

3/12--The Mercury Lounge with 2:54--New York, NY

3/13--3/18----SXSW---Austin, TX

3/20--Echo with 2:54--Los Angeles, CA

The Dirty Lowdown

Arturo O'Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance on CBS Evening News

2012-02-03T22:46:00.001-08:00

** Media Alert **

WHAT:
Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra will be featured on a CBS Evening News national broadcast.

The network will broadcast an interview with O'Farrill, which was recently filmed at Birdland in New York City. Topics of discussion will include the O'Farrill family, nonprofit Afro Latin Jazz Alliance and its resident Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, educational outreach, Cuba, and the recent GRAMMY© category cutbacks. Performance footage of the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra's recent 10th Anniversary benefit at Symphony Space and a recent performance at Birdland will also be broadcast.

WHEN:
* Saturday, February 4 at 6:30PM EST

* Day and time subject to change - alternate air-date will be Sunday, February 5 at 6:00PM EST

WHERE:

CBS (check your local listings)

For more information on the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance and Orchestra,

please visit: afrolatinjazz.org

All media requests and performance RSVPs should be sent to:

DL Media · 610-667-0501

Amy Miller · amy@dlmediamusic.com

Afro Latin Jazz Alliance · 212-866-6634

Nina Olson · nolson@afrolatinjazz.org

###

Poetic License–Live In Placentia Friday, February 3rd

2012-02-03T13:59:00.001-08:00

Live in Southern Calif, Tonight, February 3, at Clubhouse Grille & Spirits 2053 E. Orangethorpe Ave. Placentia, CA

The Best Classic & Alternative Rock.

(and George is my cousin)

Poetic License is southern California's top classic rock and alternative band. Whether you're looking for a night out at a local club, or a great band for your wedding reception or special event, you can count on Poetic License to play the songs you love to hear. Checkout their website, and say hi to my cousin George for me.

The Dirty Lowdown

Music review: Foxy Shazam “The Church of Rock 'n Roll”

2012-02-03T12:45:00.001-08:00

The Church of Rock and Roll

Imagine if Aerosmith got married to Queen. If the child survived growing up, it might be a slightly manic,egotistical, extrovert to say the least. You might expect them to be full of glamour and emotion.You might expect attitude, you might expect them to be full of grandiose gestures. You would expect them to rouse the rabble with the best of them.

They would definitely be over the top in the energy department. And of course you would expect star quality.You might even expect them to found a church... The Church of Rock and Roll.

Well that's exactly what you get with these hard rocking “prog rock meets glam pop”, Cincinnati, OH. band. Oh … with a trumpet.

The album opens with the title track. It's a kind of bombastic gospel sermon beseeching us to live a life outside of the walls of the mundane. Way outside. It speaks of a time when rock stars were mythical creature. As Eric Nally, the lead singer, with a voice equal parts Freddie Mercury and Robert Plant, says, “ Now there's no mystique , but I like the element of mystery and longing. The rock star is becoming extinct. I want to revive it.”

The second track on the album,is also the lead single, “I Like It”. It's a salacious sex strut straight out of the 70s. You almost expect platform soles and bare chests.It’s a declaration of the appreciation of the lewd and lascivious. But not pornographic, just sexy.

“I Like It”

Track 3, “Holly Touch”, tones it down a little. Think,the band Heart singing “Magic Man”. Eric Nally really channels Freddy Mercury on the highs. But just when you think these guys are all about that in yer’ face hard rock gallop, they lay a heart wrenching, tender ballad like “Forever Together” on you. A tune to make you stop and listen if you possess a heart that has loved.

Really of the 11 tracks Included here there's not a weak song among them. Having cut their teeth on three previous albums. In 2008, the band was named one of the "100 Bands You Need to Know" by J. Stalin, writing for Alternative Press. They’ve toured with bands such as the Strokes, the Fall of Troy, Hole, and Portugal. The band is Eric Nally on astounding, soaring vocals, Loren Turner has got the stadium guitar licks covered, Daisy lays down the solid bass lines , Sky White plays piano with a beautiful touch for any genre, Aaron McVeigh completes the rhythm section on drums and Alex Nauth is out front on horns, which is unusual, yet very tasty, for a band like this. It's a unique caliber musicianship not found in many bands you here in world of modern radio. And it’s very well produced and engineered for the recently revamped I.R.S. records, a division of EMI who provided this review copy.

They are an electrifying band. Whether covering Prog rock, Glam rock, Pop balladry, Hard Rock Or just about any other category you want in the pop world today, They are poised to fulfill the glorious potential they have displayed over the past eight years and three albums. Give ‘em a listen.

The band is touring throughout February.

Feb 3 Boston, MA Paradise

Feb 4 NY,NY Irving Plaza

Feb 7 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero

Feb 8 Washington, DC 930 Club

Feb 10 Detroit, MI St. Andrews Hall

Feb 11 Chicago,IL The Metro

Check the bands website, for further dates and venues.

The Dirty Lowdown

Kindle Fire Giveaway!

2012-01-31T13:24:00.001-08:00

WIN A KINDLE FIRE IN THE BIG KINDLE BOOGIE

10 Free Kindle Fires, 75 free ebooks, $300 in gift cards, a $500 library donation! Entries for 10 free Kindle Fires are already underway at http://bigkindleboogie.blogspot.com and gift cards are bing randomly awarded on Twitter for those who tweet about the Big Kindle Boogie.

On Feb. 1-2, bestselling thriller authors J.A. Konrath, Blake Crouch, Scott Nicholson, Lee Goldberg, and Scott Nicholson are making 75 Kindle books free on Amazon. They are also making a $500 donation to the local library of one Kindle Fire winner. They are also releasing the five-book Ultimate Thriller Box Set for free during the event. Contest is international, no purchase necessary. You can also join the Facebook party at http://www.facebook.com/BigKindleBoogie.

Three easy ways to enter:

Use the entry counters at http://bigkindleboogie.blogspot.com
You can also enter manually by tweeting to be eligible for Kindle Fires and Amazon gift cards: 10 free Kindle Fires. 75 free ebooks. http://bit.ly/xWOoKN #bigkindleboogie RT to enter for a Fire!
You can email bigkindleboogie@yahoo.com ONCE PER DAY with "Boogie entry" as subject line

Everything free, everything fun. Good luck!

CD Review: “Born To Be Blue” by Ed Reed

2012-01-31T12:28:00.001-08:00

Born to Be Blue

Sometimes life can beat you down. Some times it can beat you up. Life can say to a young man, “Step back into this alley, I got somethin’ for ya.” And sometimes we are just dumb enough to do it. That was Ed Reed’s life through a good part of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Born in Cleveland and raised in L.A., he fell in love with jazz he heard on the radio. He started singing with the teenage brother of his neighbor, Vivian. That brother was Charlie Mingus, the legendary bass player. Drafted into the army, he developed a heroin habit that got him discharged. Returning to L.A., where he tried to cleanup his act and develop a singing career. But the heroin had other ideas. Ideas that saw him spend three sentences in San Quentin throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Despite that, he managed to hold on to singing jazz. While in prison, he played for the Warden’s Band and met jazz giant Art Pepper. By ‘86 he was clean, and by the ‘90s he finally started that career. Finally, at the age of 78, just four years ago, he recorded his first album. That album, The Song Is You was critically acclaimed and garnered comparisons to Nat King Cole, Bill Henderson, and the ethereal tenderness of Jimmy Scott mixed with the savoir faire of Bobby Short.

Ed Reed “(Old Man From) The Old Country”

That lead to touring opportunities which landed him in Bern, Switzerland in 2009 with a five night run at Marians Jazzroom where for the first time he played with pianist Randy Porter, bassist Robb Fisher and drummer, Akira Tana all at one time. But it didn’t sound like it. Together they were tight. There was a symbiosis that lead them to make this album. They added saxophonist Anton Schwartz for the California Bay Area sessions, and a masterpiece of jazz vocals was born with the blues.

As Reed says, “I believe that everybody is born to be blue. So many of us hold onto our sadness, but we need to shout about it, sing about it, so that we can let go of it.”

The album is full of sad songs or songs with a blue bent. In addition to the opening tune, Old Country (checkout the video) which along with track ten, Never Kiss and Run are most associated with Bill Henderson, there’s the title track, made famous by “The Velvet Fog” Mel Torme. There is also Monk’s Dream, which Jon Henderson wrote with Monk. Then, there is the Sinatra tunes, End Of A Love Affair and How Am I To Know.

One of my favorites is Abby Lincoln’s Throw Away. Bobby Troup’s Your Looking At Me and Blossom Dearie’s Inside A Tear.

A true jazz singer, with a strong voice, despite the years. You’ll find that Reed uses the space in the arrangements like another instrument. His phrasing is impeccable. he takes a simple narrative lyric and turns it into a journey through a life that was Born to Be Blue.

It took awhile, but Ed Reed made it out of that alley and in four short years has caught the attention of the jazz world.

The Dirty Lowdown

Book Review: “The Original Sam McCain Mysteries” by Ed Gorman

2012-01-28T19:33:00.001-08:00

The Original Sam McCain Mysteries (The Sam McCain Mysteries)

Perhaps no other author today has done so much to keep alive the “Pulp Fiction” genre than Ed Gorman. Not only as an award winning author ( Spur Award for Best Short Fiction, "The Face" in 1992. His fiction collection Cages was nominated for the 1995 Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection. His collection The Dark Fantastic was nominated for the same award in 2001.) but as archivist, historian and commentator. He has written in the fields of terror/horror, speculative fiction and of course hardboiled/crime fiction.

His Sam McCain novels are perhaps my favorites…but I have not only a soft spot for crime fiction but also a nostalgic bent for the ‘50s. McCain embodies all the traits we love of the hardboiled detective; he’s smart, quick with a quip, educated, but struggling for a buck, honest and honorable (at least to his own personal code), he’s personally brave, almost chivalrous, and like a bull dog at unraveling a mystery.

But, he is also dichotomous in that he is a little guy at just over five and a half feet,and, thus, not one to quickly get in a fight. He was never a cop or a soldier, doesn’t “really” hate authority, has dinner at least once a week with mom and dad, loves rock and roll, not jazz, isn’t a big drinker. Instead of that ‘30s – ‘40s fedora wearing, zoot suited PI, driving a Model ‘A’ or some other piece of Detroit iron with running boards, McCain loves ‘50s hotrods. McCain is a recent law school grad who gets his PI license to make ends meet and broaden his prospects.

Also, to break the mold of most pulp/hardboiled crime fiction, his mysteries don’t take place in a large city (L.A., Chicago, N.Y. or their fictionally renamed likenesses). Instead, the stories take place, mainly, in a small Iowa town where McCain grew up. And to further break the mold, the crimes McCain ends up investigating aren’t stolen pearls or bank robberies, or the theft of historical artifacts. They are crimes to take the sheen off of the nostalgia shown in the popular media for the ‘50s. This isn’t Happy Days. This isn’t American Graffiti. This is not the ‘50s of Ozzie & Harriet and Father Knows Best.

Instead, Gorman takes for his themes the real crimes of the fifties. Gorman writes about the social ills of the decade, some of which are still with us today. Racial inequality and bigotry, male chauvinism and the lack of women’s rights, union busting, red baiting and McCarthyism and the large parts of the country that were still in the grips of poverty.

Yes, boys and girls, our country had bigger problems than Elvis getting drafted, the Edsel, and getting a date for the sock hop on Saturday night.

Here’s Gorman’s words: “Part of the reason I started writing the Sam McCain novels was because I was sick of hearing about how wonderful the decade of the Fifties was. …. By then even the Republicans knew better. If you were white, Christian, middle-class, straight and white collar the decade was probably more decent to you than not. But given the racism, sexism, Communist witch hunts, union-busting and large pockets of poverty, not even Ozzie’s dopey smile could make the excluded Happy.”

Now don’t get the idea these stories are sermons. They aren’t. They just deal with ‘the real picture’ of the decade that is often painted as the American Ideal. The books, while remaining great mysteries and giving a long over do update to the genre, are humorous and Sam’s dialogue is as sharp an cynical as Phillip Marlowe’s. The mysteries are as puzzling as anything in the genre, the characters are very real and very true to their time and place, and he manages to expose social ills as well as Dashiell Hammett. In short, Ed Gorman is one of the gems in these fictional fields.

In this edition, Genius Book Publishing has made available the first two Sam McCain Novels in one Special Kindle Edition.

The first novel is titled, The Day The Music Died, and is set against the backdrop of the tragic plane crash in Iowa that took the lives of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper. The story opens with McCain and his high school sweat heart,Pamela Forrest, leaving The Surf Ballroom, having just witnessed Holly’s last show. They get in McCain’s ‘51 Ford convertible with the custom skirts, louvered hood and special weave top. With that description, Gorman take’s the genre out of the jazz age and into the world of rock and roll.

On the trip home to Black River Falls through the same snow storm that would kill the legends, McCain and Pamela argue over the radio station, she wants to listen to Perry Como, and McCain loves Buddy Holly. Pamela is also in love with someone else, but McCain will carry his flame for her through the snow storm and through the series, just like he has since the 4th grade.

The next morning about 5 a.m McCain gets woken up by his employer, Judge Esme Anne Whitney, a wealth scion of the small town. Her nephew is hold up on his estate, drunk and threatening suicide. McCain is to keep it quiet since the local Chief of Police is the new money in the town and the enemy socially and politically of the judge. When McCain arrives and makes his way inside, he discovers that Kenny’s wife is dead, shot, and Kenny admits to shooting her, then promptly kills himself.

Before putting the gun to his head, Kenny admits to the murder. He tells McCain that Susan was running around on him and wanted a divorce, he got drunk and must have shot her. But after Kenny kills himself, the story and the evidence don’t add up for McCain even though the local chief, the “hillbilly’ Sykes, wants to gloat over a Whitney being a wife murderer and a suicide.

McCain starts to investigate and along the way to solving the mystery he uncovers the prevalent racist attitudes of the town, tries to discover an unsafe abortionist who just may be involved, a cultish artistic couple and their “open marriage” all the while pursuing Pamela while being pursued by a girl who has loved him just as long as he has loved Pamela.

The plot is beautiful, and introduces the reader to McCain, an honest voice of the ‘50s and one of the smartest and most likable PIs you’ll ever meet. Gorman’s writing style will trap you, even if you don’t want to be trapped. The Day The Music Died is both dark poetry and a great, engrossing read.

The second book included in this bundle is Wake Up Little Susie, and is really a prequel, taking place 2 years earlier, in 1957 on the day that Ford Introduced its new "revolutionary" Edsel automobile. When the district attorneys wife is found in the trunk of a new Edsel in the local car lot, McCain follows the clues to uncover the real killer while the local police try to discourage him, and aim to ‘hang’ the obvious suspect which will feed their political needs as well as their cruelty and small mindedness.

If you are familiar with Gorman then you’ll want to get these two books in eBook form, and if you haven’t read him before, then this is the perfect opportunity to dive into one of the best crime writers working today.

The Dirty Lowdown

Article first published as Book Review: The Original Sam McCain Mysteries by Ed Gorman on Blogcritics.

Music Review: “Turn Signal” Mike Wofford/Holly Hofmann Quintet

2012-01-27T11:49:00.001-08:00

Turn Signal

I have to admit, when I first looked at this CD, I was hooked. It opens with my favorite hard bop pianist, Horace Silver’s “The Dipper”, a tune I always loved. Then, just to set the hook, the fourth track also caught my eye, one I remember from an Oliver Nelson album, “Soul Street”. It wasn’t on the iconic The Blues and the Abstract Truth, which probably hepped me to Nelson, but it was an album I remember falling in love with and a tune that stuck.

I knew of Mike Wofford from his days as an accompanist with the likes of ‘The Velvet Fog’, Mel Tormé, Joe Pass, Shelley Mann, Benny Carter’s orchestra, etcetera. Probably the most memorable album I remember was the Duke Ellington Song Book, which he did with “Sassy” Sarah Vaughn back in the ‘80s and I remember him accompanying Sarah at the Playboy Jazz Festival back then too . But I couldn’t recall him fronting his own group. I just knew he must be good from the cats he played with and for.

On the other hand, I was more than familiar with Holly Hofmann, who, perhaps single handedly has destroyed the stereotype of the “be-quite-it’s-the female-flutist”. Hofmann swings. Hofmann bops. Hofmann will rock your ears and make your soul give standing ovations.

Then, just to add the sinker to my fishin’ expedition, that swingin’ bluesy trumpet player, Terrell Stafford is a special guest. There are not too many trumpet players today that have the tone and the phrasing to touch Stafford.

I continued to peruse the tracks and there, next to last on the CD was “Girl From Greenland”, by Dick Twardzik. For those not familiar with Twardzik, he was a brilliant, classically trained bebop pianist out of Boston in the ‘50s who I remember most for his work with Charlie Parker. He was on tour with Chet Baker, in 1955 when he died of a heroin overdose during a tour of Europe at the tragic age of 24. Though he was very young, he left his mark on the bop era and serious jazz pianists still admire his work.

And, obviously one of those serious jazz pianists is Wofford. The tune really shows just how tight this rhythm section is (Mike is joined by Rob Thorsen on bass and drummer, Richard Sellers).

Holly Hofmann & Mike Wofford “Turn Signal”

Don’t get the idea that the album is a “nostalgia” album. There are some very nice pieces by contemporary cats; there’s “Esperanca” written by Vince Mendoza, “Karita” is a Bobby Watson tune that is very lyrical and very beautiful and shows off the wonderful unison phrasing that Hofmann and Wofford exhibit (they are married, after all). “Pure Imagination” is a shining interpretation of the Anthony Newly/Leslie Bricusse gem. Hofmann’s flute work here approaches genius as she plays the alto flute. And, then the album ends with a Hofmann composition, “M-Line”, a fearless swinging tune that will make you reach over and hit repeat on your player.

The album is an adventurous journey down memory lane but stopping to see some contemporary sites. Wofford really comes into his own as an arranger and leader. The harmonies are inventive, the melodies lush and the direction that is “signaled” for the husband and wife team is to explore new ground within main stream jazz.

The Dirty Lowdown

Book Review: “Collateral Damage” by H. Terrell Griffin

2012-01-26T16:04:00.001-08:00

Collateral Damage (Matt Royal Mystery)

When it comes to wrapping a traditional mystery inside an international espionage thriller novel, there is none better than, author H. Terrell Griffin and no better character than retired Florida lawyer and professional beach bum, Matt Royal. In this, the sixth Matt Royal Mystery, the whole cast of unforgettable characters are present. Longboat Key detective, Jennifer Diane (J.D.) Duncan, who Matt is nursing a flame for, Jock Algren the mysterious “government agent” whose agency remains nameless, but Jock has the Presidents direct number. Then there is Logan Hamilton, a fellow Vietnam vet, and Matt’s old First Sergeant, Jimbo Merryman.

Life on Longboat Key, Florida is usually quiet. Fishing, happy hour, drinking and avoiding the mid-day sun in the heart of summer are the usual pass times. But when a young bride groom is shot dead on the beach the morning after his wedding, apparently by a sniper, the lazy days are interrupted. The local police, including J.D. Duncan are puzzled. But then when Matt and Logan are on an evening fishing trip and witness the grounding of a dinner cruise ship and several people are killed all involved wonder if the two events could be connected.

Then when Matt is contacted by an old army buddy, Charles “Chaz” Desmond. Desmond was a medic in Matt’s Ranger platoon, hence the nickname Doc. After Matt was severely wounded and Doc’s best friend was captured and tortured, Doc disappeared into a secret CIA special forces group. He’s now a wealthy business owner and the young groom that was shot on the beach was Doc’s son. Doc' wants to hire Matt to find the killer. when it turns out that two of the people on the cruise ship were knifed and not killed by being thrown overboard during the grounding, and that the Capt. of the ship, who died of a broken neck, was probably killed by a pro, the mystery deepens.

Matt and J.D. Duncan approach the investigation from separate angels, but share information and when an Asian assassin tries to knife Matt on the beach, and two Asian’s were seen on camera boarding the dinner cruise, Matt follows the lead along with his buddies, Logan and Jock, whose government contacts lead them to an aid group in Cambodia and a wealthy heroin exporter.

If you were to compare Griffin’s prose style to a runner, he’d be a marathon runner. The pace is steady and built for the long run. The “course” on the plot leads many places that may or may not lead to the finish line, but logic dictates that each step be explored. Along the way, the reader will have a hard time putting the book down. The dialog is relentless and hardboiled and to the point, the scenery of south Florida comes to life and even if you are reading in Alaska in the dead of winter you’ll find yourself unbuttoning your shirt.

A cross between Jimmy Buffett, John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee, and Tom Clancy, the characters are funky, but dangerous. The bad guys are a collection of characters that Griffin brings to life in a very real and evil way. And throw in the budding romance between Matt and JD Duncan, and you have all of the elements for a fantastic read and a romp through sandy beaches, funky bars and shady motives.

There is not anything missing in this story, it’s all here and will nail you to your chair and have you ordering margaritas and planning a trip to the Keys.

H. Terrell Griffin is another winner for Oceanview Publishing that readers will not want to miss. I want to thank Oceanview and NetGalley for providing the review copy.

The Dirty Lowdown

Article first published as Book Review: Collateral Damage by H. Terrell Griffin on Blogcritics.

Music Review: “The Hit Men Live”

2012-01-21T12:52:00.001-08:00

A little piece of rock n roll trivia? Name the only group to have an American Hot 100 #1 hit before, during and after Beatlemania? I would have guessed, maybe, The Beach Boys but in fact it was Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. That fact is important because half of the musicians that comprise the “pop super-group” The Hit Men were all major performers with The Four Seasons.

Other pop/rock icon represented here are seasoned music pros representing groups and solo artists such as The Critters, the American pop group that had several successful hits in the mid ‘60s, such as Younger Girl (penned by John Sebastian), Don Ciccone’s (a founding member of The Critters and also a member of The Four Seasons) Mr. Dieingly Sad (#17 on the charts in ‘66), and ‘67s Don't Let The Rain Fall Down On Me which was to be the bands last chart success before breaking up due to the fact that three founding members joined the military to beat the Vietnam draft build up.

After their military obligation was fulfilled, Don Ciccone and Jimmy Ryan re-entered the music business, Ciccone with The Four Seasons and one of the other groups represented here, Tommy James and The Shondells. Ryan went on to guitar/arranger/songwriter duties with pop giants, Carly Simon, Cat Stevens, Jim Croce, Rod Steward, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Elton John and Kiki Dee.

Speaking of Tommy James and the Shondells, they almost, but not quite, could have been the answer to the trivia question. In 1964, the newly renamed Shondells recorded an obscure ‘B’ side tune by The Raindrops and written by the groups mainstays, Jeff Berry and Ellie Greenwich, who along with producer Phil Spector went on to define the mid ‘60s “girl group” sound. The song was Hanky-Panky.

The song was a regional hit in the midwest, but was never released nationally until 1966 when a Pittsburgh radio station unearthed the forgotten single and touted it as an "exclusive". The band had broken up by then and when James discovered the tune climbing the charts nationally, he had to assemble a new group to tour.

From ‘66 until ‘68, Tommy James and the Shondells were a mainstay of the “bubblegum rock” scene. From 1968, the group began writing their own songs and embraced the sounds of psychedelia. They are maybe most semi famous for having turned down an invitation to play at Woodstock.

The Hit Men consist of Lee Shapiro (Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Barry Manilow, Bob Gaudio, Jimmy & Jerry Vivino, Paul Schaffer),Don Ciccone (The Critters, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Tommy James and the Shondells), Larry Gates ( Desmond Child, Larry Hochman, Izzy James, Daniel Freiberg, Janis Ian, Rick Derringer), Gerry Polci ( Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Barry Manilow),
Jimmy Ryan ( The Critters, Carly Simon, Cat Stevens, Jim Croce, Rod Steward, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Elton John, Kiki Dee) and Russ Velazquez ( Sting, Carol King, the Ramones, LL Cool J, Luther Vandross, Korn, Paula Abdul).

Some of these guys; the talented and seasoned pros that were, for the most part, not the head lining stars, but were the foundation behind some of rock and pops biggest hits and acts, have been friends for 50 years. On this album that familiarity shines through as they play together tightly and brilliantly as they perform their various catalog of hits that span early ‘60s rock n roll and pop, Motown, psychedia, disco and the singer/songwriter era of the ‘70s, and ‘80s pop and R&B.

You can download the album from iTunes and if you can you’ll want to catch them on tour, through June 2012. Some things get better with age, and The Hit men prove that in spades.

February 10 - Duncan Theater - Lake Worth, FL
February 11 - The Phil - Naples, FL
February 12 - The Phil - Naples, FL
February 19 - The Sunrise Theater - Fort Pierce, FL
February 20 - Jonathan's Landing - Jupiter, FL
February 24 - Ridgefield Playhouse - Ridgefield, CT
February 25 - Broadway Theater - Pitman, NJ
March 30 - "Dosey Doe" - The Woodlands, TX
March 31 - Brauntex PAC - New Braunfels, TX

April 20 – Harrington Raceway & Casino – Harrington, DE
April 21 - The Lehman Center - Bronx, NY
June 11 - Garde Arts Theater - New London, CT
June 12 - Garde Arts Theater - New London, CT

July 14 – Ft. Lee NJ Summer Concert Series – Fort Lee, NJ

The Dirty Lowdown

The Dirty Lowdown for January 2012

2012-01-20T12:31:00.001-08:00

This year has not started out very well for me. To start with, I got a phone call on December 30th informing me that a very good friend had past away. Needless to say, that news took some of the Happy out of Happy New Years. Farewell Matthew, you’ll be missed.

Then on January 2nd during a routine doctors visit, my doctor du jour decided to remove what was thought to be a ganglion cyst in my right wrist. It turned out not to be so simple and for some undisclosed reason, my whole right arm swelled up to huge proportions before I even got out of the doctors office. I ended up admitted for 3 days while the doctors all stood around and scratched their heads and I kept the various labs busy running every test conceivable.

Eventually, it was decided that they didn’t need me to continue scratching their heads, and we had run out of labs and technicians to poke me and they sent me home with half the pharmacy. After another week in bed with morphine, blood thinners, steroids and weird dreams, I decided to rejoin the world.

So, here it is three weeks into the new year and I am starting to feel somewhat normal, or what passes for it in my world. I am shaking off the effects of the drugs and the major case of the blues and looking at my calendar for scheduled book reviews, music reviews and other commitments and wanting a Mulligan. I want to start over on 2012! It’ll take me until June to catch up. And I had such awesome plans for hitting the bricks running this year….

For instance, I am starting a new feature here on The Dirty Lowdown. A sort of celebrity book review feature. We are going to have Authors write a book review on any book of their choosing and publish it here. It started out to be a monthly feature, but I received such enthusiastic acceptance that we are going to be doing this at least twice per month. I have lined up such authors as Mark Terry, Jan Burke, LJ Sellers, Eric Jerome Dickey, Ward Larsen, and Tom MacDonald and many more. This should be a very fun an informative feature. Look for the first review this weekend.

I’ve always thought that you have to look for the silver lining when things go wrong and the silver lining in my odyssey was that I caught up on some reading, even though I wasn’t able to stay awake long enough to write, or for that matter think about writing reviews. So, the silver lining is that in what is left of the month I’ll be reviewing H. Terrell Griffin’s Collateral Damage. I loved this book, so look for the review in the next few days.

Terry Griffin's latest entry in the Matt Royal set-in-Florida mysteries is a perfect blend of old south, beach bum, funky character driven stories, the kind that made John D. MacDonald famous, only Griffin's tale tops the best with its unexpected blend of international intrigue. My hat is definitely off!

David Hagberg - New York Times bestselling author

I’ll also be reviewing the latest Charlie Hood Novel from T. Jefferson Parker, The Jaguar.

T. Jefferson Parker delivers a crime thriller that redefines the landscape of the cartel wars as an epic clash of good and evil!

Here’s the trailer:

“The Jaguar”

Also this month, I’ll be reviewing Ed Gorman’s great Sam McBain novels, The Day the Music Died and Wake Up Little Susie. Now available in one Kindle edition.These are set in a small Iowa town in the 50’s and are just marvelous.

I also have a lot of music I have to listen to and write about before the 1st of February when I go in the hospital for the scheduled Nerve Transposition Surgery, which will leave me left handed for a number of months. I have been learning Dragon Naturally Speaking, so that I can dictate blog entries and keep the book and music reviews coming….with any luck. It’s a very different thought process between writing and talking though, but we’ll see how it works.

Some of the music I hope to get to this month Bay Area Jazz Vocalist, Ed Reed’s Born To Be Blue, also on the jazz scene is the great Jack DeJohnette’s Sound Travels. We’ve also got Mike Wofford & Holly Hofmann - Turn Signal, and on the pop/rock scene we have The Hit Men which is a group of musicians that played with Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Tommy James and the Shondells, The Critters, Rod Stewart and others. It’s a fun nostalgic album, and you can read about it here.

We’ve also got new releases from Sax-y lady, CandyDulfer, of the long awaited MOLLO MARTIN new album entitled "The Third Cage" featuring Dario Mollo and Tony Martin who first got together when the Italian guitar player/producer and composer needed the right singer after he had put together a new set of songs in the late 90's. The former Black Sabbath singer came about on a suggestion from producer Kit Woolven. Also, we’ve got Elephant Micah, aka Joseph O’Connell, one of the most prolific and criminally overlooked songwriters of our generation. O’Connell is self-releasing the new Elephant Micah record, Louder Than Thou. I’ll be givin’ ya the Dirty Lowdown on these and much more so stay tuned.

That’s the lowdown for January.

CD Review: “The Love Thief” Eddie Grey

2012-01-17T12:32:00.001-08:00

Eclectic pop rock, indie funk, call it what you want but Eddie Grey delivers a good time on The Love Thief Sessions. It’s an intricate mix of musical know-how and diverse backgrounds filtered through some very good vision musically and compositionally.

The band is singer/songwriter/guitarist Eddie Grey, drummer/percussionist Patrick
Coggins, and bass player Kevin Comden. They've played alongside Plain White T's, stood in for Alien Ant Farm's drummer, and collaborated with Baby Bash, Paula D'Anda, Eddie Murphy, and Nicholas "RAS" Furlong.

Maybe you wouldn’t expect musical mastery to emanate from Compton, Calif. but that is exactly where Eddie Grey grew up. he chose to study music, all genre of music in order to escape the chaos of the city known more for it’s gangs than it bands. But, he also absorbed the hectic influences and they become a thing of beauty when they seep through into his music. Just take a listen:

Eddie Grey “The Love Thief”

You’ll hear jazz influences, neo-folk, indie rock, funk/r&b, and reggae. This album chronicles two people falling in love and dealing with modern life. What becomes clear from the first track is Eddie is a very good guitar player and the rest of the band are just as professional. What also becomes clear is that musical excess, extended solos, ego’s crashing about the score take a back seat to the song. Eddie set out to tell a story inside the song and that story is what is paramount.

The Love Thief Sessions, available on iTunes, and hopefully soon on CD from all the usual places, is and excellent EP and a great introduction to a band that should garner a lot of main stream attention without compromising that indie feel. I look forward to hearing more from Eddie Grey and the band check his website for show dates or booking info.

The Dirty Lowdown

Book Review: “The Lake” by Banana Yoshimoto

2011-12-31T17:28:00.001-08:00

The Lake

In The Lake,as in a number of her novels, Banana Yoshimoto takes as a theme the power of family, and of loss to effect the lives of her characters. Here, the characters are Chihiro, a daughter of a non traditional family – a “mama-san” and owner of a rural/small town club, and a father who is “A person of local import” who is not married to her mother.Chihiro feels distanced from her father, as if he only really existed for her mother and she finds him ridiculous because of his airs as a big fish in a small pond. Chihiro has gone to school for a small degree in design and makes her living painting murals, or as she puts it, little more than a sign painter. Chihiro has just gone through a period of her life where she has cared for her mother during a terminal illness. After her mothers death, she leaves her small town behind to make her way in Tokyo.
In Tokyo, Chihiro has an anonymous life. Lovers for entertainment, but not love. Acquaintances, but no real friends. She specializes in painting murals on buildings and in neighborhood which are marked for destruction due to urban renewal. Still haunted by the passing of her mother, she is both anchorless and directionless. But across the courtyard of her apartment building she starts noticing Nakajima and he becomes her anchor, her friend, before they ever do more than wave to each other across the courtyard.
At first, Chihiro and Nakajima speak as they pass in the elevator, and eventually Nakajima starts coming to Chihiro’s apartment for meals and they meet for coffee. Chihiro is drawn to Nakajima and doesn’t understand why. He is painfully thin and has a stooped posture, in other words, he isn’t ‘sexy’. But he is intelligent and she learns that he is studying for a doctorate in research, specializing in DNA and genetics. Chihiro also finds him odd because he isn’t pushy sexually, and she slowly learns that sex is difficult for him , even emotionally painful. He hints at a traumatic event in his past that explains his lack of a sex drive, and also nightmares that he suffers.
As the two become more than friends, Chihiro comes to value the relationship, even though it lacks sex. In short, their relationship becomes one of love without the traditional trappings of a romance. As the trust builds, Nakajima asks Chihiro to accompany him to The Lake of the title, where friends of his, apparently tied to Nakajima’s tragic past, live.
The journey to the lake reveals some “nearly-mystical” and mysterious emotions and scenes. There, Chihiro is introduced to Mino and Chii, a brother and sister who make their living as seers. The sister is bed-ridden and is hardly ever conscious in the typical fashion. Her brother speaks for her, in her voice, which she sends to him telepathically. Chihiro also becomes fond of the tea served by the pair. Mino tells her that it’s properties must come from the local waters of the lake.
This visit serves to bind Chihiro even more to Nakajima, but upon returning to Tokyo, she begins to worry that their intellects and Nakajima’s goals will drive them apart. Nakajima wishes upon completing his doctorate to go to France, and Chihiro sees herself as a simple “sign painter” with lower ambitions and even unable to meet Nakajima’s ambitions on the same level. However, from this point she starts to take her art seriously, and dream of becoming a serious artist.
At just over 200 pages, the story is still very involved and beautifully paced in revealing not only the obvious plot, but in the emotions and personal psyche of the main characters. At times the dialog seems overly juvenile, but it becomes clear that the author is speaking in the voice of two young people and that voice is very realistic.
On one level, the story is about unconventional people in a conventional relationship to outward appearances. Yoshimoto’s works are often trivialized by readers that won’t look below the surface and see the “fable” of her stories. There is Nakajima, consumed by genius and deeply marked by not only the loss of his mother, but by trauma, real or imagined. And there is Chihiro, a seemingly shallow drifter in her goals and her personal life, yet able to find love and inspiration where others would not look. She even practices her art in a transitory place – buildings that will soon be destroyed – because she sees a lack of importance or permanence to modern life. It’s also telling the moral that no matter how cold and callus the modern world is, we can find places and things that make it worth living.
The Lake is a marvelously modern tale with the message that when the mystery of a lovers behavior and actions is revealed, the rules of your lives together change as well. But there IS something in the water….read on to find out.
The Dirty Lowdown
Copyright © 2011 Robert Carraher All Rights Reserved

Article firstpublished as BookReview: The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto on Blogcritics.

The Perfect Assassin by Ward Larsen - Only Only 99¢ for Kindle!

2011-12-27T13:23:00.001-08:00

Did you get a Kindle or other eReader for Christmas? Then check out this great title.

Oceanview Publishing is offering

The Perfect Assassin by Ward Larsen

for Kindle eBook

Only 99¢

for a limited time!

Click the image to purchase!

If you haven't read Ward Larsen, now is a great opportunity!

___________________________

In the middle of the Atlantic, Christine makes an incredible discovery - a man narrowly clinging to his life in the frigid waters. With only minutes left to survive in the icy temperatures, the man barely escapes death as he is rescued by Christine. But there is more to this unlikely survivor than meets the eye. Much more.

David Slaton is a Kidon - a highly-trained, highly-precise, and highly-dangerous Israeli assassin. Christine's world begins to capsize: she quickly goes from rescuer to the one in need of rescue as the Kidon hijacks her boat to England.

Peril on the high seas ensues as Christine is forced into an unlikely and tenuous partnership with the Kidon. But in this world, things are not as they seem; David Slaton is both the hunter and the hunted, and he and Christine are in grave danger. Targeted by a ruthless, sinister and lethal organization, the two are forced to run from unrelenting terrorists, the police and their governments.

But there is even more at stake: a mysterious ship and its dangerous and deadly cargo have disappeared without a trace. Accidental deaths appear not to have been accidents at all. The Kidon knows too much about a sinister terrorist cell planning to bring the world to its knees. Will the Kidon win in this race against time?

With the precision of a sharpshooter, author Ward Larsen weaves an intricate tale of espionage and intrigue. The Perfect Assassin is full of high-octane action that will leave readers breathless until the final, shocking line. Ward Larsen writes with uncanny dexterity, able to seamlessly fuse pulse-racing action, and shocking revelations with a very real cast of characters.

_______________________

Also by Ward Larsen

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