Sunshine For Your Ears
It was 1952 when jazz impresario Norman Granz (founder of Verve records) recruited Gene Krupa to join Buddy Rich in his long running Jazz at the Philharmonic series. After the two played together for a few months, Granz envisioned a captivating drum-off, the two super-stars battling it out in a spectacular exhibition, which ultimately proved so popular […]
A few of our most popular contributors are traveling this weekend for romantic Valentines Day get-a-ways so, in the spirit of romance, PaisleyBlog demands that you listen to Scott Bradlee (Yes, demands! This is the era of 50 Shades of Grey after-all). Bradlee is a virtuoso, contract piano player out of the Big Apple with sardonic […]
What I’m Listening To Today: Django Reinhardt: Swing De Paris. In 1970, Bob Dylan sang that he “went to see the gypsy”. It’s been proposed that Dylan was referring to “The King” when he said “he did it in Las Vegas and he can do it here”. Elvis Presley had recently staged a comeback, resurrecting […]
What I’m Listening to Tonight: Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong: The Complete Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong On Verve. While this is something that I have had for a while (late 90’s I think), I shouldn’t always have to talk about new music should I? ShuaibaJ told me that I need to type at least […]
Slide Guitars vs. Slide Whistles? Both, together? I wish. Bob Brozman’s light-fair blues album Devil’s Slide (1988) could only be made better by the latter and is a perfect demonstration of the former. The album also magnifies the prohibition-model muted horns and maestro man-call music. So that’s interesting. But the blues instrumentals are the true […]
On a lighter note, Mose Allison is a jazz genius. He has released over 40 albums in the past 55 years and he’s still going strong. His style pre-dates VanMo and his chill singing projects a relaxing, instant jazz club vibe. Don’t let the easy sound distract you from his phenomenal piano chops. Listen to […]
After tangentially mentioning the band Attila in an earlier post, I decided to give their album, also named Attila, a more in-depth listen. It is an amazing album. Amazing that it exists and amazing that it is not more well known. While a heavy shadow has been cast over this short-lived band by the negative reviews […]
Stephanie is reading in her suzani print wing-back, smothered by a charcoal fur throw, while I putter around the piano attempting to time the bridge within Joplin’s Solace. She looks at me and says “I want to hear Sidney Bechet”. Bechet, hmmm… You sly girl, I don’t know how to play Bechet. (I’m certain she […]