Apr 30, 2010
West Coast pianist Eric Muhler is one of those musicians who has been around seemingly forever, but never broken through to wide success. He began with a rock and blues background, before morphing into a top jazz keyboard player. The 1980’s saw Muhler performing as a member in two exceptional progressive jazz groups...
Apr 29, 2010
I’ve explored the connection between jazz and rock music a number of times during my tenure as a blogger. For example, I’ve presented podcasts of jazz artists handling the music of Joni Mitchell, the Grateful Dead, and Sting. However, those three artists have jazz roots/influences to their music, whether by virtue...
Apr 12, 2010
You’ve heard Catherine Russell – you just might not realize you have. She’s paid the rent for years as an in-demand backup singer for rock artists like Steely Dan and David Bowie, and toured as part of the “American Beauty Project”, a rootsy tribute to the early 70’s music of the Grateful Dead.
On her own,...
Apr 2, 2010
It seems that most religions have Spring holidays. In fact, celebrating the beginning of Spring may be among the oldest seasonal holidays in human culture. The earliest reference we have to such a holiday comes to us from Babylon, 2400 BCE. The city of Ur apparently had a celebration dedicated to the moon and the Spring...