Apr 29, 2014
When a guitarist decides to record an album’s worth of the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, he had better bring his “A” game. The great Brazilian composer/performer is a towering figure in 20th century jazz, and it seems like everyone worth his or her salt has taken a crack at his deep catalogue of...
Apr 25, 2014
When so many think of the late, great Chet Baker, they think of a life cut short by abuse of drugs and violent encounters. Even in the documentary film Let’s Get Lost, there seems little to like about the great trumpet player and singer. We’re often left wondering how anyone tolerated his seemed excesses and lack of...
Apr 13, 2014
The Spring is truly the season of spiritual awakengin and celebration. Holy week for those of the Christian faith begins today, and the first night of Passover, the Jewish festival of freedom, begins tomorrow evening as does the festival of Vaisaki, celebrated by Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs. Theravada, the New Year...
Apr 7, 2014
Had she not succumbed from the results of a life lived hard and fast, Billie Holiday would have been 89 years old today. Born Eleanora Faganon April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia, PA, she overcame a childhood marred by neglect and abuse to become one of the seminal singers in American musical history.
By the time she was...
Apr 6, 2014
May 22 will be the 100th Anniversary of Sun Ra's birthday or as Ra would likely have called it, his "arrival day." Who was Sun Ra? Born Herman Blount, in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1914, he came in to Fletcher Henderson's big band as a pianist and arranger just after World War II and became known for his innovative...