Advice and tidbits on how to keep your music and your brand on track. Today's inspiration comes from vocalist FAYE PATTON, who was in good company as being featured in the outstanding new book WOMEN IN JAZZ. She also had a "lovely gig" in mid-March and is waiting for the review to come out in... Continue Reading →
Advice and tidbits on how to keep your music and your brand on track. Today's inspiration comes from trumpet player Jonathan Saraga. How are you getting gigs, whether performing or teaching? I'm not getting any performance gigs...right now, but I am going to start working on it. I have been observing how people have set... Continue Reading →
First in a series of advice and tidbits from musicians everywhere: how to keep your music and your brand on track. Today’s inspiration comes from saxman Alex Hitchcock. How are you getting gigs, whether performing or teaching? I've put the immediate search for gigs on hold just for the moment while I adjust to my... Continue Reading →
Always a sucker for a fat sax and a hot beat, I took a listen to the new single from vocalist Zoey Tess and I was not disappointed. Tess wields a strong and assertive voice with beautiful tone and phrasing that punches and glides in all the right places. Artist’s quote: “It’s a blend of... Continue Reading →
Just released in January: original compositions by violinist Gabe Terracciano on a CD called “In Flight” from label Red Piano Records. These are six ear-pleasing tracks strong on melody, sweetness and snazz. How did you come to start playing violin at such an early age? My father is a piano player, and his grandfather played... Continue Reading →
As art moves us, the ripple effects can cause the creation of new art; so has composer and vibraphonist Christian Tamburr been inspired by the larger-than-life sculptures of artist Seward Johnson. Tamburr’s new CD that riffs off these massive works was named after his favorite one of them, “Awakening.” From the sweet hook of “Between... Continue Reading →
“They Call Me Big New York” is the newest CD by Brooklyn-born guitarist Christian DeMesones (featured earlier here). If you want to know why he’s called that, it’s because of his big personality and heart, and an approach to music that is 110% all in. The album (just released on 2/20/20 and with over a... Continue Reading →
Bandleader, composer, arranger, trumpeter and a guy who found an important place for 34 strings in his latest oeuvre, Rich Willey has just completed a new CD that brims with depth, texture and amazing walls of jazz. “Down and Dirty” is an all-out experience that’s ambitious and brightly reflects the hard work of a group... Continue Reading →
A reedy mournfulness gives way to outstretched arms seeking to capture the light in a new CD “Green Sapphire” from Canadian guitarist Artur Bayramgalin. The title track (inspired by a dream about his father) journeys comfortably as a mood piece of pastel colors. It’s a deceptive start, because the stop-start jaggedness of “Obsession” follows, paying... Continue Reading →
