Snark and Reverb

My first thought when checking this album out was, “With a title like that, this album had better deliver!”  Kenny Garrett begins with a free jazz piece, “Countdown”.  Interestingly, my brain first linked this to a similar sound I’ve heard from a Sonny Rollins album, The Solo Album.  Of course there were differences, including drums.  (There is also the track “Like Sonny”, which I’ll go into later on.) But when the second track, “Equinox” started, my brain instantly linked onto The Coltrane Express, and what a smooth ride it was.  The drums, bass and thick guitar are so tight that they seem to act as a defibrillator, pushing and pulling Kenny forward and back in an organic (yet controlled) manner.

Garrett is able to capture from the start, the devices often exploited by Coltrane, in regards to instrument layering, tone, [...] Continue Reading…

Phil Upchurch’s Darkness, Darkness has quickly become my current favorite electric guitar-based instrumental album I own.  I decided to check out the album on a whim while admiring the cover art, which for me gives off a Houses Of The Holy vibe.  Perhaps I was in more of a rock guitar mood than jazz that day.  Whatever it was, I’m glad my curiosity got the best of me.  Its not an album I can always just dive into, but when the mood strikes, it scratches an itch that straight ahead rock and traditional jazz just don’ t reach.  It also wasn’t a love-at-first-listen for me either.  Whether mood or my comprehension of everything going on in the album played into that, I’m not sure.  All I know is I had a much less neutral reaction the second and third time [...] Continue Reading…

Went to the Wanee music festival in Live Oak, FL this past weekend. My first time to Suwanee Music Park, and it is truly a beautiful place, and a badass setup for a fest. Two stages: the Peach stage in a large field, and the Mushroom stage in a natural amphitheatre filled with oak trees.

Friday:

The Radiators - Can’t believe I’ve managed to live this close to New Orleans for just under three decades and never see this band, but this was my first time. Good stuff, like a hippie bar band. I’ll probably go see them next time they come through Mobile.

Hill Country Revue - For those that don’t know, this is Cody Dickinson’s (of North Mississippi Allstars) side project. It’s basically NMAS sans Luther with a different singer. Musically they are very talented, honestly the singer gets on my [...] Continue Reading…

Ella Fitzgerald is known as the first lady of song. After hearing any album you can understand why she is given this title. However, after hearing this album, you understand it even more.

THE MUSIC

Most people are accustomed to hearing Ella sing either with Louis Armstrong or solo in her great songbook series. This album finds Ella in top form singing with a small jazz ensemble. This intimate style is a sharp contrast to the large orchestral tracks of her songbook series but it is in no way less impressive or lacking in artistic character.

The album starts out with a jazz standard more reminiscent of Charlie Parker/Dizzy Gillespie. However, when you hear Ella’s version of “A Night In Tunisia” you’ll wonder why [...] Continue Reading…

I stumbled upon Gagging Lolly while perusing CD Baby, and I was inexplicably drawn in. I sampled a few songs, and Gagging Lolly themselves sent me a CD to give a proper listen. Well who is Gagging Lolly?

From the press release: “Gagging Lolly is a pop electronica based dance music duo with an edge as sharp as a straight razor, bringing to life the lyrical adventures of lead singer Charlie who writes from personal experience on themes that are recognizable and relevant to our audience.”

The group originated in 2005 when Charlie and DJ Rotten HD split from their previous group Kelly Greenn. Together, the two of them produce a hybrid Electronica/Dance/Vocal mix.

The first song on I’m an Ocean EP is the title track. My first listen was just terrible, to be honest. The song is way over produced, [...] Continue Reading…

Before I start the review, let me state the following:
If your a fan of bass players and appreciate well played, FAT sounding bass notes with great swing - look no further and just buy this album now.

Now, onto the review…

I was going to the CD shop! What I bought was expensive yet it was music by someone I had never heard before. This is definately not a well known name in jazz (yet) and my purchase was due more to a mere whim of consumerism rather that knowledge of the people involved in the album. Upon first listen, I was impressed by the music that came from my speakers and at that very instant I knew that my money had been well spent. The music was fantastic, warm yet different. The singer, bass player and composer, Esperanza Spalding, is the golden [...] Continue Reading…

I understand the need for ebb and flow in music.  I understand the need for variation, changes of scenery, mood and emotional releases.  But for all of that, I still don’t understand this album.  What happened to the Killers?

Hot Fuss was a fantastic pop rock album with the perfect amount of 80s nostalgia, without becoming a throwback.  Solid tracks with a great sense of melody, crunchy guitar hooks with the occasional synth peppered throughout.  Fun, bombastic bass without sounding like a fraternity house.

Then came Sam’s Town.  They kept those elements more or less, but they just failed to meld together the same way.  The songs were just not of the same caliber either.  The album just didn’t garner repeat listens in any way.  Not worthy.

Enter Day and Age.  Again, the songs simply are not of the same caliber.  Only [...] Continue Reading…

It’s an odd concept, and on balance I cannot really recommend it. I was invited by a legal services vendor to see the Oasis / Ryan Adams / Matt Costa show in their luxury box at the Oakland Arena on December 3, 2008. Weird vibe sitting up in the boonies eating shrimp with chipotle dip instead of standing down on the floor where I like to watch a concert like this one, and unless I was sitting or standing near the open front of the box the sound was dreadful.  I might be older than your average rock concert-goer, but I don’t need a walker yet and I missed the connection you get from being up close and personal.

Anyway, the show had started when I arrived, and Matt Costa looked like a little minnow in a big fish bowl [...] Continue Reading…

I will fully admit up front that I am a big fan of Kanye West’s work. He knows how to make catchy beats, and his rap delivery is very complimentary to them. Maybe not one of the strongest lyricists in the game, he demonstrates that it takes more than superior rapping ability to produce a hit record (pay attention: Nas). Coming off of Graduation, Kanye was at the top of his game, and then it happened: his mother passed away as a result of complications due to (plastic) surgery. Not long after that, Kanye separated from his long time fiancee Alexis Phifer. West’s internal conflict came to light on a stop of his “Glow in the Dark Tour”, when he broke down in the middle of a performance [...] Continue Reading…

I swear to God I thought it would be cock rock.

I really, really did.  Last week sometime a fellow rock snob friend of mine sends me a text along the lines of “r u gettin new gnr”, to which I replied “yes, but it will be cock rock”, to which he replied “lol”.  This is definitely one of those albums I had completely figured out years ago, actually a decade or more ago, which makes it the longest time I’ve ever had an album figured out before its release.   Surely it would be an over produced throw away joke, rife with cheesy lyrics, awful vocals, and brick walled compression that makes Death Magnetic look like a 1980s Barry Diament master?  Right?  I mean, we know that Buckethead and Robin Fincke are taking on guitar duties, which on any other album [...] Continue Reading…