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01/21/2009
  • President Obama, Jazz Musician:

    echovar’s The MicroCaster in Chief, puts President Obama in the context of jazz musicians:

    “Watching President Barack Obama work his way through the long, long inaugural day, I see a virtuoso. In each venue, at each moment, he’s broadcasting live across multiple streams of media. It’s live, well thought out, and in the moment. While the messages are carried by the major media networks, the voice speaks to the micro-community.

    “...

    “When a great player improvises he’s not making things up out of thin air. He knows the scales, the changes, the modes, the melody, the rhythm and the audience. And from those raw materials he makes something both familiar and new.”

    It’s a good comparison as Obama always seems to be operating on several levels at once. The post is interspersed with YouTube jazz snippets. I especially liked this one of Anthony Braxton performing “Impressions”:

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01/20/2009
01/11/2009
01/06/2009
01/05/2009
01/04/2009
12/31/2008
12/29/2008

John Beasley’s Compelling Tribute to Herbie Hancock

Published
on 12/29/2008
in Best of and Music
. Comments Tags: , , , , .

Letters to Herbie by John Beasley Letters to Herbie, by pianist John Beasley, presents a number of well-known Hebie Hancock songs in a fresh light, with a little help from Christian McBride on bass and Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums. I especially love “ 4 A.M.,” with McBride channeling Jaco Pastorius’ original performance, and “Eye of the Hurricane,” but it’s all good! I think it’s also one of the best jazz recordings of 2008.

The CD also contains “Bedtime Voyage,” an interesting combination of Herbie’s “Tell Me a Bedtime Story” and “Maiden Voyage.” The YouTube video below features a version recorded in April 2008 by Beasley with Trevor Ware on bass and Bill Wysaske on drums:

12/27/2008
12/24/2008
  • sophistafunk!

    Destination Out presents Herbie Hancock’s Nobu:

    “a burbling slice of bubble funk — the would-be intro for the 70s spy show of our imaginations. Here is Herbie at his most adventurous and forward-thinking (electric edition). Not the full-blown hip-shake of Flood’s ‘Chameleon,’ but a crispier, more upright skitter across the Arpiverse. It is astonishingly undated. Or at least not easily datable.”

    Now to wait for Santa…

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