Contributors' Corner - Feature Stories
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Watermelon Slim
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Thirty-four years ago a Vietnam war veteran by the name of Bill Homans lay in an army hospital bed and taught himself how to play upside-down slide guitar using a triangle pick cut from a rusty coffee can top and used an army issued Zippo lighter as the slide. On Tuesday July 24th at Vancouver Canada’s Yale Hotel, a...
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Concert Review by Joe Montague
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Mela - A Maelstrom Of Energy
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Mela as he likes to be known took to the Pure Spirits Stage and at once became at one with the spirits of the Historic Distillery District. He explained to the audience that he had a new album and he would be playing most of the songs from the album, he said, “I would like to tell you what...
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Concert Review by Paul J. Youngman
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Vision Festival XII Held in New York
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For the twelfth consecutive year, Arts for Art has presented Vision Festival in New York City. The event, which, according to the organizers, celebrated, "A Dozen Years Of Visionary Music, Dance, Spoken Word, Film And Visual Arts," was held from June 19th to June 24th, once again at the Angel Orensanz Foundation on Manhattan's Lower East Side. This year's...
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Concert Review by Dr. Saïs Kamalidiin
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Music Legend Continues His Legacy
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At ninety-two years of age, Les Paul continues to play to a packed house every Monday night at the Iridium in New York City. Locals and tourists line up on Broadway to a get a glimpse of the Wizard from Waukesha. A Wisconsin native myself, I am particularly proud of his many accomplishments. His impact on the history and...
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Concert Review by Bryan Zoran
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New Orleans Fire with Donald Harrison and Dr. John
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On a Friday in mid-February, for about three hours, instead of the insufferable wind chills of, usually, 10 above zero, it was 90 degrees in Chicago. The heat was emanating from a performance at Navy Pier’s Grand Ballroom. The performance was labeled an evening of Mardi Gras music from New Orleans with Dr. John headlining and guest artist Donald...
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Concert Review by Rahsaan Clark Morris
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VISION FESTIVAL XII
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The 12th Annual Vision Festival took place from Tuesday, June 19 thru Sunday June 24th, 2007 and featured a smörgåsbord of the world’s greatest improvisers. As inspiring as it is unique, the festival showcases artists who have built their reputations courageously on their own terms. To celebrate all of these visionaries under one roof is a testament to the...
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Concert Review by Bryan Zoran
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Jason Moran Orchestra
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Despite being one of the 20th century’s premier pianists, “Thelonious Sphere Monk” remains unknown to most Americans. An outlandish but sadly apocryphal story brings this point home. Tabitha Soren interviewing Bill Clinton on MTV supposedly asked the presidential candidate who he had dreamed of playing saxophone with. “Thelonious Monk” Clinton replied. “Who is the ‘Loneliest Monk’?” a bewildered Tabitha...
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Concert Review by Harry S. Pariser
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Shari Chaskin and The Prime Time Big Band
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What a fabulous way to spend a Saturday afternoon, enjoying the music of the nineteen piece Prime Time Big Band and the luscious vocals of Shari Chaskin at the Ironwood Stage and Grill. Having interviewed Chaskin only two days before I thought it would be a good idea to catch her gig, never expecting that on a warm June...
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Concert Review by Joe Montague
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The Mix
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My first week back in a rainy Paris. The large old style windows in the bathroom are frosted a milky white. Below they look out onto the courtyard and above similar windows with their boxes of Geraniums drooping their heads in this heavy rain.
There is something hypnotic about how the lone light over the entrance to the courtyard...
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Viewpoint by Maxwell Chandler
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Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival Enjoys 12th Year
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Now in its twelfth year, the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival continues to showcase some fine women musicians. The evening I caught this year--there were only tickets available for Thursday's performance--also brought into focus some issues that still plague jazz, however. One, ironically, is the continuing gender gap within the music. For the first of the three...
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Concert Review by Peter Westbrook
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Johnny Pennino, Bobby Lonero, Jimmy Cavallo & Pat Carey
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Three of the greatest entertainers on the live music scene today, are not necessarily household names, but their talent as artists is long-standing and much-appreciated by ‘those in the know’ in the music biz. Johnny Pennino is known as the Sax King of New Orleans, and rightly so! He is deservedly in the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, and is one...
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Concert Review by Joe Curtis
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David Rotundo at Southside Johnny's
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It’s always a great pleasure to see blues harp (harmonica) great David Rotundo in concert. Rotundo’s type of blues is the real deal -- the healing blues that makes the real blues go away. Such was a recent warm June night at the beginning of the summer for this writer, and a cheering packed house at Southside Johnny’s .....
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Concert Review by Joe Curtis
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Gaslamp Jazz Festival
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Smooth jazz guitarist Norman Brown opened the act billed as Summer Storm at the 32nd annual The Harrah’s Rincon Smooth Jazz 98.1 Gaslamp Festival in San Diego, The one day festival held on May 26, featured numerous musicians and singers performing on two stages located in the city’s downtown core from mid afternoon until late evening. Brown was joined...
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Concert Review by Joe Montague
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Angelique Kidjo Live in San Francisco
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"I believe that any feeling of xenophobia and fear comes from ignorance. Often people think that when you are not like them, you are different and therefore you are a threat. It is not true. I think that the problem of xenophobia today is coming from the world economic crisis. Some people, for example, think that as foreigners we...
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Concert Review by Harry S. Pariser
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Jazz Flourishes Before it Fades at Smithsonian Jazz Café.
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It has been an odd few weeks at the Smithsonian Jazz Café. In spite of a succession of fine performances and packed houses, the management has suddenly decided that the venue is not profitable and announced that it may have to close, possibly as soon as September. It is a puzzling development.
The Café opened six years ago, somewhat...
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Concert Review by Peter Westbrook
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Buddy Guy Blues'd It Up At Toronto's Massey Hall
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Legendary blues guitarist Buddy Guy, made his annual musical pilgrimage to Toronto’s Massey Hall, Saturday, April 21, 2007. He again was supported by his fabulous blues band, featuring Ric ‘Jaz Guitar’ Hall on rhythm/lead guitar; the great Marty Sammon on keyboards; Tim Austin on drums; and Orlando Wright on electric bass. All these musicians are virtuosos in their own...
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Concert Review by Joe Curtis
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An Enchanted Evening
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Roberta Gambarini, New York based, Italian born and raised, has firmly established herself as one of the best jazz vocalists of our time. Just my opinion, no, this is the voice of many, including jazz legend, renowned drummer Jake Hanna. When I asked Mr. Hanna his feelings on playing with Roberta Gambarini, he replied without hesitation, “She is one...
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Concert Review by Paul J. Youngman
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Randy Bachman Does His Jazz Thing Too, At Massey Hall
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It was certainly a truly historic musical celebration of the blues, jazz, folk and some Middle Eastern musical influences at Toronto's Massey Hall, Friday, April 13, 2007. It was just the opposite of a 'bad luck' evening of music for this ‘13th’ -- courtesy of three of the most renowned and respected guitarists around: Randy Bachman (Guess Who/BTO), Jeff...
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Concert Review by Joe Curtis
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Salif Keita in Berkeley
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Salif Keita, 58, a 40-year veteran of the music scene, numbers among Africa’s top musical stars. A man in motion, Salif might be anywhere from Canada to Christchurch within the space of just a few weeks. Born into a royal family, Salif found himself barred by social custom from becoming a musician. As an albino, Salif was an outcast;...
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Concert Review by Harry S. Pariser
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Imani Winds At University of Baltimore
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Last year, in a concert review on this site, I wrote "Jazz lovers would do well to check out Imani Winds." Their recent concert performances continue to reinforce this idea. I caught them again recently at the University of Baltimore's Student Center. Again, I should emphasize that this is not a jazz ensemble. It is a classic woodwind quintet...
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Concert Review by Peter Westbrook
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Eric Bibb
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Attending an Eric Bibb concert is a lot like sitting down with an old friend and having coffee. The blues singer / guitar virtuoso’s performance is anything but high powered, as he opts instead to create a warm, friendly ambiance. On April 21, Bibb played two forty-five minute sets at Calgary’s Theatre Junction at the Grand.
The night consisted...
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Concert Review by Joe Montague
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Misha Piatigorsky
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It was a full night around town – guitarist John Abercrombie at Birdland, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane at the Blue Note, guitarist Pat Metheny with pianist Brad Mehldau at Carnegie Hall, guitarist Bill Frisell at the Village Vanguard – and jazz performances were of the pickin’. Waiting at the front doors of the Iridium Jazz Club was a couple who...
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Concert Review by Cheryl K. Symister-Masterson
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Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau
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Like a picture pulled from a photo album, guitarist Pat Metheny looked the same as he did in 1977 – the last time he appeared at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House in downtown Poughkeepsie. He still wears his hair long and he still dresses in casual attire – faded jeans, knit top and sneakers. Pianist Brad Mehldau had a...
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Concert Review by Cheryl K. Symister-Masterson
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Anita Baker Live at the Barbados Jazz Festival 2007
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An air of both impatience and anticipation hangs in the air at Sir Garfield Sobers Auditorium on the outskirts of Bridgetown, the capital of the Caribbean island nation of Barbados. Legendary singer Anita Baker is set to take the stage to perform at the 2007 Barbados Jazz Festival. First, everyone stands to sing the Barbados national anthem. Then the...
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Concert Review by Harry S. Pariser
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Randy Weston with Billy Harper at Yoshi's
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At around eight PM on the second Thursday in April, Randy Weston takes the stage at Yoshi's to begin a four-night run at the intimate Oakland, California club. Weston hasn’t performed in the Bay Area in recent years save at large halls festivals, so this is a rare chance to see this accomplished octogenerian master of the jazz piano...
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Concert Review by Harry S. Pariser
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