There are those who refer to the Detroit area pianist Bob Seeley as the foremost player in the world, the greatest boogie woogie pianist alive today. There are those, too, who will mistakenly call him low key, in spite of the mighty rumblings that emanate from his supremely talented digits. He doesn’t have a record contract, though he’ll happily sell you any or all of his three self-produced CDs at the gig or by mail. He doesn’t take the show on the road a heck of a lot -- but when he does, he d …

The Martin Scorsese-generated blues series, a weeklong extravaganza of blues films presented on PBS stations across the country, was one of the most anticipated events of the past few decades. Given the decline of sales across the board for all genres of music, the folks who make, record and release blues music were hoping for a shot in the arm, akin to the Ken Burns series on jazz and, to a lesser degree, the country/bluegrass film "O Brother". While every label with a stake in the music releas …

Publishing year-end lists serves to spark debate and (ideally) inspire closer inspection of the music that moves us throughout the year. If you’re like me, you probably shake and scratch your head every time you look at these lists, wondering what in the world the list maker could have been thinking. "They thought what was the best album of the year? What, are they kidding!?" There are lists that inspire, too. I often buy music on the basis of year-end lists, but only if at least some of …

The relationship between record companies and musicians who aspire to be recording artists is a symbiotic one. The levels of success in those affiliations hinge on both the appeal of the artist as well as on the marketing savvy of the label and their pr departments. Giants like Sony/Columbia, BMG, Blue Note, Verve and Telarc are masters of strategy. They know how to entice talented players to their ranks and, more importantly, how to get the word out to print media and radio, and ultimately to t …

One of the more intriguing concepts of music that of an alternate, parallel language more ancient and more starkly emotional than the spoken word apples to those who play avant garde and free forms of music. The musician who plays "free" jazz, music free from, though not especially devoid of, conventional boundaries of harmony, melody and rhythmic form, is perhaps more tuned into the concept of alternate language than others. These are the players who think in terms of growing the music, stretch …