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+--- Thread: championing the unheralded--an ongoing thread (/showthread.php?tid=10098)
championing the unheralded--an ongoing thread - jazzboCR - 20-10-2014
Melvin Taylor Another monster guitarist, dern hard to categorize. Seen him playing 3 different modes using 3 different guitars IN ONE SONG and it all flows together so organically (Blues/jazz/classical on a Strat/Reso/acoustic). A song or two is impressive but check his Concert in Poland to get the full flavor. Spent the bulk of his career in Europe but now he's based in Chicago. Nice guy too. Adequate voice, but it's really in the fingers and imagination. He was done poorly by his record company in this decade (stuck with guys that were way too conventional) but he had 4 discs between '82 and '97 that just killed. He seems to have broken free of Evidence Records (their best selling artist--he made the company).
His site: http://www.melvintaylormusic.com/Here's a taste:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnLfpX5-i7g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw9RW9XX-Lg << his take on a blues classic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We_G5DP9ihY << filmed at his current home club in ChiTown##beastly good take on that Latin classic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rknrpMxw-yk << SRV would be appreciative...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ3mhkrQFgc << This dude makes everything his own. Interesting Uploader note and the comments are a humanizing touch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EogpsQ4eum0 << How's this for generosity of spirit?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5GDEoh5AS0 << one of my fave rave tunes, done by a master. Can't let this go--here's David Sanborn's take: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1wFO09oCEw << for that WindyCityLady...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_9RVpSqiI4 << see what I'm saying about always doing it with utter taste?
BONUS 1: His first album (he was early in burnishing his skills, and more importantly, developing a style that later came not to depend on such a flood of notes--you put it all out there and later pare away the immaterial to get to the essence).: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt8RPsDhr24
BONUS 2: that Concert in Poland (filmed by Polish TV in Gdansk formerly the the seaport city of Free State Of Danzig and an importer of influences from all the world--think the Beatles, etc. in Hamburg)--I cannot find it listed anywhere to play or for sale--it may be an official bootleg he only sells at gigs--that's how I got mine. Search for it--it's rewarding.
Workin' it joyously for all of us...Melvin Taylor, I'm talkin' about--I'm not quite that ego-bound...
championing the unheralded--an ongoing thread - SteveO - 20-10-2014
Another great find Jazz!!!! I like it!!! Pure straight ahead blues vocals and a searing sizzling blues guitar!!!!
championing the unheralded--an ongoing thread - jazzboCR - 20-10-2014
Walter Murphy If he's remembered at all, it's for disco-fying some Classic music pieces (his hit was Beethoven's 5th--what is it about this piece that draws pop artistes to strapping it on?). Anyway, he's a lot more than that and continues today as a composer, arranger, pianist, etc. etc,, as his Wiki shows: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Murphy << scroll down to his awards section. AMG is dismissive of him, seeing him only as of a time and place but Seth McFarlane (South Park, etc) loves his stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MFbn8EbB4k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLsbHWDwNn0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx9smvsaqwE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k6t4CdMgps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O44D7NR58w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmNBqqBI02Q
championing the unheralded--an ongoing thread - jazzboCR - 25-10-2014
Bobby Short The premier cabaret singer and pianist with a 35-year engagement at a top NYC saloon and 24 recordings in a 45-year period (many of them 2-disc sets to include the best of a composer). A Living Legend (the Library of Congress said so). Kept the Great American Songbook alive and refreshed during some lame periods. In addition to the usual names, he championed unjustly neglected Black popular composers (Eubie Blake, Andy Razaf)--not political; he just played'm and let you judge/enjoy. An infectiously enthusiastic gentleman, frequently named to NYC's best-dressed list. Impeccable. Here's the bio: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bobby-short-mn0000077560/biography
It's tough to find individual acceptable clips so, to truly savor the flavor, here are 2 concerts a decade apart:
BONUS 1 : Here's a concert from '79: http://www.youtube. .com/watch?v=PzWrXDzjA7Y
BONUS 2: From '90 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0WnzRuaEWo
BONUS 3: In his self-possessed, dignified way, here's Mr. Short talking about the "Black Broadway" Revue, instigated and funded by him to celebrate and raise our consciousness of the contributions of Black America to NY stages between 1902-1940. No polemics; a calm discussion of a long-ago period. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL8VWrcQ7Jo
All this for that Chicagoland woman.
championing the unheralded--an ongoing thread - jazzboCR - 28-10-2014
Caribbean Jazz Project Some might dismiss this as Latin soul-jazz or a Dave Samuels vehicle--please don't. Nobody but nobody puts together this mix of Caribbean/Andean/ Latin musics the same way. There are are Latin big bands from such disparate places as Finland and Japan, but they're only about the Latin side. Put together originally as a 4tet for a special, ad hoc occasion in '93, it worked so well that it continues to now. Many, many great Latin players have played with this band--there have been 3 distinct core groups, as the wiki explains.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Jazz_Project Let me say this: you cannot go wrong with any of their recordings but THE one to get is their live excursion-'05's Here and Now: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/caribbean-jazz-project-mn0000637132/discography * << I only wish there was a DVD of this--anybody got a sniff on one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZeG_A1tPdg << earlier live clip with Paquito D'Rivera << Like commenter LJLive LJ says...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ6k3wx-qtw << Dizzy's classic reworked magnificently
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onNAGR-jKhk << from the album that got me hook, line and sinker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW9GU8bPaf0 << from an '08 disc--Mr. Samuels ain't lost a step
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2k8sciWSfk
* BONUS 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq2sbC7GQrw <<pt. 1 live
BONUS 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO86L4ZGqBE << pt.2 live--if these don't move that Fri/Sat party right along, look again at the folks you've invited over...
I said nobody's doing the same thing and I stick by that. However, that monster gent Eddie Palmieri has something that edges close, albeit with a harder, more Latin edge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUtMGl7z3-A
championing the unheralded--an ongoing thread - jazzboCR - 03-11-2014
Warren Zevon Severely under-rated--the most literate, strongest, noir-ish writer in Rock. Bar none. Mr. Zevon examined all manner of the Human Condition with an unflinching but loving eye-- a realist but seldom a cynic and never a moralist. He continued to write and perform great music that will live on and be re-worked long, long after the hits ended. He was not only great and good friends with everybody important in Rock, both UK and US, but also deeply appreciated and was friends with the best of crime fiction writers from the dark end of the spectrum (Ross MacDonald, Mitch Albom) and grand friends with Hunter S. Thompson (need I say more?)--such good friends with writers that he was the bedrock of 2 bands featuring writers (Rock Bottom Remainders, Wrockers). Mr. Zevon was deeply flawed, fighting alcoholism and drug abuse his whole working life. A well-written wiki about a fascinating man, worth your time to at least peruse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Zevon
Here's the discog: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/warren-zevon-mn0000816900/discography
The 1st 5 albums are collected here: http://www.allmusic.com/album/original-album-series-mw0001968043
For those just wanting the best, Rhino has 2 albums. For the more casual fan: http://www.allmusic.com/album/genius-the-best-of-warren-zevon-mw0000662270
For those delving deeper: http://www.allmusic.com/album/ill-sleep-when-im-dead-an-anthology-mw0000185962
Mr. Zevon may have saved his best for last. Read this description and convince yourself...: http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-wind-mw0000039633 << Can't find the whole disc online free--one of you folks got some time and energy?--cheap payback to the community, right? You've read this far so something's going on...
Here's the hits--I'll leave you to find his later stuff--the times changed; he stayed strong:
STRONG WARNING: Everything about this song including the title-is very crude. It does touch deeply on a personal subject (in his case anyway and he wrote it)--resonates with me and many of the commenters--worth your time to scan.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHDdqubE7zQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP5Xv7QqXiM << big shout-out to the uploader--the still pix are integral. And yes, that is David Sanborn (and David lindley and...) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhSc8qVMjKM < Turn this up and get busy--it's OK--nobody's looking...or they're doin' it too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM_5SVSJSZU << Can.not.imagine. a better duet partner on this song: Neil Young...so perfect in every way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhRRWwH3Fro << from a US TV appearance. The host, David Letterman, loved this guy. Paul Shaeffer and the band did too...and it's obvious. Mr. Zevon was the sole guest one night in 2002...and he tore it up. Worth looking for. He was also the "go-to" guy as bandleader when Mr. Schaeffer took a vaca or whatever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44Rwu5yPUrc << from an Old Grey Whistle Test perf (they seemed to get the best from the artists presented)-- the better of the Laurel Canyon gang appears to be present ( David lindley, Jackson Browne)
BONUS 1: a 1-hour concert piece ('82): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-IwijATWDE
BONUS 2: a near-2-hr concert ('93--height of his powers): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfMhdVMAAg8
championing the unheralded--an ongoing thread - jazzboCR - 10-11-2014
Black 47 is ending it. 25 years of excellence and their latest may be their best. The leaders wanted to go out on top before any nostalgia or mediocrity set in. The best socio-political band ever and, though they were determinedly Irish-American republican, they addressed US issues equally well. Plus it was not some musty Irish tunes set to a R&R beat; they wrote most of their material and set it to reggae/funk/ world-beats as well as Irish rhythms. Encouraged US armed forces worldwide to download and share with others royalty free (genuine bootlegs, officially encouraged). Seemingly never played the same set-list twice. Here's a NYTimes article on this emotion-laden ending.: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/nyregion/black-47-to-perform-final-show-in-midtown.html For those wanting more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_47
Some tunes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GViXO8bZDz8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2sPCiZPRzs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bygHRUbPS0Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8D_uN-73S0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wukfdjJv340
BONUS: a 1-hour concert at one of Philly's best venues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80kXCFSdNiQ
championing the unheralded--an ongoing thread - jazzboCR - 14-11-2014
Bill Kirchen If you are a fan of the Telecaster, you follow him avidly. Long a member of that raving-fun genre-blending outfit, Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, he's done significant work whether fronting his own or gigging with others He helped define and is a leading light in that genre known as Americana. He's had such a wide-swath career it's tough to capture in a few words, but AMG does well: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bill-kirchen-mn0000069922/biography << Might go longer with the music, in light of this. Start with: BK talks Tele http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Rfv0dQttM
Some tunes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdHwGqbFtck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJoa47R1yqc <<Mr. Kirchen explains it all in this one song. Great pics too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj11j0AbV5g << I've suffered these various indignities...how about you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWKz8tGR6KM << He's all about the song, no matter the source....That's Pete Kennedy on 2nd gtr/slide and ain't he just great!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPgYai0nZ3Y << What I said.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QAaiSpxwV8 << Imagine you drop into your fave guitar store and...this happens. Lordy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGtuSWeX8-g << Nice man. Prolly spent an hour+ answering questions, giving tips, talking equipment, etc.etc. after this ad-hoc perf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx0d8x4ehp4 << Solo--no place to hide...2 others from this radio perf on YT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVoQnikTtoE
BONUS: Full hour concert in front of dedicated guitar lovers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujV4zmSkWZI
Want to see him or get in touch for any reason?: http://www.billkirchen.com/ << he tours quite a bit, his sched including a library in New Jersey
He's prolly dead-sick of hearing his profile resembles Woody Allen's so don't tell him I said so...
If you liked this, look into a guitarist named Redd Volkaert.: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/redd-volkaert-mn0000884192
championing the unheralded--an ongoing thread - jazzboCR - 17-11-2014
Micke Muster Love that wildman, Jerry Lee Lewis but wish he was 30 years younger? Try this guy. Translated from French, so a little choppy: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micke_Muster AMG only lists a Greatest Hits album but here's his Website: http://www.mickemuster.se/micke_english.htm
Get ready 'cuz here's some tunes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIgnI5okgns << Forthrightly Swedish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxvOhaa5W_Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d6duvCqT28 << Ever heard a rockabilly version before? Me either.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v48vTx8UbaM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdFBHtKf3bM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0rz5PBBU_o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnLsVWX_E9c << with Jerry Lee's sister
championing the unheralded--an ongoing thread - jazzboCR - 17-11-2014
Don't know what put me in mind of Billy Swan but he was a premier sideman/arranger/producer in Nashville for many years. Played with Kris Kristofferson for a goodly time. Wrote 2 excellent songs 16 years apart.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Swan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOT2dEqg2Ss << the best known version but an amazing number of different artists have recorded it << wrote this when he was 16
I like this song so much, I'll present it 2 ways--2 acoustic guitars and with full band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dki700Xjh3k and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5V2hjJ6kCg