Jazz & Blues Lounge

The posting from yesterday about the Las Vegas blogging event, got me wondering about what kind of jazz clubs there are in Vegas.  Given how they have entire casinos based on various themes, I am surprised they don’t have an entire casino devoted to Jazz. 
I have never been to Vegas, so I can’t say what is and what is not there.  I can only go by what I hear and what I find online.  So, I did  little checking.  I found an entire list of clubs with live music.  Of course, having never been there, I can’t say where these …read more

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So, it seems that there is some kind of big BlogFest or something coming up in the first part of November.  OK, technically it is called Blog World Expo and it is November 7th, 8th, and 9th.  The folks who bring you this blog and other outstanding b5media blogs are going to be having an entire day devoted to them there and they would like those of us who are blogging for them to talk about it.
Sadly, I will not be able to attend.  I don’t think I can get away from my full-time gig to fly off to Vegas.  …read more

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I know this is the music blog and all, but I did want to thank all of you who sent such kind words to me after I announced the birth of my niece.  I finally got a chance to see her this weekend and it was amazing.  I have always wanted to be an uncle and now I am and I am planning on being the coolest uncle I can be.  I also know that this little girl will grow up with and appreciation of music and, in particular, jazz.
Interesting note, my brother admitted that, had he had a boy, …read more

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I got this e-mail.  See, since I started writing this blog and people have begun reading it, I get some strange e-mails.  You know how e-mail is.  Sometimes they seem just sort of legit and then you scratch your head and wonder.
So, this one came to me and I have been sitting here debating while also going to my book reading and making plans to visit my niece.  Is this legit?  I don’t know.  It sort of seems like one of those e-mails from a guy who supposedly represents the Sultan of Burnai or something and he just wants to …read more

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Well, good news for me personally, bad news for the blog for a couple of days, sorry to say.
1.  I have my first book reading/signing/release party.  My book “Ghosts of St. Louis: The Lemp Mansion and Other Eerie Tales” came out a few weeks back, but this is my big Chicago party for it.  And it is tomorrow night.  So, I will be a tad tied up.
2.  Even bigger news!  I am about to officially become an uncle.  My brother just text messaged me that he and his wife were off to the hospital after a false-labor trip earlier today.  This …read more

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I am going to confess, right up front, to being a bit of a fan of the documentarian Ken Burns.  He’s the guy who does those multiple-night, hours-long documentaries about things like the Civil War and World War II.  These are the kind of documentaries that show up on PBS and play for nights and then go up for sale for hundreds of dollars.
Before he decided to tackle WWII, in fact, many years before, he decided to create a documentary about Jazz.  He caught a bit of flack for it at the time.  Why?  Some accused him of spending too …read more

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So, it was a night for looking up musicians in the modern day on MySpace again.  I have to admit, I have started to enjoy doing this.  Not all of the music I hear I like, but the ones that strike me as particularly good, I like to show off to you guys.  Plus, it makes a pretty easy posting
I did a simple search on MySpace for Jazz Musicians.  One of the guys who cam up is a gentleman by the name of David Murray.  http://www.myspace.com/davidmurraymusic is the page.
This guy has been around for a while and apparently has …read more

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Since I just wrote about Louis Armstrong, I found this rather amusing.  Now, I mentioned how Louis was vital to jazz, the advancement of jazz and was a major player in early jazz.  Of course, he is also probably best known for his song “What a Wonderful World.”  Well, I came across this little number on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKoiMiOQvMc
I figured I would share.
You see, just because he is known for that song, doesn’t meant it’s a bad song.  I argue, the reason it’s a song people bring up again and again and again is because, well, it’s just a damn good …read more

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Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton is a rather controversial figure in the world of jazz.  Why?  Well, because of the legendary status for himself that he, essentially, created all on his own.  Many people who love jazz dismiss the man as a braggart and, quite frankly, a bit of an idiot.  His own arrogance has been the downfall and backlash against him by those who love jazz.  How arrogant was he?  He reportedly carried a business card with his name on it and beneath his name were the words “Originator of Jazz.”
Just like Little Richard likes to walk around calling himself …read more

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Hello one and all.  I wanted to write and tell you all that I apologize for not writing over the past few days.  I have been fighting some kind of horrific head cold.  I have been very doped up on cold medicine and barely able to keep my head up.
I have been greatly enjoying writing the “Master of Jazz” series (as I have come to think of it) and I wanted to write about several other classic jazz musicians and artists.  They are a lot of fun to write, but they do take a lot of time.  They tend to …read more

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