Jazz & Blues Lounge

Of course, there are no end to the experts in the music world. As I mentioned, one of the biggest places to find lists of all kinds is Amazon.com.  Who are these people?  Then again, who am I?  I’m a guy who answered an ad he found online and now I am considered an expert in jazz and blues, despite the fact I have openly admitted here my blues knowledge was not nearly as great as my jazz knowledge.  Even then, there are people who have left comments here who obviously know more about jazz than me.
That being said, I …read more

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Looking around for lists has been an interesting experience.  It seems that people truly love lists and there are an endless number of people willing to write them.  At the same time, I began to wonder.  I began to wonder if there was someone out there to definitively declare what they felt was the “Greatest Jazz Album of All Time.”
Of course, such a thing would be nearly impossible to declare.  I could not even tell you for certain which jazz album in my own collection would be my vote for Greatest Jazz Album of All Time.  “Kind of Blue” would …read more

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Let’s be upfront about things.  As I write this, I am 36-years-old.  I am not of the age where I should be having so many “senior moments” like I am having now.  At the same time, I have written so many posts here, it is only a matter of time before I start repeating myself.  If I have mentioned this list before, I apologize, but I like sparking a debate and more people are reading this blog these days, so why not bring it up again?
The list of the “25 Must-Have Jazz CDs of All Time.”  It is on a …read more

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Finding jazz on the radio has become a very difficult thing.  Essentially, if you want to listen to grea jazz music, you need to listen online or to your own CDs or maybe your MP3 player.  There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but I am a guy who still enjoys actual radio shows.  This is probably because of my days in radio.
Here in Chicago, the local National Public Radio station used to play classic jazz all night long. Then they went and changed that and got rid of it.  It was rather sad, but the numbers over night were …read more

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It’s actually become quite fun to track down the many “Best of” lists that have started to pop up.  It’s also interesting to note that there seem to be quite a few Best of Jazz lists and they tend to have various and slightly different selections.  I guess this is a really good thing.  It shows that the death of Jazz may have been slightly incorrect.  In fact, it may be thriving just as well as always.
This one comes from the online magazine known as Slate.com.  I have even attempted to write for them and, well, that hasn’t quite happened.  …read more

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I think I have found my calling when it comes to these end-of-year lists that everyone wants to do.  Since I feel it is unfair to try and put together a list myself as I have not come nearly close enough to listening to all of the music that was released in 2007, I am leaving the list-writing to people who have had that kind of time.  Or, at the very least, I hope to spark some debate among the people who stop by here and read my ramblings.
I posted one list which was on Amazon.com.  It generated some talk, …read more

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I was rooting around on MySpace, becuase I do that as you know, and I came across a site and immediately checked it out. I was totally digging the music and everything and immediately thought about directing the people who come to this site to it. Then I had to pause. Did I already direct people to this site? Had I mentioned this one before? Hmmmm…
Being the lazy SOB that I am, I am not bothering to root through my own blog and find out. I figure, if I posted this before, it was a long time ago and, well, …read more

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Its another freezing cold day here in Chicago and the entire city is waiting to awaken encased in ice by tomorrow morning.  That means it was tough to drag my sorry flabby behind to the computer to write tonight.  You know what that means, right?  Yes, it means taking the easy way out and going to the WDCB radio station website.  You can visit the same station by clicking here, but you can look below to see some of their events listed on their events calendar.
Chicago Jazz Magazine’s
Up-And-Coming Jazz Jam Session 

General Event Information

Event Category:
WDCB Sponsored Events

Price:
No Cover

Dates and Times:
Wednesday, December …read more

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It has been well established here that I am a fan of the horn when it comes to jazz.  That is true, for the most part.  I love a good Monk piano piece or perhaps Keith Jarrett or Herbie Hancock.  However, I would rather listen to Miles or Charlie or Dizzy and that’s just my personal taste.  There is one very notable exception and that would be a guy who plays the vibraphone.
Also known as the “vibes”  you may be asking, what the hell are they?  Well, it looks like a xylophone except that the bars you hit with the …read more

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Earlier in the week I talked about an article on Amazon.com that purported to be the best blues albums of 2007.  Of course, there is also a list of the supposed best jazz albums of 2007 there as well. 
In theory, I should have my own list.  I have some problems with that, though.  I am just one guy and it would be physically impossible for me to listen to every single jazz album released in 2007.  How could I reasonably be expected to create a list of my favorite albums when, at best, I may have heard only one tune …read more

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