Jazz & Blues Lounge

Sorry blues fans that I am a little late on this one. Another sad day and another sad report because another light has been snuffed out and snuffed out way too soon. A very popular and talented blues guitarist, out of Atlanta, named Sean Costello, was found dead on Tuesday.
Not much in the way of details seems to be available at this time. Wednesday would have been his 29th birthday. There was a musical tribute given by his friends and family at The Howell Mill Road Blues Bar where Costello practically set up a second home …read more

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Well, as you know, we lost one of the biggest names and influences on modern music this week. He is known as a bluesman, but he really influenced rock and roll right along with some of the earliest rock and roll musicians. I felt like I hadn’t really done the man justice with my little blurb-like blog entry on the day he passed away. What better way to appreciate Bo, however, than watching and listening to the man. So, thanks to YouTube for the following:
Here’s Bo in the 60s, complete with 60s clothing and freaky background …read more

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Wow, this is one of those posts you know is coming, and yet when it happens, you really don’t want to make the announcement. One of the biggest influences on early Rock and Roll and the man who invented his own style of “beat,” Bo Diddley, has passed away at the age of 79. The initial reports are that he died of heart failure. For the story as it is at CNN you can click on the link.
Bo Diddley was a contemporary of the likes of Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and even Elvis Presley. He was …read more

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Another elderly member of the jazz world has shuffled off this mortal coil and this one had a definite local Chicago tie-in.  For a full detail, check out the “Post No Bills” blog by the Chicago Reader.  John Young was 86-years-old and he passed away last week.
According to Peter Margasak, who writes the “Post No Bills” blog, “Although he released only six albums under his own name during a career that spanned as many decades, he was a crucial presence on the city’s bop scene. (Sadly, only his excellent 1959 album, Serenata, on Delmark, is currently in print.) He was …read more

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It is another sad and empty day in the world of blues and jazz music.  One of the most-talented guys around in both of those genres passed away over the weekend, Jeff Healey.  He had been battling a rare form of cancer his entire life and he finally succombed to it over the weekend.  He was only 41 and leaves behind a wife and child.  You can find more at his website HERE.
Jeff was born in Toronto to a firefighter father and he lost his eyes when he was only one.  Jeff had the rare eye cancer known as retinoblastoma.  …read more

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One of the key deaths in January of 2008 I seemed to have missed was the death of legendary jazz bassist, Earl May. He is a name that may not jump immediately to the minds of the casual jazz listener, but he is one of those guys every jazz musician wants. You know, every genre of music has people like that. These are the guys who just want to play because they want to play and are happy to sit in the background while the bigger, flashier guys stand out front.
Earl was one of those guys. You can find more …read more

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The problem with the older blues musicians is the exact same problem we have with the older jazz musicians.  Namely, the problem is, they keep dying off.  Of course, sometimes they die off for reasons that seem rather stupid.  In this case, it wasn’t drug use, but it was smoking and the fire a cigarette caused.
This story is from the Associated Press and is copyright 2007 by The Associated Press and was found on my Comcast News home page:
Blues Artist “Weepin” Willie Dies at 81
Weepin’ Willie Robinson, a blues singer who performed with Steven Tyler and Bonnie Raitt but also spent …read more

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The problem with being such a fan of classic jazz is that, for the most part, the musicians who played that great music are either dead or quite elderly and, therefore, likely to pass away.  I am sorry to report that another musician who was key to my early jazz days, especially during my time working for KSLH radio, piano great Oscar Peterson has passed away in his home near Toronto.  Oscar was 82-years-old and, really, one of the best there ever was.
Within the music vaults of KSLH we had several Oscare Peterson Trio CDs.  The best ones were the …read more

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I am going to confess that I was never a particular fan of the seminal jazz band Weather Report.  I mean, I was aware of them and I played their music during the days when I worked at the jazz radio station.  I didn’t dislike them or anything, but there is just such a diverse plate to choose from when it comes to jazz that it becomes impossible to appreciate and listen to all of it.
Still, I knew the name of Joe Zawinul.  He was the influential electronic keyboard player who helped bring that synthesizer sound to jazz.  He was …read more

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When you start to get involved in the jazz scene and you take the time to go back and study the earliest of the jazz albums, certain names begin to pop up again and again.  You can probably rattle them off yourself.  The other thing is that jazz fans tend to be the types who want to know who all of the musicians are that they are listening to.  So, you often get to know the “side-men” just as well as the stars.
You know that Jelly Roll Morton is often credited (whether he should be or not) with helping create …read more

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