Jazz & Blues Lounge

OK, ok, ok, I admit, this is my most recent obsession. I raved about Cassie Taylor last week along with my raves about her father and his band. The fact is, all of that is true. I simply cannot stress enough how much you should run out and see Otis Taylor performing live and do it soon.
Of course, at this point, I might be drifting into stalker territory. I can’t help it. I would love to tell you that I contacted Cassie via her MySpace page and she has agreed to be interviewed …read more

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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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At the “Blues on the Fox” festival this weekend the featured artist is a remarkable musician named KennY Wayne Shepherd. If you do not know of him, you really should. In my opinion he is one of the greatest living guitar players around. He first burts onto the scene back in the late 90s as a nineteen-year-old with amazing guitar licks and apparently channeling the spirit of Stevie Ray Vaughan. His first big album that got lots of radio play was “Trouble Is” and it contained what is still one of my all-time favorite songs “Blue …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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Please understand that I understand that there are more blues musicans out there besides Buddy Guy. Just like I do understand that there are other jazz musicians out there besides Miles Davis. I just get into these moods. Right now, I am in the Buddy Guy mode when it comes to my blues music. Since my friend gave me the album “Sweet Tea” I have been listening to him on a nearly daily basis.
So, I decided to look online, and at YouTube, and see if I could find another performance or tune or something. …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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When it comes to the blues, I have to admit, it’s a little bit tougher for me.  For those of you who come here fairly often, that is probably obvious.  The vast majority of the blog entries here have to do with jazz.  What can I say, I spent some time at a jazz radio station and fell in love with the music.  I never quite had that epiphany with the blues.
I first gained some respect for the blues when I was in college.  I had a teacher who was a big blues fan.  She was a music critic for …read more

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