Jazz & Blues Lounge

I have completely fallen in love with the stuff on YouTube.  Well, that is to say, I was already wasting for too much time hanging around looking at stuff on YouTube, but now that I found some very cool concert footage of some of the artists I talk about here, I can’t stop looking.  You knew it was only a matter of time before I looked up some Miles Davis stuff.
Well, I found it.  What was even more cool was the sheer amount of classic 1950s and 60s Miles Davis footage I was able to find.  For my money, this …read more

Comments Off

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

Comments Off

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

1 Comment

It’s that time again.  Yes, I am too lazy to do any actual research about musicians.  I am quite overdo to write another article about one of the classical jazz musicians I love so much.  This entire blog is just aching for an official Miles Davis history lesson.  The problem is, that is a little like trying to tackle Mt. Everest for a guy who is not only a jazz fan but a huge Miles fan.  It would be fun, but there would also be so much to talk about it scares the beejezus out of me.
So, instead, I did …read more

1 Comment

I hate to keep shilling for things without being given huge amounts of stuff for free .  However, I just did some more shopping for myself and started salivating again for at least three more CD box sets. 
1.  Miles Davis:  in Stockholm, 1960 Complete.  Yeah, it’s 4 discs and also features Miles playing with John Coltrane and Sonny Stitt.
2.  The Complete Miles Davis at Montreux: 1973 – 1991.  There are 20 discs in this box set!  TWENTY!  Just imagine me doing a Homer Simpson-type slack-jawed drool and you get the idea.
3.  Miles Davis Quintent Live at the 1963 Monterey …read more

Comments Off

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

Comments Off

I like making these recommendations.  I have these ideas that people with a fledgling interest in jazz or blues will stop by and check out this site.  They will read some of the postings and then decide to start putting together their own jazz CD collection.  This is why, if you do come here often, I would encourage you to post your own favorite jazz CDs.
I have posted my favorites here.  “Kind of Blue” is probably one of my all-time favorite albums of any genre.  “Take Five” is also a great album that was at the top of the charts …read more

Comments Off

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

Comments Off