Category Archives: Posts with Audio
This Historic Day In Music: Tommy Gallant
“Bonjour,” he’d say, adding to his greeting a little chuckle and a smile. Tommy Gallant, my colleague and friend, always brought a smile. “Bonjour,” as I remember it, was the punch line of one of his favorite jokes. More often than not, he would … Continue reading
“Dancin’ To The Beat (Of Your Heart)”
My love affair with Jazz has been long and memorable. From my teenage years as an avid reader and subscriber of Down Beat magazine, my first trip to a concert in Boston for a night of The Boston Globe Jazz Festival … Continue reading
This Historic Day In Music: “Guitar Rag” by Sylvester Weaver
My post of November 2, 2010 started thus: “On November 2, 1923, African-American Blues guitarist Sylvester Weaver sat in front of the large horn/”microphone” of the acoustic recording machine in the New York City studios of OKeh Records. He played and recorded two original instrumental guitar pieces … Continue reading
While We’re On The Subject… The Tommy Gallant All Stars
The only live performances of New Orleans/Traditional Jazz that I’ve had the pleasure of hearing were back in the late 1980’s and 1990’s. The group that I had the very good fortune to hear was made up of some of the best Jazz musicians from … Continue reading
Revisiting “Rising Sun Blues”
Sometimes, in my teaching, one of my guitar students will ask if I can teach him/her how to play a favorite song that he/she has recently been listening to. Sometimes that song is so new or obscure that there is no transcription available either in a songbook, … Continue reading
78s & Cylinders
One of the items on my summer to-do list was to add a couple of 78-rpm records to my collection of 45s, EPs, LPs, reel-to-reel tapes, cassette tapes, CDs and digital downloads. You can’t have too much music, I always say. Late … Continue reading
The First Jazz Record
Since one of you asked, and it’s in the public domain, here it is! “Livery Stable Blues” by The Original Dixieland Jass Band The Original Dixieland Jass Band first recorded for Columbia Records on January 30, 1917. The two sides: … Continue reading
Merry Christmas
This is my favorite recording/performance of Christmas music. Period. Hands down. No doubt. Head and shoulders above all the rest. Better than “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” by the Dexter Gordon Quartet. Better than John Fahey’s “Medley: Hark, The Herald … Continue reading
This Historic Day In Music: “Guitar Blues”/”Guitar Rag” – Take 1
On November 2, 1923, African-American Blues guitarist Sylvester Weaver sat in front of the large horn/”microphone” of the acoustic recording machine in the New York City studios of OKeh Records. He played and recorded two original instrumental guitar pieces that day: “Guitar Blues” and “Guitar Rag.” The … Continue reading
On This Day In Music History: “Rising Sun Blues”
On September 6, 1933, singer/guitarist Clarence Ashley and harmonica player Gwen (or Gwin) Foster recorded “Rising Sun Blues” for Vocalion Records in New York, NY. This would be the first recording of the song that we now know as “The House of the Rising Sun.” … Continue reading
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