Category Archives: Posts with Audio
Here We Are
On April 6, 1998, I put the finishing touches on a new song. “Hold On (Tight)” was my reaction to a time in my life, my family’s life, that was indeed filled with “dark, demanding days.” I wrote the song … Continue reading
Woke This Morning To The Sound Of Thunder
This morning, once again, life imitated art. Or, at least, life reminded me of the first verse of a song I wrote a few years ago, inspired by a day that started much like today did. The song is called “Some … Continue reading
Knowing What
When my daughter Kristin was a little girl, she frequently posed the question: “Hey, Daddy, do you know what?” Being a fan of the old musician’s joke that starts with someone asking a question like: “Do you know the way to … Continue reading
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
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