October 2002 Archives

I am a one-man fan club for vocalist/pianist Shirley Horn. I have been enjoying her music for the past 10 years and was probably one of the youngest people in the audience when I saw her perform in 1993. I first heard Shirley when I bought the movie soundtrack, "Glengarry Glen Ross" and on which she sang, "You'd Better Go Now." I also first heard Jimmy Scott on this same soundtrack. Soon after I purchased her critically acclaimed 1992 album, "Shirley Horn With Strings Here's To Life" and my love affair with Shirley began. I will be doing future blogs on her so you will definitely get to know her music.

Okay, I am not sure what inspired me to click on e-bay or half.com at e-bay but I did and oh, the music I found. Don't worry, I did not spend every cent to my name but I did find some gems.

This news just in...there will be new a Incognito album coming out on November 20. Unfortunately, it will be an import so it may be a bit pricey but worth it.

I have been enjoying Natalie Cole's first release on Verve Records, "Ask A Woman Who Knows." Re-united with producer Tommy LiPuma, Natalie truly shines on these 12 songs. My favorite song is her remake of Michael Franks', "Tell Me About It". This is the first song released from the album and she makes it her own and even features "The Colettes", her own background vocals.

Patti does a beyond moving tribute to the great legend Ella Fitzgerald. This is truly the quintessential Patti Austin album. It is the album her fans have been waiting for since she did the "The Real Me" in 1988. Backed by a full big band orchestra, Patti truly swings effortlessly through such jewels as "Honeysuckle Rose", "But Not For Me", "Mr. Paganini", "How High The Moon", and "Too Close for Comfort". She also takes liberty in bringing her vocal style to a gospel flavored rendition of "Miss Otis Regrets" that gives the song new meaning and embraces it as her own. This CD is a must have for any Patti Austin fan. For additional information on Patti, go to her personal site, www.pattiaustin.com

Simply natural and wonderfully awesome just begin to describe Carla Cook's third Maxjazz release, "Simply Natural." I was already in love with her from her first two releases and here comes a new one to make me love her even more. With each of her releases, Carla grows musically, vocally, and spiritually. In the liner notes she says, "For me it's about the joy of singing and being in the process" and that is definitely reflected in her musical selections. She describes the songs for this album as "simple, elegant and compact." Songs included are the very peaceful title track, "Simply Natural", the playful "Tulip or Turnip", "Watermelon Man", "Summer" (Estate'), a moving rendition of "Scarborough Fair" and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." She also included the soulful "Still Gotta Thing For You" which she composed 10 years ago but had not recorded until now. The energy and enthusiasm that she puts into her music definitely can be heard.

Can you just tell me why certain people feel as though they can walk into a room and act as if they own every seat in a row including yours? I was hanging out in LA over the weekend with a fellow audiophile and we went to see the legendary pianist McCoy Tyner at the The Jazz Bakery in Culver City. We had taken our seats when this couple walked in and thought they had 4 seats together in our row which would have included our seats. I gave the "no, it ain't your seat" look. Actually, they had the two seats to the left and right of us and we were sitting smack dab in the middle between them in our second row seats from which we could see McCoy's hands move effortlessly across the keys. After finally taking their seats and realizing they were wrong, the husband mentioned that his wife really wanted to sit next to the people to our right and asked did we want their seats especially since they were the best in the house. Normally, I would have been accommodating but since they had been rude and treated us like second class citizens, I just gave "the look" again to let them know we were not moving.

There have been some exciting musical times in my short life including seeing Rachelle Ferrell twice in one night because she did not hit the high note in "With Open Arms" during the first show, meeting Shirley Horn, and having the film jam twice in my camera when I met Patti Austin for the first time (we finally got 6 shots from the 3rd roll of film.) There have been other memorable moments as well but nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced when I saw Lizz Wright perform Friday night at this year's Monterey Jazz Festival.

There is no way that I could have gotten started without some help and love from ej, mesprime, tubba and the rush. Special thanks especially to ej for helping select the domain name, coaching, and answering as many of my questions as possible.

First, there was an inspiration after being surrounded by wonderful music at the Monterey Jazz Festival 45th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival a few weekends ago. I have always thought about doing music reviews and providing music information. People have asked my take on music from time to time and I always wanted a creative outlet to provide this information. Well, here we are, a few weeks after Monterey and some hard work with a few good friends and now I am blogging. Thanks to everyone for putting up with me during my growing pains and stay tuned for the musical adventures ahead.