Joe Pass (1929-1994) is one of the finest jazz guitarists in history. There is little dispute about that. His solo guitar recordings are exemplary but my personal favorite Joe Pass records are “Intercontinental ” recorded June of 1970 in Germany with Kenny Clare and Eberhard Weber and “In Hamburg” which was recorded 1990-1992 with big band and orchestra. The fact […]
Joe Pass (my favorite recordings) Read More »
As we are nearing the anniversary of Django’s death I stumbled upon a photo of him coming down the steps of his small “caravan”. He was dapper and happy and it was obviously early in the day following a late night at a gig or a party. The small trailer he so proudly stepped out into daylight from looked very
May 16 will mark the 63rd anniversary of Django’s death. He died at the very early age of 43. Django has long been a major influence on my music. It is quite remarkable just how popular his music remains throughout the world. I first discovered Django’s music when I was about 18 years old. While listening to the CBC (Canadian
Django Reinhardt (1910-1953) Read More »
Since I had already played guitar since the age of ten it was only natural to form a rock band in my early teens. To my mind (and that of about ten thousand other adolescent males with screaming hormones) a guitar was like a fishing pole for catching girls. One of the first songs I wrote (I have since written
My history as a musician (first installment) Read More »
Ambrose Bierce is one of my favorite writers. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” totally freaked me when I was a sophomore in high school when we read it in class. And I have been a fan ever since. The title of his biography is “Alone in Bad Company” which is a title I covet and can absolutely relate to
Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) Read More »
I listen to music every day quite intently. On my iPod during my one hour daily jog and on CD in my car. My recent favorites come from very different sources and styles. 1) “Prokofiev Piano Concertos One, Two and Three.”All great and full of invention. My favorite recording of these Concertos is the one by pianist Michael Beroff and
Recent listening (Prokofiev, Martino, XTC and Ravel) Read More »