Jazz is full of pioneers. Perhaps the biggest such pioneer is Duke Ellington. A band leader and composer Duke Ellington is the most produced jazz musician of all time. Continue reading
#40DaysOfIndie
#40DaysofIndie: Day 8 (Joey Alexander)
What were you doing when you were 12? I was listening to music and just forming my own sense of style. Most of you probably weren’t nominated for 2 Grammy awards. Twelve year-old Joey Alexander was. Continue reading
#40DaysofIndie: Day 7 (Dave Brubeck)
Jazz is full of unknowns. Not unknowns in the sense of not knowing an artist or a song but rather you find yourself saying, “Where have I heard that before?” Continue reading
#40DaysofIndie: Day 6 (Thelonious Monk)
Jazz is full of strange characters. Strange in a good way but strange nonetheless. One of the strangest and most interesting is Thelonious Monk. Known for his ostentatious sense of style, Monk often wore unique hats and and sunglasses. Continue reading
#40DaysofIndie: Day 5 (Trombone Shorty)
In post-Katrina New Orleans, in the year or so after the storm, there was little to look forward to. The city wasn’t itself yet. That all changed when the musicians came home. One such musician was Trombone Shorty Troy Andrews. Continue reading
#40DaysofIndie: Day 4 (Jamie Cullum)
Jazz is a musical style that just wont die. It may go away for a little while but it always comes back around. Its a cycle, whats old is new again, what was played out is cool again.
In the early 2000s there was a resurgence in the jazz scene, it followed the resurgence in the swing music. Jamie Cullum first started making waves in The UK around this same time. In 2002 Cullum released :Pointless Nostalgic”. It was 2003’s “Twentysomething” that brought Jamie notoriety here in the US.
It was the blend of pop and and classic rock with jazz that first drew me to Jamie Cullum who has since become one of my favorite artists.
Days 5’s song that inspires me is the theme from the film Gran Torino.
#40DaysofIndie: Day 3 (Nikki Yanofsky)
Not every one of the people I share with you will be a legend just yet. But at 22 years old Nikki Yanofsky is well on her way. With a voice that comes from another time and a style that hearkens back to legends like Ella Fitzgerald and Sara Vaughn, Nikki Yanofsky mixes pop and jazz like no one before. Continue reading
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