Jazz

Richie Cannata: “Keep it In the Pocket” and “Chameleon”

Richie Cannata, who has long been associated with Billy Joel — he was his sax player through 1982 — and more recently with The Beach Boys and Bernie Williams, gave a terrific performance in a municipal concert on August 9 in Glen Cove, a small city on the north shore of Long Island.

Cannata performed with various friends and family members, including Spyro Gyra guitarist Julio Fernandez. I don’t know enough about Fernandez to say that his guitar solo on the encore number — Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love — was characteristic of him or not. But for a jazz guitarist, he sure seemed to enjoy acting like Jimmy Page for a few minutes.

Here is the beginning of Cannata’s bio at ReverbNation:

Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, Richie Cannata studied classical piano and clarinet. He also plays flute and keyboards in addition to tenor, alto, soprano, and baritone sax, with tenor sax being his forte. Richie has recorded and toured with Billy Joel’s band since 1975 and still can be seen with him today. For over a decade, Richie has also been a member of The Beach Boys, playing on their recordings as well as all of the world concert tours. Richie’s talent as a performing artist doesn’t even outshine his accomplishments behind the scenes. (Continue Reading…)

Cannata’s site has more information. Above is Keep it In the Pocket and below is Chameleon.

Our New Things: Links to Music Sites and Info on Analog Tech and Vinyl

TDMB has focused on music and musicians. We will continue to do that, of course. We're also expanding our coverage to include vinyl and analog equipment.

More specifically, we'll look at this huge and interesting world from the perspective of music lovers who want a better experience, not committed non-audiophiles.

Check out is some of what we've written so far:

-- Assessing the Value of Vinyl Records: An Overview

-- 7 Quick Tips on Optimizing Your Turntable Cartridge

-- Why Vinyl Records Continue to Thrive

-- Finding the Best Amplifier

-- Finding the Best Phono Preamp

-- What Speakers Do I Need for My Turntable?

Check out more articles on analog equipment and vinyl.

The site also is home to The Internet Music Mapping Project, an effort to list and describe as many music-related sites as possible.

Our Music

--A Tribe Called Quest to The Dick Hyman Trio (In other words, A to H)

--Indigo Girls to Queen Ida (I to Q)

--Radiohead to ZZ Top (R to Z)

Reading Music

The stories of the great bands and musicians are fascinating. Musicians as a group are brilliant, but often troubled. The combination of creativity and drama makes for great reading.

Here are some books to check out.

Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.

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What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.

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The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").

David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.

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