Malcolm John (Mac) Rebennack Jr. — Dr. John — was an American original who inhabits a special place in our musical heritage. He lived from...
The Daily Music Break recently launched “Beyond YouTube: The Internet Music Mapping Project.” Going forward, we will talk to folks associated with...
Below is Art Blakey’s Jazz Messenger’s live performance of Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunisia,” as posted on YouTube by Art Jazz1. The video (without...
It’s obvious but important to note that popular music always has been controlled by the limits of the technologies used to record and deliver the music...
Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver, one of the most important jazz musicians of the twentieth century, was born on September 2, 1928 and died on June 18, 2014...
Skullcandy Crusher Wireless headphones are great for people who like bass and long battery life. They also fit moderate budgets. However, these headsets not...
Millions of words have been written about The Grateful Dead. Indeed, it’s hard to think of a band that is more of a lightning rod in a way that is to a...
Here is a simple question: Why is Eric Clapton a great guitar player? To me, the right question isn’t “Why is Clapton great?” Instead, the...
Mountain played Woodstock and was an important band through the early part of the 1970s. The centers of attention were guitarist Leslie West and bassist Felix...
Among John Calu's memories are bringing flowers to Sarah Vaughan after a Monterey Jazz Festival performance, listening to Miles Davis backstage, chauffeuring...
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.
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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.
What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.
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.