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Review of the Weather Report CD Mysterious Traveller

Posted by admin2 on August 16th, 2010 Comments Off



The exceptionally talented Jazz group Weather Report have released their CD entitled Mysterious Traveller. I am very confident and happy to announce that I believe Weather Report fans, and Jazz fans alike will be pleased with this one. With the release of Mysterious Traveller their artistic excellence is on full display as they have once again delivered a brilliant collection of tracks that could very well be their best work to date.

I wish it weren’t the case but, it’s not everyday that I get a CD for review that I can just pop in and comfortably listen to from beginning to end. There is usually a song or two that I just can’t force myself to get through. Not at all the case with Mysterious Traveller. Every track is enjoyable and was pretty easy for me to listen to from start to finish.

The nice thing about a CD like this is with this level of talent even if Jazz isn’t your favorite style you still can’t help but appreciate the greatness of the musicians.

Overall Mysterious Traveller is an outstanding release. What I call must have music. I give it two thumbs up and is most definitely a worthy addition to any Jazz collection. Truly an outstanding Jazz CD. One of those that is completely void of any wasted time, as each track is simply superb.

While this entire album is really very good some of my favorites are track 2 – American Tango, track 5 – Blackthorn Rose, and track 7 – Jungle Book

My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 1 – Nubian Sundance. Outstanding!

Mysterious Traveller Release Notes:

Weather Report originally released Mysterious Traveller on June 4, 2002 on the Legacy Recordings label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. Nubian Sundance

2. American Tango

3. Cucumber Slumber

4. Mysterious Traveller

5. Blackthorn Rose

6. Scarlet Woman

7. Jungle Book

Weather Report: Wayne Shorter (soprano & tenor saxophones); Joe Zawinul (Fender Rhodes, piano, synthesizer); Alphonso Johnson (electric bass); Ishmael Wilburn (drums); Dom Um Romao (percussion).

Additional personnel: Miroslav Vitous (acoustic bass); Eric Gravatt (drums).

Recorded at Devonshire Sound, North Hollywood, California between February and March 1974. Includes liner notes by Hal Miller.

By: Tom Milson

Posted in Jazz Festivals

Brecker Brothers Out Of The Loop Jazz Music CD Review

Posted by admin2 on August 13th, 2010 Comments Off



The exceptionally talented Jazz group Brecker Brothers have released their CD entitled Out Of The Loop. I am very confident and happy to announce that I believe Brecker Brothers fans, and Jazz fans alike will be pleased with this one. With the release of Out Of The Loop their artistic excellence is on full display as they have once again delivered a brilliant collection of tracks that could very well be their best work to date.

It’s a rare day indeed that I get a CD from an artist that I can truthfully say does not have a bad track in the bunch. I’m more than happy to announce that’s exactly what I must say about this one. There simply isn’t a bad one in the bunch. No fillers here at all, with each song standing tall on it’s own.

These days it’s a very rare CD on which every single song is good or better than the one before it. This CD is certainly one of those rare CDs.

Listen to and I think you’ll agree that the song choices are excellent, the production is outstanding and Brecker Brothers is clearly a group that is in top form.

While this entire CD is really very good the truly standout tunes are track 4 – Secret Heart, track 6 – When It Was, and track 9 – And Then She Wept.

My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 8 – The Nightwalker. Good stuff!

Out Of The Loop Release Notes:

Brecker Brothers originally released Out Of The Loop on September 13, 1994 on the GRP Records label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. Slang

2. Evocations

3. Scrunch

4. Secret Heart

5. African Skies

6. When It Was

7. Harpoon

8. Nightwalker, The

9. And Then She Wept

Personnel: Michael Brecker (soprano & tenor saxophones, Akai EWI); Randy Brecker (trumpet, flugelhorn); Eliane Elias (vocals, keyboards); Armand Sabal-Lecco (vocals, acoustic piccolo bass, bass); George Whitty (piano, keyboards, Hammond bass, programming); Robbie Kilgore (keyboards, guitar, programming); Maz Kessler (keyboards, programming); Dean Brown, Larry Saltzman (guitar); James Genus (acoustic & electric basses); Steve Jordan, Shawn Pelton, Rodney Holmes (drums); Steve Thornton (percussion); Chris Botti, Andy Snitzer (programming); Mark Ledford (background vocals).

Producers include: George Whitty, Chris Botti, Andy Snitzer, Maz Kessler, Robbie Kilgore.

Recorded at Skyline Studios, New York, New York.

By: Tom Milson

Posted in Jazz Festivals

What is Jazz?

Posted by admin on April 30th, 2010 No Comments



HOW JAZZ MUSIC WORKS
Jazz is like a musical language. When the musicians play, it’s as if they are talking to each other in jazz language. Most jazz music is based on a tune or a theme. The tune might be made up specifically or it might be based on a popular tune. A jazz group, or line-up has two parts: the rhythm section and the front line.

THE FRONT LINE
Front-line instruments are the ones that play solos during a jazz piece. They are given this name because the players usually stand in front of the rhythm section. Front-line instruments include the clarinet, trombone and the right-hand side of a piano.

THE RHYTHM SECTION
The rhythm section is a part that keeps a steady pulse. It also plays harmonies for the front-line instrument to improvise over. Rhythm section instruments include the bass guitar, double bass, drums, and the left-hand side of the piano.

RHYTHM AND SYNCOPATION
Most rhythms have a regular pulse or beat. Normally the stress, or accent, comes on the first beat, in a measure. In Jazz, the stress sometimes comes on the second beat, or in between the main beats. This is called syncopation. A tension is created between the steady pulse and the syncopated rhythm.

JAM SESSIONS
When musicians get together without an audience and experiment with tunes, it is known as a jam session. It is during sessions like these that most Jazz evolves.

COMPOSING JAZZ
Although jazz involves lots of improvisation, there are some fixed elements in a piece. Instead of writing down every note, jazz composers provide a rough outline, usually consisting of a tune and the chords that go with it. Chords are two or more notes played or sung together. They are usually written as chord symbols, which tell the musician which chords accompany a tune. The musicians improvise around this hotline. Most jazz composers base their work on music they come up with during jam sessions.

By: Diana Rogers

Posted in Jazz Festivals
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