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At Monterey Jazz Festival 67, Jazz Gospel According to a New Head

by Josef Woodard
Monterey Jazz Festival Monterey, CA September 27-29, 2024 Getting a semblance of a summarizing angle on a densely-programmed jazz festival, which the 67th Monterey Jazz Festival most certainly was, can be tricky business. The equation gets more complex with a festival geared towards covering many genre and sub-genre bases within the rubric of jazz. But to these ears, one of the strongest memories came near the very end of the weekend-long feast on the ...
Continue ReadingDon Was, divr, Roberto Gatto, Lucy Woodward, Peter Erskine & More

by Ludovico Granvassu
The return of Don Was behind the bass, tributes to Tony Williams and Leonard Bernstein and much more in another energizing edition of Mondo Jazz.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 The Jazz Defenders Snakebite Playfight" Memory in Motion (Haggis) 0:16 Host talks 4:56 Lucy Woodward Fray" Stories from the Dust (I Love Desi) 6:17 Host talks 11:16 Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble Neighboorhoods" [Unreleased--Live at Rust Belt ...
Continue ReadingBob Weir: Ace - 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (2CD)

by Doug Collette
Befitting its heady milestone date, the title of Bob Weir's initial solo album, Ace, carries multiple meanings. First of all, it was the Grateful Dead guitarist, vocalist & songwriter's nickname at the time of its gestation and completion (his bawdy persona as such mirrored in the ultra-suave pose on the inside photo as well as the risque cover art). More importantly, the album's name is also a reflection of the gambling lore so prevalent in songs of the ...
Continue ReadingDon Was: The Music Is Paramount

by R.J. DeLuke
The president of the iconic Blue Note Records, the man who is stewarding the label as it marches into it's 75th anniversary year celebration, comes from the wrong side of the tracks, in a sense. He's not a gut in a suit. He came up through the trenches as a working musician. He liked jazz and played gigs in bunches during his years in his hometown of Detroit. But his adaptability to all kinds of music brought him to fame ...
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