Recording News

Willy Vlautin:A Jockey's Christmas

Source: JamBase
December 26, 2008

By: Dennis Cook

Some artists have an unerring knack for etching the clear, rough lines of hard knock reality. Richmond Fontaine's Willy Vlautin has long been one of these warts & all truth-tellers but in the past few years he's come into his own as a rich, poignant storyteller outside the concise bounds of a song. After delivering one of the fiercest emotional rides of 2008 with his sophomore novel, Northline, Vlautin has made a fantastic, amazingly unsentimental addition to ...

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Ramblin' Jack Elliott New Album

Source: JamBase
December 25, 2008

VENERABLE OLD SALT TO RELEASE FOLLOW-UP TO 2006's STELLAR I STAND ALONE

Ramblin' Jack Elliott will release his long-anticipated follow-up I Stand Alone on April 7, 2009, entitled A Stranger Here. Working with producer Joe Henry (Bettye LaVette, Solomon Burke, Elvis Costello/Allen Toussaint), the 77-year-old Elliott sings and plays acoustic guitar, and is backed by a stellar collection of musicians handpicked by Henry, among them Van Dyke Parks and David Hidalgo (Los Lobos).

Revered for his interpretive take on ...

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Brooklyn Boogaloo Blowout Releases the Knickerbocker 7"

Source: All About Jazz
December 25, 2008

The Brooklyn Boogaloo Blowout has released a brand new, 2 song, 7" vinyl only album. “The Knickerbocker 7"" is available only on vinyl or via digital download. Side A features Leah Siegel singing the classic “I Got Loaded" with killer solos from special guest J Walter Hawkes on trombone and Andrew Sherman's B3. Side B is a raucous blues shuffle, “The F**kin' Knicks" which features a chorus each by Chris Cheek on bari, Andrew Sherman, and Steve Walsh on “Yngvie ...

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A Little Holiday Music Fun

Source: HypeBot
December 25, 2008

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A.K. Salim: Flute Suite

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
December 25, 2008

The first time Frank Wess and Herbie Mann recorded shoulder to shoulder on flute was in 1957, for an album led by arranger A.K. Salim called Flute Suite. The six tracks are neatly divided between mid-tempo blues and sophisticated originals. On four of the tracks, the two bop pipers run down complex lines in tandem and blow superb individual solos. On the remaining two, they play tenor saxes. Best of all, the album showcases Salim's little-known prowess as a small-group ...

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Spread the Holiday Joy Send a Song to Soldiers over Seas

Source: All About Jazz
December 24, 2008

Courtesy of Billboard and the U.S. Army, give the gift of free music to a soldier this holiday season.

Give the gift of free music to a Soldier in the U.S. Army this holiday season, completely free of charge.

Billboard's got the free tunes. You have the message. Just fill out the simple form below, and we will send your message and a unique PIN Code for two free music downloads to a currently enlisted Soldier.

PROGRAM RUNS THROUGH DECEMBER ...

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Mon Spin: Neil Diamond/M. Katz

Source: JamBase
December 23, 2008

WE LIGHT THE FIRST TWO CANDLES WITH A PAIR OF OUR FAVE JEWISH MUSICIANS

A rare Monday installment of our regular classic album salute in honor of Hanukkah, which began at sundown last night.

Despite the draw to fill up Madison Square Garden several times over each tour, Neil Diamond doesn't always get the critical respect he's due. Even though he's been experimenting since his late '60s debut with elements like African musical forms, complex orchestration and studio trickery ...

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The Best Reissues of 2008: Dennis Wilson

Source: All About Jazz
December 23, 2008

The most handsome Beach Boy was also, in 1977, the most daring. Dennis Wilsons only official solo album, Pacific Summer Blue, was the first by any member of the group, and is still the best:

12 songs of gripping need and tortured beauty, sung in a craggy, soulful voice by a surfer dreamboat for whom the California dream was real, but not enough. Pacific Ocean Blue is Dennis version of his brother Brians triumph, Pet Sounds an intensely personal masterpiece ...

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