Music Man Blog Hits A New Milestone

 

The first article on The Music Man Blog was published in November 2009.  It doesn't seem possible that I have been posting reviews and articles for 15 years.  The purpose of my blog has always been to support musicians, shine a light on new artists and new CDs and to keep the "Great American Songbook" alive.  We know that great progress has been made achieving these goals because of the feedback that we have received from hundreds of musicians who have been spotlighted on the blog.  The majority of today's musicians are clearly both underappreciated and underpaid and yet the music they create provides us with hours of joy and satisfaction every day of our lives. In spite of being underappreciated and underpaid, they continue to perform and create new music for all of us to enjoy.  They are true artists. We are the beneficiaries of their sacrifices and have an obligation to support them in any way we can.  We all need to attend live performances wherever we can find them and not forget to leave a tip for the musicians after we enjoy their performances.  They are paid so little for their live gigs that tips are very important to their well-being.   We need to continue to buy their CDs even though the music industry has decided that CDs are no longer relevant.  And lastly, we need to thank musicians whenever we get a chance.  

I am delighted to report that last month the Music Man Blog celebrated more than one million page views on our site.  For a narrowly focused blog, this is a massive amount of page views.  And the number of people checking into the Music Man Blog continues to grow. In the most recent months, the average monthly page views have been over 30,000.  Over the past 15 years we have published 626 blogs covering the efforts of thousands of musicians and their bands.  The Music Man Blog has steadily grown its audience in over 20 countries.  I have listed the top 10 highest page views from countries with Jazz lovers who are reading our postings:

    1.United States

    2. Germany

    3. China

    4. Singapore 

    5. Ukraine

    6. Hong Kong

    7.  Iran

    8. Russia

    9. Sweden

    10. Canada

My reward for the personal time and efforts I have expended on this blog is knowing that I am helping to support musicians, live performances and helping to keep the "Great American Songbook" relevant for younger people who may experience this wonderful music.  I have also had the opportunity to meet and get to know hundreds of musicians.  Honestly they are some of the finest people I have ever met.  

The 20 Greatest American Standards- 2018

Sonny Stitt

It's been 8 years since I published my "20 Greatest American Standards Ever Written" blog and its still one of my popular blogs for visitors.  We all have had life experiences over the past 8 years and I thought it would be fun to revisit the list and make some adjustments that might be appropriate at this time.  In order to qualify for the list, the song must be over 50 years old.  The list represents the very best songs from the "Great American Songbook".  In order to make the list they had to contain both the best music and lyrics.  The oldest song to make the list is the Gershwin tune, "Someone To Watch Over me".  Think about this.... this song was published 92 years ago and it's still being played today to the delight of all ages.  Now that is the sign of a super, great American standard!

Some other interesting observations about the list:

There is one pair of songwriters that has 3 songs on the list:
           Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart

Several other songwriters who have two songs on the list:

           Cole Porter
           Jimmy Van Heusen
           Johnny Mandel
           George and Ira Gershwin
           Hoagy Carmichael
           Johnny Mercer
           Johnny Burke

The Year 1939 was a terrific year for great songs:,

           4 songs written in 1939 made the list.

The six-year period from 1936 to 1941 was the golden area for great songs;  12 out of the 20 songs on the list were written during this period.




"Someone To Watch Over Me"                    George Gershwin & Ira Gershwin                   1926

"Night and Day"                                            Cole Porter                                                          1932            

"The Very Thought of You"                           Ray Noble                                                           1934

"The Way You Look Tonight"                       Dorothy Fields & Jerome Kern                        1936

" I Got You Under My Skin"                         Cole Porter                                                          1936

 "Where Or When"                                        Richard Rogers & Lorenz Hart                         1937

" They Can't Take That Away From Me"   George and Ira Gershwin                                   1937      

"The Nearness of You"                                   Hoagy Carmichael & Ned Washington            1937

"My Funny Valentine"                                    Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart                     1939

"What's New"                                                 Bob Haggart & Johnny Burke                          1939

"Over The Rainbow"                                      Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg                          1939

"These Foolish Things"                                   Eric Maschwitz & Jack Strachey                     1939

"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"         Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart                    1940

"You've Changed"                                           Bill Carey & Carl Fischer                                 1941

"Skylark"                                                         Johnny Mercer & Hoagy Carmichael              1941

 "My One and Only Love"                               Guy Wood & Robert Mellin                             1952

"Here's That Rainy Day"                                 Jimmy Van Heusen & Johnny Burke              1953

"All My Tomorrows"                                       Jimmy Van Heusen & Sammy Cahn                1959

"Emily"                                                            Johnny Mandel & Johnny Mercer                     1964

"The Shadow of Your Smile"                          Johnny Mandel & Paul Webster                       1965 

KAJI 95.3FM and General Manager, Alan P. Schultz Put the Spotlight on Local Musicians

Local musicians in the Valley are finally receiving some well-deserved attention.  The new, local 24 hour Jazz station in Palm Desert, KAJI 95.3FM and its General Manager Alan  P. Schultz have decided to start playing music created by local musicians.  Alan and I discussed the possibility of putting together a program on his station where local musicians would have their music played.  The first of these special programs kicked off last Saturday.   The first program was warmly received by musicians and Jazz lovers here in the Coachella Valley and as a result, Alan who also operates as the station's program director has decided to do another program this Saturday, February 17 at 10:00 AM PST.   The best way to hear KAJI 95.3FM is to stream it on your computer.  I have attached a link below that will take you to a site where you can turn the radio on.  It would be great if you would mark your calendar to join the broadcast this Saturday.  The music will be great, and you will be supporting all the musicians performing in our area.

http://mixlr.com/kajiradio/

Listed below are some talented musicians we were able to play on last week's show:

Michael Dees- "What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life"
Trish Hatley- "Shiny Stockings"
Rich Bono- "Here's That Rainy Day/My One and Only Love"
Yve Evans- "Just Friends/Guess Who I Saw Today"
Linda Peterson- "My Foolish Heart"
Mike Costley- "I Am A Singer"
Jack Jones- "Skylark"
Beverly Jensen- "Spring Can Really Hang You Up"
Pat Rizzo- "All the Way/Come Rain or Come Shine"
Patrick Tuzzolino- "Don't Be That Way"
Steve Madaio- "What's New"
Rose Mallett- "It's Impossible"
Ron Kalina- "The Nearness of You"
Lee Hartley- "Sister Sadie"
Doug MacDonald-

February 17,  Saturday morning, I am planning to play another group of outstanding musicians so please see if you can join us.

All the cuts I have played and will be playing are from my personal library; all of which I have collected over the past 7 years ever since I started doing live reviews in the Valley.

To all my musician friends:  I don't have CDs and/or individual tracks for many of you and I would like to spotlight your work if we do future programs.  If you can send me your CD or email a link to any individual tracks you may have, I would do my best to get it on the air.  My mailing address here in the Desert is:

57228 Medinah, La Quinta, CA 92253  and my email address is:  Robertnicosia@icloud.com.  If you want to call:  201-320-9060

Real Jazz Is Alive In The Desert AT KAJI 95.3FM!

Music Man Blog Celebrates Its 5th Birthday

The Music Man Blog celebrated its 5th birthday and it's time to review its progress.  Over the past 12 months, I have met some of the finest musicians in the world, and have been exposed to great talents by way of the CDs that I have reviewed. The best part of writing this blog is the exposure to brilliant musicians who continue the American tradition of leading the world in the creation of exciting and creative music. You may have noticed that there has never been a bad review of a live performance or a CD posted on this blog. The reason for this is I don't see my role as a critic but more as a supporter of music. If I don't really care for a CD or a live performance, I just don't post a review. I will leave that job to the professional music critics. Everyone knows that the music business is in flux today. It has to find the correct path that will provide musicians with the public forum they need for exposure  and the generation of income to support their families. I believe it will come sooner rather than later because life without music, both live and recorded, would be a terrible place to live! So I will continue to do my part to get the word out to music lovers all over the globe.

Over the past 12 months, the Music Man Blog had a total of 67,925 page views by unknown music lovers in over 20 countries throughout the world.  After 5 years of publication, we have had total page views of 264,840. It was a very busy year with 56 new blogs published.

Our International audience of Jazz lovers continues to expand also. China joined the top-10 list for the first time last year in position 9 and the Ukraine moved from 7th place last year up 4th place. I listed below the top-10 countries that follow our blog based on page views:

1. United States                   6. Philippines
2. Canada                             7. Russia
3. United Kingdom              8. Australia
4. Ukraine                            9. China
5. Germany                          10. France

I want to personally thank all the supporters of great American music and the "Music Man Blog" for their strong support over the years. Our blog has a proven track record increasing the support of live music and also helping to give exposure and sales to musicians and their newly published CDs.

Warmest Regards, Bob Nicosia, publisher of the "Music Man Blog".

CD Review: Tianna Hall & The Mexico City Jazz Trio

Most of the readers of The Musicman Blog have a deep love of the "Great American Songbook". The new CD "Two For The Road" from Tianna Hall and the Mexico City Jazz Trio will be a real treat for you.  This is the fourth release for Tianna Hall, a two-time Grammy recognized vocalist who is based in Houston, Texas. This is also her second collaboration with the Mexico City Jazz Trio. Tianna brought her unique voice and approach to some of the best American songs ever written. Take a look at this spectacular list of songs:

1. Til There Was You- Meredith Wilson
2. What Is This Thing Called Love?-Cole Porter
3. When October Goes-Johnny Mercer & Barry Manilow
4. They Can't Take That Away From Me-Andrew William Thorpe & George Gershwin
5. Black Hole Sun-Chris Cornell
6. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To-Cole Porter
7. Creep-Mike Hazelwood, Albert Hammond
8. I've Never Been In Love Before-Frank Loesser
9. Good Morning Heartache-Irene Higginbotham, Ervin Drake, Dan Fisher
10. I'm Not In Love-Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart
11. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down & Write Myself A Letter- Joe Young, Fred Ahlert
12. So In Love-Cole Porter
13. Moon River-Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini
14. Two For The Road- Leslie Bricusse, Henry Mancini

Tianna Hall loves to sing standards and she has the musical skills to perform perfectly.  She is blessed on this CD with some super sidemen that bring the total musical product to the highest level.  Miguel Villicana did most of the wonderful arrangements and played piano beautifully, Agustin Bernal's bass playing was great and Gabriel Puentes drumming provided a perfect foundation for the group.  Of note also was the fact that David Caceres sang and played sax on "They Can't Take That Away From Me" and also was Associate Producer and assisted with the audio engineering.  David is a truly talented musician and if you are not familiar with David, look up the June 12th, 2012 blog I posted on his latest CD.

By the way, when is the last time you bought a new CD with 14 songs on it. Yea! to Tianna Hall for giving her fans a bonus number of songs. You can buy this CD for $9.99 on iTunes and other music sources.

Music Man Blog Celebrates It's Third Birthday

Another year has past quickly and it's time again to review the progress of the "Music Man Blog". During this past year, the blog was busy posting reviews of live music performances and reviews of new CDs from some exciting new artists and reviews of some really great biographies of the music performers we all love.

I am really excited to report that the number of visitors that viewed "Music Man Blog" in the past 12 months has increased from a total of 18,143 in 2011 to 57,573 in 2012. If we maintain this rate of viewers, we could hit 100,000 visitors in 2013!

We are also developing a jazz-loving following from countries outside the US.  Take a look at the list of the top 10 countries ranked by number of views of the "Music Man Blog".

1. United States
2. Germany
3. United Kingdom
4. Russia
5. South Korea
6. Canada
7. China
8. Ukraine
9. Netherlands
10. France

In our first two years of posting, the highest month of pageviews was May 2011 with 2,172.  After our third years we broke new ground in September 2012  when we recorded 5,886 pageviews.

Technorati, the leading organization that tracks the level of activity for Blogs across the world ranked the "Music Man Blog" number 52,377 out of a blog total of 1,312,806 blogs worldwide.  This puts the "Music Man Blog" in the top 4% of all active blogs. We moved our ranking ahead of 46,685 blogs in the past 12 months.

I want to personally thank all the supporters of great American music and  the "Music Man Blog". We will continue to promote both live music performance and also all the great musicians that continue to record their music and the songs of the "Great American Songbook". Thank you all for keeping the music playing!
Warmest Regards, The Music Man Blog.

Music Man Blog Celebrates It's Second Birthday

It's hard to believe that I have been publishing the "Music Man Blog" for two years. Time has a way of traveling at the speed of light when you are doing something you really love.  My first posting was on 9/27/09 and during the first year I posted 46 articles.  During the second year, I posted 63 articles.  The number of visitors that viewed the blog in its second year has exploded from total pageviews of 1,166 in its first year to 18,143 pageviews in its second full year.  In addition, we continued to pick up visitors from many different countries.  I listed the top 10 pageviews by country below:
Pageviews By The Top 10 Countries
                                                            2011
1. United States                                 12,802          
2. Russia                                                 534
3. Germany                                             482
4. United Kingdom                                  436
5. South Korea                                        408
6. Canada                                                249
7. China                                                   206
8. Ukraine                                                202
9. Netherlands                                         176
10. Iran                                                    164                            
     
Total All Time Pageviews         18,354

It was very satisfying to experience the explosive growth of viewers during my second full year of writing the Music Man Blog. While it is fun writing about music and performers that I love, it is nice to know that there are others out there that also enjoy music as much as I do.  I think 18,354 pageviews shows that there are a lot of people who love great singers, jazz and songs from the Great American Songbook.  Last year we reviewed a lot of "live" shows that helped to support some of these great performers gain some new listeners for their music. I am so happy to be able to contribute to the continued recognition and the growth of their audience. I hope to continue putting a spotlight on these wonderful performers in the next year. Last year also marked the first time that Music Man Blog was selected to do a pre-release review of a major CD, "The Three Kings" by the Outstanding Jeff Golub Band featuring Henry Butler. What a thrill that my first  pre-release review would be for a mega-star performance by Jeff Golub, his band and Henry Butler.

Highest Month For Pageviews


Last year the highest month for pageviews was September 2010 with 575 pageviews.  This past year, I am delighted to announce that our highest month was May 2011 with 2,172 pageviews.

National Ranking From Technorati


Technorati is the leading organization that tracks the level of activity for Blogs across the world.  Music Man Blog is now ranked number 99,062 out of 1,280,597 blogs that they track.  This puts Music Man Blog in the top 8% of all active blogs after two years of publishing.

Many thanks to all viewers of the Music Man Blog and also to all those readers who have shared their comments with me over the past year. I had the opportunity to hear and get to know some outstanding performers last year and hope to meet many more this year.  My blog is dedicated to supporting musicians and live-music performances. I am looking forward to starting my third year of publishing and will be trying to make the blog even more interesting for music lovers all over the world.