Tribute to Ruth Gibson Brings Out Her Friends And The Best Of Valley's Musicians

Ruth Gibson

John & Popee

Carol Hampton

Bobbie Flelecter

Carolyn Martinez

Josh Parker

Bill Marx

Mike Costley

Ken Steele

Linda Peterson

Ron Kalina & Carolyn Martinez

 Tuesday night, January 24 an overflow audience came to Vicky's of Santa Fe restaurant in Indian Wells to honor the memory of one of the most unique individual who lived in the desert, Ruth Gibson.  Ruth recently past away at the young age of 91 and Tuesday night was a chance for her many friends to remember her bigger than life personality and remember how she surrounded herself with music and laughter. Even if you never knew Ruth, after listening to her songs, stories related by her friends and music played throughout the night by some of the best musical talent in the desert, you would have to leave this tribute feeling like one of her friends.

One reason so many musicians turned out to honor Ruth was not only for all her talents and her positive, zany personality but because she was a very giving person.  All the musicians and friends attending related stories about how Ruth had reached out to help them time and time again.  Ruth has left a void difficult to fill but if her friends continue to live by her example, her spirit will continue.

CD Pre-release Review: The Heritage Blues Orchestra, "And Still I Rise"

The Heritage Blues Orchestra's new CD, "And Still I Rise" will be released on February 28, 2012. This new CD was produced by Grammy-nominated producer Larry Skoller and was recorded in Brooklyn, NY. I would have guessed that it might have been recorded in the deep South maybe New Orleans because it has the feel of traditional Black deep country blues and yet brings a new fresh approach to the genre'.

The Heritage Blues Orchestra features Bill Sims Jr. (vocals/electric and acoustic guitars/handclaps), Chaney Sims (vocals/handclaps), and Junior Mack (vocals/electric and slide guitars/dobro). Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith plays drums/percussion, Vincent Bucher on harmonica, Matthew Skoller does the harmonica solo on "Big-Legged Woman", Bruno Wilhelm did the horn arrangements and plays tenor sax, Kenny Rampton and Steve Wiseman on trumpets and Clark Gayton on Trombone/sousaphone and tuba.

This may be a new CD for the Heritage Blues Orchestra but the sounds captured in this CD are a beautiful blend of old traditional blues with some sensational modern musical talents. This is a must CD for anyone who loves down home blues.  The cuts on this CD give the mental image of this group of talented musicians playing in the backyard or perhaps on the front steps of a house in the deep South. Bill Sims Jr's singing is outstanding throughout but especially on the Muddy Waters classic, "Catfish Blues" and also on "Big-Legged Women". The electric slide guitar work by Junior Mack is a good as it gets! Chaney Sims, daughter of Bill Sims Jr. sings with a reality of life experiences. Chaney has many versatile singing styles and she gets to express them all on this CD from soulful blues to gospel testimony. The last song on the CD, "Hard Times"is beautifully arranged like a three-part suite.  It starts with the soft and silky voice of Chaney Sims have a musical conversation with a soft guitar. Then is moves into fabulous horn symphony arrangement written by Bruno Wilhelm that is haunting and Bruno then finishes with a terrific tenor solo. Vincent Bucher plays wonderful harp through out and Matthew Skoller plays a great harmonica solo on "Big-Legged Women". The drumming provided by Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith provides a strong foundation for the group throughout the CD.

What makes this blues CD very special is that every musician participating in making this beautiful music is a master of the blues.  Put them all together in the Heritage Blues Orchestra and what results is a must have CD for any lovers of traditional American blues.

Steve Madaio Sparkles at Backstreet Bistro in Palm Desert

 Tuesday night is Jazz night at the Backstreet Bistro in Palm Desert.  And tonight we had the pleasure of seeing my good friend Steve Madaio perform his magic on the trumpet.  Steve has to be the most understated musician in the desert.  Not many people are aware of Steve's impressive musical resume' that few musicians anywhere could come close to.  Steve has played with the "Best of the Best" and has recorded way over 100 CD's that have become million sellers!  Hearing the way Steve plays love songs from the "Great American Songbook" with soft and emotional tones that few musicians can get out of a trumpet, it is hard to believe that he has recorded with Earth, Wind and Fire and toured for two years with the Stones in Europe. Steve's skills put him in the same class as giants like Miles Davis and Chet Baker when it comes to projecting the emotion of a lyric without anyone singing the lyric. Tonight he gave us more proof of his ability and began his first set, with "What's New" moved on to "My Funny Valentine"  combined with "There Will Never Be Another You".  Three of the best American love songs ever written. Few musicians have the ability that Steve does to approach these ballad gems with a soft touch and the romantic emotion that Steve's sound projects. You will have another chance to hear Steve again at Backstreet on Tuesday, February 7.  Steve also plays under the stars at the Bluember in Rancho Mirage on Sundays at 6:00PM.

Joining Steve tonight was an outstanding group of musicians with Leo Vigil on drums, Jimmie Dykes on Keyboard and our friend Bill Saitta playing the upright bass. Tonight was the first time that I got a chance to hear Leo and Jimmie and they did not disappoint. Leo provided a solid foundation for the group on all the songs and Jimmie played some fine solos including a very special one on the great classic "Body and Soul". I also thought Bill Saitta played his solos especially sharp tonight and his solid bass provided a wonderful bottom range to support the group throughout the performance.  A wonderful evening of music and great food at the Tuesday night place for Jazz, Backstreet Bistro.  

Bill Saitta and "The Funk Junkies" Have Some Jazz Fun At Woody's Burgers & Beer in Palm Springs, Ca

Larry Mitchell Drums, Bill Saitta Bass, Kelly Corbin Sax, John Higgins Keys

Bill Saitta & Kelly Corbin

Kelly Corbin & John Higgins

Bill Saitta, Kelly Corbin & John Higgins

We're back in the California desert doing my first music review of the winter. On Saturday, we traveled to Palm Springs to visit Woody's Burgers & Beer, a new restaurant and jazz club located at 317 No Indian Canyon Drive. Woody's opened 8 months ago and has already become established as a great place for great burgers and great live jazz sounds. You will love the food and the reasonable prices.  You can sit and enjoy the live music with no cover charge.  Sounds just about perfect to me.  Woody's has live Jazz six nights a week from Tuesday through Sunday. So now we can add another great place for Jazz to our list. Call 760-230-0188 for reservations and say hello to the owner, Wayne Woodliff who will take good care of you.

"The Funk Junkies" is a group that was put together by Bill Saitta and it produces some great sounds. Bill likes to describe the group as playing "Funky Eclectic Jazz" but it sounds like "Smooth Jazz" to me. The program tonight was carefully put together with a wide range of sounds and rhythms. Some of the tunes I enjoyed the most were Ellington's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" Stevie Wonder's "All In Love In Fair" and the great Cannonball Adderly classic "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy". If you like the sounds of great tenor sax, you have to catch this group and listen to Kelly Corbin. "The Funk Junkies" will be at Woody's on Saturday January 21st and Saturday January 28th from 7:00 to 11:00.

The group consists of Bill Saitta on Electric Bass, John Higgins on Keyboard, Larry Mitchell on Drums and Kelly Corbin on Tenor Sax.

Oscar Peterson:Remembering The Jazz Giants: Chapter One

The other night I was looking at some YouTube videos of some of the great musicians that had impacted my life when I came across a few great videos of Oscar Peterson. I enjoyed these videos so much that I decided it would be interesting to do a series of blogs on the "The Jazz Giants ". 

THE JAZZ GIANTS: CHAPTER ONE

OSCAR PETERSON

Oscar Peterson is considered  one of the greatest jazz pianists of all times. I think he was the absolute best! During his long career, Oscar recorded with most of the jazz greats including Louis Armstrong, Ella, Count Basie, Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie and almost all of the great singers of the past 50 years.  He released over 200 recordings and won seven Grammy Awards. He was much more than just a jazz pianist, he was a teacher and composer. But don't take my word for it.  Take a look at the YouTube videos I have attached below. On the first YouTube, Oscar plays "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" and his playing has been transcribed so you can follow along. Hearing what Oscar is playing is one thing but seeing the actual notes is just heaven.

On the second YouTube, Oscar plays "I Can't Get Started" and it just flows with emotion and grace. Hope you enjoy these videos as much as I did! PS: Playing on guitar with Oscar at this session was another of my favorites, Joe Pass.

                                            Oscar Plays "On The Sunny Side Of The Street"

                                                   Oscar Plays "I Can't Get Started"

Clive Robbins, Developer of a Method of Music Therapy

California Poppies

I read in the NY Times December 13, 2011 issue that Clive Robbins died.  In reading his obituary, it brought to mind the power of music and how it can reach deeply into human beings.  Mr Robbins was the developer of music therapy designed to help people with various disabilities meet the physical, mental and social challenges through the use of music. Mr Robbins, a British-born special education teacher joined forces with an American pianist and composer, Mr. Nordoff to develop what became to be know as "The Nordoff-Robbins" music method.  Their method is now used by hundreds of therapists around the world to treat people of all ages with conditions such as autism, mental retardation, psychiatric illness, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and physical and learning disabilities.

Many of the Nordoff-Robbins therapists are skilled musicians who use music to mirror a patient's emotional state throughout a session,  joy, anger, sadness and all the shifts between. They also try to mirror the repetitive motions made by an autistic child.  Patients are also encouraged to join in with the music making by beating drums, strumming guitars, and singing.  Clive Robbins deserves much credit for developing and executing this research.

I believed for a long time that the power of music has the ability to change a person's mood, thought direction and emotional state. Years ago I developed a seminar that I taught around the country that was titled; "How to Get High Without the Use of Drugs or Alcohol" to young insurance agents to help them use music to move into a more positive place before making a prospect presentation. The results of this seminar have proven to be valuable to this day. The process involved listening to no more than 10 seconds of a series of 40 songs individually picked by the students that were played with matching motivational pictures on a large screen. After playing the music over several days, the student found that they could raise their motivational level without the pictures.  This exercise allowed them to play their personalized motivation tape whenever they felt a need to move to a better place.  If anyone would like more information about this motivational method, please let me know and I will be glad to pass on more details.

CD Review: Catherine Russell's "Strictly Romancin"

I just received an advance copy of Catherine Russell's soon to be released new CD, "Strictly Romancin".  Catherine has been singing and paying her Jazz dues for a long time backing artists like Carrie Smith, Steely Dan, David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, Michael Feinstein and Rosanne Cash. She finally released her 1st CD, "Cat" in 2006 to rave reviews. Her 2nd CD, Sentimental Streak", was released in 2008 and she won the prestigious German Record Critics' Award and a Hot Club of France Discovery Award. Catherine's 3rd CD, "Inside This Heart of Mine" reached #1 on JazzWeek, Roots Music Report and iTunes Jazz Charts.

"Strictly Romancin" Catherine's 4th CD was my first introduction to Catherine Russell and I was just knocked out by her voice, her style and her approach to lyrics. This CD contains a collection of great old jazz tunes out of the "Great American Songbook" that even avid Jazz lovers don't get to hear much these days. And why don't we hear these songs sung today? One reason is because they are simply not easy to sing. These songs require an emotional understanding of the story the lyric is telling and requires the singer to sing the story with style and clarity. I believe one needs to call upon past life experience to perform these songs in a way that can bring the listener in. Catherine brings a refreshing honesty and clarity to these songs. The first song on the CD is "Under the Spell of The Blues. The original was covered by Chick Webb/Ella Fitzgerald. When I first heard Catherine singing this song, I heard sounds that reminded me of Ella, Peggy Lee and Sinatra-like lyric stylizing. Please don't misunderstand, Catherine is not copying any of these mega performers, she is approaching her trade with her own great interpretation that makes her refreshingly unique.  The 4th cut on the CD is "Ev'ntide" and it has quickly become one of my personal favorites.  This tune was written by the great Hoagy Carmichael in 1936 and Louis Armstrong recorded it. Sadly the tune has rarely been recorded until now. Catherine has given us the gift of rediscovery. The 6th cut, "I'm Checkin Out Goom'bye" is an Ellington-Strayhorn song about breaking up and it includes some great trombone work from John Allred.

What puts this CD over the top, is the group that supports Catherine.  They are all perfect in their musical support and fit with Catherine like a hand going into a glove.  The producer of this CD was Paul Kahn and the recording engineer Katherine Miller and they both deserve praise for the smooth and effective way all parts of this CD were put together and mixed. The wonderful supporting cast of performers consists of Musical Director/Guitarist/banjoist/Arranger, Matt Munisteri, trumpet Jon-Erik Kellso, trombonist John Allred, Sax/clarinetist Dan Block, Saxophonist/arranger Andy Farber, accordion Joe Barbato and violin Aaron Weinstein, Piano Mark Shane. Bass Lee Hudson and drums Mark McClean. 

Catherine was born to musical royalty. Her dad, the late Luis Russell was a pioneering pianist/composer/bandleader and Louis Armstrong's long time side-kick.  Her mother, Carline Ray, is a bassist, guitarist, and vocalist who has performed with Mary Lou Williams and The International Sweethearts of Rhythm.

The CD is scheduled to be released on February 14, 2012 and I strongly recommend it. 

For those readers in New York/New Jersey area, Catherine will be performing at Shanghai Jazz in Madison, NJ on New Year's Eve.  It is a great way to bring in the New Year with great sounds and great food!