The Unsung Musical Heroes: Sidemen

Homage to Royo's "Pensentiva" 

A recent documentary film, "Twenty Feet From Stardom" looks at the life and career of backup singers, who are so important to popular music while  at the same time so unknown by the general public.  It's an excellent look at the lives of these singers and started me thinking about the lives and careers of thousands of sidemen that are also critical to popular music and Jazz and yet live their lives virtually unknown to the listening public.

I have a lot of personal friends who have spent their lives making a living as sidemen and appear to have no problem playing 2nd fiddle to some of the most popular musical stars of our lives. I have had many conversations with these sidemen trying to understand why, for the most part, they find full satisfaction in making a living in a supporting musical role.  They seem satisfied in their supporting roles even while watching the lead singer or player take all the spotlight, oxygen, applause and most of the money.

Sidemen are really special musicians! They don't play for the glory, fame or money, their payoff is in the music. They simply love playing music, it consumes their very existence. It is who they are!

I recently observed a couple of my sidemen friends who have retired but still play and have moved into a lead position in groups they put together to perform in local restaurants. I have to say they seem to really enjoy being in front after years of being in back.  Personally, it is a good feeling for me to see at least some sidemen finally getting their day in the sun.

We will always have musical stars but without superb sidemen supporting their performance, their road to success would be a lot tougher.

Sinatra said "Here's to the Band" and I say "Here's to the the Sidemen" bless them all!

     
                                           Sinatra Singing "Here's To The Band" From "YouTube"

CD Review: Perry Beekman "So In Love" Sings and Plays Cole Porter

Peter Tomlinson, Perry Beekman & Lou Pappas

If you love Cole Porter's music and who doesn't, "So In Love" by Perry Beekman should be the next CD you buy.  Perry Beekman is a superb singer and guitarist.  This is the first CD he has recorded as a leader and he has selected 15 great Cole Porter songs for this album. Everyone of the Porter songs qualifies as a classic and Perry's approach is true to the spirit in which Porter wrote these songs. This not to say that Perry doesn't bring his own personality and style to this party because he does!  Perry also celebrates the other Cole, Nat King Cole, whose drummerless Trio revolutionized popular songs when Nat first appeared playing piano and singing with just a guitar and a bass.  Perry is supported by two seasoned musicians, Peter Tomlinson on Piano and Lou Pappas on Bass

Perry Beekman has been performing in and around New York City for the past 25 years, and it is hard to believe this is Perry first CD as a leader.  Its been a long wait but the final product makes the wait worth it.  Could Perry's next CD be "Perry Beekman Sings and Plays Gershwin"? Let's hope so!

"So in Love" Was released on June 4, 2013 and is available at www.cdbaby.com/cd/perry beekman.

I found a Youtube "Perry Beekman Plays "In The Still Of The Night" that I have attached for your enjoyment.     

                                              Perry Beekman Plays "In The Still Of The Night"

Pre-Release CD Review: Kara Grainger's "Shiver And Sigh"

If you like down-home country Blues sung in the style of Bonnie Raitt, then Kara Grainger's new CD, "Shiver and Sigh" is the perfect CD for you.  Australian native, Kara Grainger is a powerhouse talent. She sings, plays guitar and writes her own songs.  This is the 3rd CD for this triple-threat star who writes great songs that only improve when she sings them.  Now living in Los Angeles, Kara started learning the guitar at age 12.  She has had a long performing history and while still relatively young, Kara has honed her skill over the years and now has arrived on the music scene in a big way.

When I listened to her sing, I heard the influence of Bonnie Raitt, and that's a good thing.  The fact that Kara writes her owns songs only makes her presentation more impressive.  Kara wrote 5 out of the 11 tracts on this CD.  She also sings a soulful interpretation of Robert Johnson's "C'mon In My Kitchen" and Al Jackson Jr/Timothy Matthews "Breaking Up Somebody's Home". Supporting Kara are a stellar group of seasoned musicians: Kirk Fletcher and Josh Sklair on Guitar, Mike Finnigan on Keys, Hutch Hutchinson on Bass, Kimi Bott and James Gadson on Drums, Lenny Castro on Percussion Mitch Grainger on Harmonica, Pauli Cerra on Sax Paul Litteral on Trumpet and George Stanford on Trombone. I have to mention that David Z was the producer/engineer and he did a superb job putting this CD together.  Everything works on this CD,  the songs, the vocals by Kara, the supporting musicians and the producer who put all the parts together to achieve this wonderful Country Blues CD.

This CD will be release on July 16, 2013.

Pre-Release CD Review: Ron Boustead's "Mosaic"

Ron Boustead 

I listen to a lot of new CDs every week, and there is always a few real musical gems that I discover in my pile. I like a lot of the new artists but I only fall in love with a very small number.  Ron Boustead is  an artist that I have fallen in love with because of his "Mosaic" CD.  Usually I have to hear a new artist several times before I get a deep feeling for the new songs and the artist. Not so with Ron Boustead and his new CD "Mosaic".  This CD took a few years to produce and after just hearing it once, you will know why it took so long to complete.  Everything about this CD is brilliant!  The selection of songs are great, the singer is great, the mixing is great, the arrangements are great and the supporting group of musicians are superb.

Ron Boustead is a gifted vocalist and songwriter. "Mosaic" contains 4 songs he wrote and the balance of 6 songs are classics that Ron has applied his own interpretation to. I put a photo above of the credits because this CD was not created by getting a small group of musicians in a room and pumping out a CD.  Ron Boustead has put many hours of thought into who he wanted for each track and used lots of different players on each one.  Sometimes this can be a problem because the final product comes out uneven and not matched.  Not so here, the listener is carried seamlessly throughout the entire sound ride with no clue that each track contained a different group of professional musicians. The fact that the musicians Ron has chosen are world class players made the process work.

Ron sings and writes music in the same spirit that brings to mind some of the greatest songwriters of popular music today like Carole King, James Taylor, Jon Lucien, Bill Withers, Billy Larkin and contemporary Brazillian composer Leo Minax. This terrific CD will be available on September 3, 2013.

                                             MOSAIC
           1.   Moon Song                              6.   Careless Wind
           2.   You're Sensational                   7.   Every Monent Of You
           3.   No Me Without You                8.   Everything Be Ok
           4.   Wishful Thinking                     9.   Whatever Happens
           5.   And Now?                               10.  Secret 'O Life

I found one of the songs on the CD, "Moon Song" on Youtube and have attached it so you can hear Ron Boustead for yourself.  Enjoy!

                                     
                                                Ron Boustead Singing "Moon Song" 

Jazz is Alive and Well in Canada By J. Crawford Reid

Carol  McCartney and Kieran Overs

Carol McCartney and Chris Robinson

The Music Man Blog has a large number of followers in Canada, and this blog was written by a Canadian guest writer, J Crawford Reid.  Crawford has previously written a guest blog for us and he is our man in Canada who keeps us up-to-date about Jazz happenings in Canada. The following is his latest article:

This is a blog about a concert at Brantford Downtown Jazz in my town, Brantford, Ontario.  The series has been happening for 16 years! Yes, 16 years.  It's held in the lobby of the local theatre.  Maybe 200 people attend and the atmosphere is much like Vicky's in Indian Wells, Ca. with the audience that is quiet and respectful of the artists.

This week one of my favorite vocalist, Carol McCartney was featured.  I believe Carol is one of the best Jazz vocalists in Canada and always brings along a talented group of musicians to support her. Carol sings songs from the "Great American Songbook" along with some standard Jazz tunes. Tonight Carol sang one of my favorite Lester Young tunes "Just You, Just Me" brilliantly. Pres would have been pleased! Many of the songs she sang featured her excellent scat singing, something she loves to do. Carol also sang a beautiful version of "Yesterdays" and a tremendous arrangement of "Night and Day" arranged by the great Canadian arranger, Rick Wilkins. Carol did a couple of Jazz tunes too, like Bobby Timmons "Dat Dere" and a glorious tribute to Nancy Wilson, "West Coast Blues". The last tune Carol sang was "I'm Old Fashioned" that brought a great evening of Jazz to a wonderful finish.  

Carol has a new CD out "A Night In Tunisia" that really swings!  I'm sure that Dizzy was the driving inspiration for this wonderful CD.  You can hear Carol McCartney sing some of the songs from her new CD by visiting her site: "Carolmccartney.com".  I have also attached a "YouTube" Video of Carol singing, "These Foolish Things" that I know you will enjoy. Carol performs all over the East including the USA, so if she has a gig near you, she is worth the effort to go see.

                                                                   Carol McCartney "These Foolish Things"

Vinyl LP's, Everyone Thing Old Is New Again!

Spring Is Here

A recent article published in the New York Times "Weaned on Cds, They're Reaching for Vinyl" got my attention.  The article was written by Allan Lozinn and was about the growth of Vinyl LP sales. I was aware last year that some small music labels were rereleasing vinyl LP's, but this is the first article since then that cites the progress and sales of vinyl LP's.  Many of my musician friends have always expressed the opinion that the sound you hear from LP's was warmer and had more depth than the CDs that all but replaced the LP industry. Personally I have never heard a vinyl LP that had a better sound than a digital CD but I have not gotten the chance to listen to many of the new LP's, so it's still an open question for me.

The main problem with the new "Vinyl LP" industry is not the lack of interest or buyers.  It turns out that the core problem is lack of pressing equipment needed to manufacture the LP's. According to Lozinn's article, about a dozen pressing plants are now up and in operation.  In addition, every major record label is releasing vinyl and most new releases have a vinyl version.  This is great for the growth of the vinyl industry but the effect is putting more pressure on the pressing industry that does not have enough equipment to satisfy the growing demand.  Most of the vinyl manufacturers are using used presses that cost about $25,000 and then they have to spend additional money to recondition them.  New pressing machines are very costly, running up to $500,000; a cost most labels can't justify.

When I first heard about vinyl LP's being issued again, my thought was that there is as much value in the LP art on the album cover as there is in the music on the vinyl itself. Now, if the quality of sound is more satisfying to a music fan than CDs, then this would explain the strong demand for the new vinyl LP's. Lozinn notes that "a growing number of classic albums including the complete Beatles and early Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan catalogs have had vinyl reissues in recent years as well."

One surprising comment in the Lozinn article was that the market seems to be driven by young kids who think collecting these new vinyl LP's is cool.  Josh Bizarre, the Director of Sales and Management of Music Direct, a Chicago company that manufactures vinyl and turntables provided the following interesting quote,"We never expected the vinyl resurgence to become as crazy as it is," he said. "But it's come full circle.  We get kids calling us up and telling us why they listen to vinyl and when we ask them why they don't listen to CDs, they say, CDs? My dad listens to CDs, why would I do that?"    

CD Review: Gene Ess, "Fractal Attraction"

David Berkman, Thana Alexa, Gene Ess, Thomson Kneeland and Gene Jackson

"Fractal Attraction" is a new album for a quintet by Gene Ess. Seven songs on this CD are original pieces composed by Gene Ess and one song was written by Thana Alexa.  All of the songs are fresh, original and compelling. Award winning guitarist, Gene Ess, comes from a diverse background that has formed his unique style. Gene's early years were filled with the sounds of Beethoven and Chopin.  Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Gene grew up on a US Air Force base on Okinawa. The result of all this mixed life and musical experiences gave Gene the ability to compose and perform a refreshing new and terrific sound that joins Pop, Classical and Jazz.

I was most impressed with the voice of Thana Alexa that is used more as an instrument throughout this CD.  Thana voice joins Gene's guitar perfectly and creates an exciting new united sound that works perfectly with Gene's compositions.

According to Gene "Fractal is the name given to images, landscapes, sounds and any other pattern that is self-similar in nature, that is, if you look at one small part, no matter how small, you get a sense of the whole picture. With this in mind, the music was composed from a loose (a la jazz) perspective and not a  rigid adherence to any rules or subsets of rules imposed by the fractal composing techniques. The result is a collection of swinging music that looks forward and looks to the past with musical respect. The supporting musicians on this Cd are truly experienced and professional.  Thana Alexa on Voice, David Berkman, Piano, Thomson Kneeland, Bass and Gene Jackson, Drums.

This CD will surely win many awards and will truly deserve them.  It's the new sound of Jazz that combines traditional Jazz with the sounds of new Jazz creating a different but comfortable new sound. "Fractal Attraction" was released on May 8, 2013 and is available at all fine retailers.