The Whole Music Experience

Django Reinhardt, Wikipedia (This excerpt comes from chapter 12, "Catching the Coletrane" of Whole Music Soul Food for the Mind Body Spirit ) Jazz Medicine  The story of jazz contains just as many tragedies as it does moments of elation.  Jazz musicians in general have personal history and early African-American jazz players in particular, carried the added weight of injustice, racism, illness, and addiction in the competitive music industry.  Societies in the west color any genre of music hailing from Africa with prejudices.  Early jazz as it emerged in the US and arrived in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was viewed as a novelty in some cases, and primal in other cases giving listeners the license to adopt destructive practices (consumption of alcohol, loosening of sexual morals and exploring the seedier side) as portrayed in Jeffrey H. Jackson’s book, Making Jazz French . However, even local-grown European musicians harn...

Harmonia Mundi/Jazz Village Bringing Back to the Classics: A Conversation with Catherine Russell The first time I heard Catherine Russell sing was when her 2010 Jazz Village CD, Inside This Heart of Mine arrived at my mailbox.   The songs, all thoughtfully chosen blues and jazz classics, delighted me and had my feet tapping while I reviewed the recording.   November hit the spot with its warm acoustic guitar, accordion, violin, and Russell’s soulful alto vocals wrapping around each word, like a winter scarf.   The send-ups All Cats Join In , We The People and Just Because You Can also had staying power. On the follow-up album, Strictly Romancin’ , again Russell treated her happy listeners to toe-tapping classics Wake Up and Live and Satchel Mouth Baby as well as, bluesy ballads Under the Spell of the Blues and Don’t Leave Me.   She sang romantic ballads too such as I’m in the Mood for Love.   Bring it Back , Russell’s la...

Stevie Wonder Innervisions Motown/Universal (1973) Ah, Stevie, how did I forget you for so many years? I grew up with Stevie Wonder music surrounding me.   Then when I was in college, I took a dance class and our final performance featured Sir Duke .   However, after I discovered alternative rock, I stopped listening to soul music, and poor Mr. Wonder was relegated to the back closets of my mind.   That was until a few months ago when I heard Sir Duke playing the background at the food coop.   Stevie was back and just in time, since now I decided to include a chapter on soul music for my book-in-progress, Whole Music . Oh, I’m enjoying this. When Stevie released Innervisions in 1973 I was in grade school, but I heard the gritty socio-commentary Living for the City , the catchy Don’t You Worry “Bout a Thing , and the funky Higher Ground on a pop radio station.   However, at the time I did not recognize Wonder’s musical genius.  ...

The Michael Treni Big Band Boy’s Night Out Bell Production Co. The Jens Wendelboe Big Band Fresh Heat Rosa Records When I think of big bandleaders, I think piano.   Yet, here are two new releases by trombonists leading modern-era big bands.   You won’t find rehashed covers of Ellington or other American jazz legends, but both the Michael Treni 16-piece big band and The Jens Weldelboe Big Band swing low and high.   First, there is Treni who began his jazz career with promise, almost landing a touring gig with Art Blakely that at the last moment fell through leading the musician to a new direction of arranging.    Trombonist Jens Wendelboe, on the other hand, has run the gamut between jazz, pop, and movie soundtracks.   He leans heavily on a strong melody. Opening with Leonard Bernstein’s Something’s Coming Treni and his musicians provide robust jazz on the album, Boy’s Night Out .   The musical personnel however, does...

Marshall Gilkes Sound Stories Alternative Side Records When trombonist Marshall Gilkes’ Sound Stories arrived at my post office box, I had no plans for reviewing the recording in the near future.   I was taking a short sabbatical from reviewing so I could concentrate on other projects.   However, out of curiosity, I slipped Sound Stories into my CD player and the music grabbed me.   The blend of lyrical and be bop jazz played tightly by this quintet begged for a review.   With Gilkes leading, Donny McCaslin (tenor sax), Adam Birnbaum (piano), Yasushi Nakamura (bass) and Eric Doob (drums) through both composed-through and improvisations, this album showcases a great deal of jazz talent.   Who doesn’t enjoy the alchemical process of music? A little bass, drums, toss in piano, and an extensive conversation between tenor saxophone and trombone, and you have a recipe for a jazzy escape. The ironically titled, Anxiety--Part 1 and Part 2 did not ...