Thereâs something just a little bit voyeuristic about watching this version of âMy Funny Valentineâ, one of the greatest of all ballads and from Rodgers and Hart, by one of my favourite young vocalists, Becca Stevens. Sheâs guesting on Chris Tordiniâs CD but I venture to suggest something very personal is going on here, she nearly loses it in the first half, which isnât like Becca at all. I reckon she has something, or someone, painful in mind.
Less than a 100 hits at present but for mine itâs very special. Poignant and powerful and almost embarrassingly candid.
The bassist , Greg Ruggerio from Beccaâs own trio, nods insistently at the end, he knows theyâve captured a moment.
About as heart on the sleeve as it gets.
Taking a break from Keith Jarrettâs recent solo 4 CD âMultitude of Angelsâ release which has been on repeat play for nearly 2 weeks now since I picked it up in JB Hifi cheaper than the US Amazon download price. Incidentally if youâve a relative whoâs a Jarrett fan, and there are plenty of us out there, Xmas is sorted, believe me, but itâs nowhere on the Tube so I canât share it.
Anyway you might want to argue with this clipâs regular designation as the apogee of super groups but youâd be hard pressed to find a âhigherâ lineup, I read that Ben Webster, who takes the first solo, is the only non user in the band. Itâs from a famous broadcast called âThe Sound Of Jazzâ from 57 and has been called the most emotionally poignant performance in all of Jazz. The lineup is stellar, besides Webster, it features Coleman Hawkins, Gerry Mulligan and Roy Eldridge and for the non jazz fan it rarely gets better than that. Unless you add arguably the greatest of them all, Lester Young, the second soloist and six months from death.
Lester and Billy were one of the great partnerships but theyâd had a falling out and hadnât spoken to each other for years. For context Billy and Lester, who made innovative understatement an artform in an era of excess, had been spiritual and musical partners, Billy had lived with Lesterâs family for an extended period and they made several of their greatest recordings together. But that was years before this and the falling out.They apparently avoided eye contact during rehearsals but Lester came on and did what he did, but only as Lester could, and Billy just dug it, you can feel it and see it. Noone really knows if they were ever lovers but this clip has been cited as evidence for the defence.
Billy is just wonderful here, and letâs be honest, she wasnât always at this stage in her career. She was a serious user who had been playing in â â â â â â bands and her voice, which famously only had a one octave range at the best of times, is shot to pieces but she lays it out there, she couldnât let Lester down. She was only 42 but she had less than 2 years left.
As for the band, it was âAnything for Billyâ.
If you havenât heard it, do yourself a favour.
Little bitter poppier than I normally like, but still enjoyable still looking forwards to their new album
State spec.
So proud of LMW.
First backing vocalist on the left.
Neil Cowley claims he is the most listened to anonymous piano player around which confuses me because Iâve been listening to his trio for yonks but Iâve never actually heard this Adele, whoever the hell she is, other than Cowleyâs regular employer. All context I suppose. At least this Adele person has good taste in accompanists.
His new album, âSpacebound Apesâ is a tribute to Arthur C Clarke and this track is probably the only track Iâve ever posted with a ridgy-didge film clip. I missed them when they toured a few years back and Iâm still cursing.
The first track is peppy and chunky and catchy but the album covers the gamut of the trioâs range from minimalism to the cavalry coming over the ridge triumphalism to the limpid beauty of the second offering.
Itâs all up on Spotify.
Les Claypool + Sean Lennon
Had no idea Sean was so good on guitar.
Iâve never liked Green Day, but I liked Billyâs performance in this gig
The 'Bus is one band Iâve always wanted to see live
A bloke for work is the frontman for this band Dusk. Itâs not bad and Iâm sure theyâd appreciate a couple of views
Trolling through youtube looking for new music to listen to and found this album by Trees Of Eternity(The band Trees of Eternity is a musical collaboration between Finnish guitarist Juha Raivio and Sweden-based, South African-born singer Aleah. Their music is often described as down-tempo, doom/death-inspired melancholia with ghostly female vocals):
Aleah sadly passed away quite some time before this album was released. This has also raised the bands profile, as it does. Iâm yet to give it a listen, but Iâve heard good things
Space rock
Not a fan of the tunes
Would wife the bird though
1 Hit Wonder Judie Tzuke with her 1979 ballad âStay with Me till Dawnâ
Beautiful voiceâŚ
More contemporary, but no less beautiful, Agnes Obel with the incredibly relaxing âFuel to Fireâ
Never really got into ghost until I heard this one
Kill Devil Hills, newly discovered, may have been mentioned here already, been around 10 tears??. Surprised i couldnât find a Perth bandâs 1st LP CD anywhere in Aus, so ordered from Germany.