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Have a Happy Birthday!

Jack DeJohnette and Ronald Shannon Jackson.

Hindustani Flute Recital – Magical Bamboo Flute Sunday, October 02, 2016 4:00:00 PM Venue: Allen Library Civic Auditorium, 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen TX 75013 Admission: ICMC Members: Free General: $30 Student: $20 Rakesh Chaurasia Flute Aditya Kalyanpur Tabla Rakesh Chaurasia, the nephew and child prodigy of flute maestro Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, has a famous name to live up to. Amongst the promising musicians of the second generation, Rakesh has carved a niche for himself , as an accomplished flautist. Incorporating the tradition of his renowned uncle and infusing his personal style , he has evolved a style which while maintaining the purity of the flute manages to capture the attention of the young listeners too. The most accomplished of disciples of his uncle, however, shows all the promise to carry the Chaurasia legacy to new heights. Rakesh has already globe trotted many times over, enthralling audiences at classical and non-classical concerts .He is also an accomplished studio musician having recorded with most of the leading stalwarts of the Indian film industry. Rakesh has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades. He received the Indian Music Academy Award, presented by the Honourable President Of India, Dr..A.P.J Abdul Kalam in 2007, the Aditya Birla Kalakiran Puraskar in 2008, the Guru Shishya Award in 2011, IWAP-Pandit Jasraj Sangeet Ratna Award in 2013 and the Pannalal Ghosh Puraskar 2013. Recently Rakesh toured as a duo for classical concerts as well as for The Masters of Percussion with legendary tabla virtuoso Ustad Zakir Hussain at some prestigious venues globally. Rakesh has also had the priviledge of performing with some international names such as Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Joshua Redman. Rakesh's most recent venture is his fusion band Rakesh and Friends(RAF) which creates music that appeals to the young without sacrificing the essence of classical music. He is destined to carve a niche for himself in the realm of Indian Classical Music with the simple yet extremely challenging instrument, the Bansuri. Aditya Kalyanpur is a talented tabla player and percussionist beyond his years, who has made a distinguished career working with some of the most prestigious names in Indian classical, jazz, and fusion genres such as Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, AR Rahman, Shankar Mahadevan, Pandit Jasrajji, Larry Coryell, George Brooks, Kenwood Denard, Boston based jazz band Natraj, Mickey Hart, John Mclaughflin. Kalyanpur was first seen with his Guru Ustad Zakir Hussainfor the famous "Wah Taj!" television commercial at the age of 11. Having the honor of being recognized as an "A" Grade Artist of All India Radio, he has given public performances along with his guru. Since then he has lent the enchanting music of his tabla to numerous commercials. Honored with the title of Taal - Mani, Aditya Kalyanpur is the recipient of ITC's prestigious Vidyasagar Award as well as the Sangeet Visharad. A commerce graduate, Aditya Kalyanpur has also achieved the distinct title as a Music Diplomat from Mumbai University. He has received scholarship from the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training in New Delhi. In addition to many awards given in India and the United States, Kalyanpur is one of the first tabla players ever to be invited to Estonia for the prestigious Orient Arts Festival. As a soloist and accompanist, he has performed at other prestigious music festivals in India and abroad including the Edinburgh festival in Scotland, the Earagal Arts Festival in Ireland, and the Jazz Yatra in Bombay, India.On a more local scene, Kalyanpur has also appeared at the Great Lakes Folk Festival held every year in Lansing, Michigan, and many other festivals and competitions held across the United States. As a mark of his true versatility as a musician, Kalyanpur has performed solo for many bands and instrumental groups, including the world famous The Rolling Stones and also recorded for their saxophonist, Tim Ries. Aditya Kalyanpur is currently the leader of his fusion band Fuzikk, and a member of the world renowned group Bombay Jazz comprised of jazz legends Larry Coryell, George Brooks and Indian Flute Maestro Pandit Ronu Mazumdar.

Yesterday, I drove to Longview, Texas for the second day of the T-Bone Walker Blues Festival--a two hour drive from Dallas. Clearly the people running the festival are on the rock side of the blues-rock spectrum, but the festival had two artists I wanted to see, so I made the trip. There were two stages, an outdoor stage moved under cover due to recent prodigious rains. Basically, it was underneath a large shed suitable for farm animal shows, with sawdust covered floors. The other stage was seated and indoors, in the Maude Cobb Convention Center. The sound was pretty well done in both cases. Starting off with the outdoor venue, I'm listening to the pride of Kilgore, Texas, a 17 year old high school girl (Ally Venable) leading a blues rock quartet. Not exactly my usual scene, but I must say this young woman is a very talented guitar player and a surprisingly effective vocalist. Her band was good too. I actually loved her set. Shifting indoors, next we have blues-rocker Eric Gales, brother of the late Little Jimmy King. His group (bass guitar and drums) is at the start augmented by a trio of vocalists in the gospel vein. Kind of interesting and unusual in sound. After awhile the vocalists leave the stage and the focus is more on the power blues/rock trio. The bassist is in the Jaco mode, pretty good, and Eric Gales shows off his guitar chops at length. Again, not my usual genre, but if there is a better rock guitarist than Eric Gales these days, I'd like to know who it is. He generated some pretty high intensity. So far the closest we've come to T-Bone Walker are some Chicago blues chestnuts performed by Ally Venable and Eric Gales, but next we have what is presumably the closest one can get to hearing T-Bone Walker live these days, in the person of 81 year old Roy Gaines and his Orchestra. After a couple of sets of mostly youngsters (well, Eric Gales is in his early 40s), the Roy Gaines Orchestra looked like it had been around the block a rather large number of times. A nine piece group with four horn players, they reminded me of B.B. King's group a bit. Roy Gaines is a perennial sideman originally from Texas, who actually played with T-Bone Walker, starting when he was 14 years old. I hadn't heard any of his late life leader dates, but he turned out to be an exciting performer, playing dynamic guitar in the T-Bone Walker tradition, with a taste of B.B. King. His band was terrific, very swinging, a throwback to the days when jazz and blues had less of a clear demarkation. It was a great set. I do wonder about whether this festival will recur next year though. Attendance was not that great. That is, it looked like they were set up for an audience in the 2000-3000 range, and the actual audience looked like it was in the 500-600 range, between the two venues.

Last year, I went to see Lila Downs at the House of Blues in Dallas, which is literally right across the street from my office.--it was a short walk to a total cultural transformation, it was like I had walked to Mexico City. She's definitely got a lot of power in her voice and has a good band.

Willene Barton with the Dayton Selby Trio, There She Blows (Gateway), and David Newman, Concrete Jungle (Prestige)

Sun Ra, The Magic City (Impulse)

I'm glad I picked up a copy, as it is a good one. I've seen Bobby Watson a few times--most memorably with Horizon in Vancouver in the early 1990s. I'm recalling one other time with him as leader at Sweet Basil, a more electric group with Rachel Z. Then a few years ago leading a Jazz Messengers reunion at Iridium. He's been a pleasure every time.

Gypsy Folk Tales was reissued in Japan in the last few years (expensive now). http://www.amazon.com/Gypsy-Folk-Tales-Blakey-Messengers/dp/B005V4GONW/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1464961919&sr=1-1&keywords=Art+blakey+gypsy+folk+tales

Yes, Fantabulous is included in the Mosaic Oliver Nelson set.

I believe you can send a list to this Texas-based 78 dealer and they will give you an idea of value. http://www.78rpm.com/

Thanks I ordered a copy.

The second disc of the AFBF begins with several songs by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee in good form. Then, several excellent songs by T-Bone Walker, backed by a trio including Willie Dixon on bass and Jump Jackson on drums. Some "purists"/idiots in the audience are offended by T-Bone Walker's showmanship and start to boo. T-Bone Walker and group then back up vocals from Helen Humes for several songs, before a closing song featuring everyone from the concert. The third disc awaits, but I did have to skip ahead to hear T-Bone Walker perform Moanin'.

John Coltrane, His Greatest Years (Impulse)

Errol Garner, Soliloquy (Columbia), Big Bands 1933, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson and Horace Henderson (Prestige), and Gerry Mulligan, Paris Concert (World Pacific).

According to the liner notes of the American Folk Blues Festival release, the tapes of the two concerts presented were rediscovered in December of 2014. The first two CDs present a complete and unedited evening concert at the Olympia Theater in Paris, in clear and well recorded sound. The third disc is a midnight concert from the same day. I've just listened to the first disc; it is fantastic.

Harry Edison, Sweets (Clef)

I have Musique de nuit; it is indeed beautiful (kora and cello duet). Parts of it were recorded on the roof of Ballake Sissoko's home in Bamako, Mali.

Last night, New Orleans blues musician Chris Thomas King was rather inexplicably performing in Little Elm, Texas at a place called Rock 101. A 26 mile, though fairly easy, drive from my home, the venue turned out to be a bar/restaurant, but with a stage and decent sound. Chris Thomas King performed solo on electric or acoustic guitar and vocals--a mixture of country blues (Hard Times Killin' Floor Blues), modern blues (Hideaway), and his original material. A rather fine performance it was; I really enjoyed the set. The setting was not so great, as maybe 20 people or so were there to see Chris Thomas King and listened attentively, while the rest of the place was populated by a loud, indifferent bar crowd.

The Jazz Messengers featuring Art Blakey, Ritual (World Pacific)

Cal Tjader, Concert on the Campus (Fantasy)

I seem to recall from long ago that the Recovery Room had Blue Train in its jukebox, but it played backwards (part II then part I)?

The Mangione Brothers Sextet, The Jazz Brothers (Riverside), and Barney Kessel, Ray Brown, Shelly Manne, Poll Winners Three (Contemporary)

Sonny Stitt, All God's Children Got Rhythm (Prestige, mono, NJ Fireworks label). Cover in poor shape and the LP looked marginal too, but in fact it sounds great, the best sounding version of the material with Bud Powell I've heard.

Kimio Eto and Bud Shank, Koto & Flute (World Pacific), Gerald Wilson Orchestra, Portraits (Pacific Jazz), and Gerry Mulligan/Chet Baker, Timeless (Pacific Jazz).