Joshua Bell - Joshua Bell At Home With Friends

Renowned violinist, Joshua Bell has released Joshua Bell At Home With Friends, an eclectic mix of selections from disparate genres (bluegrass, jazz, classical, rock) and featuring a very diverse group of guest artists. At Home With Friends is meant to convey the experience of an intimate evening of chamber music like those Bell sometimes hosts in his New York home. The generous number of tracks (16) includes compositions by Gershwin, Regina Spektor, Lennon/McCartney, Edvard Grieg and Ravi Shankar. Guest artists include Sting, Chris Botti, Josh Groban, Kristin Chenoweth, Sam Bush and Marvin Hamlisch. And, through the software engineering magic of Zenph Studios, Sergei Rachmaninoff “performs” the second movement of Grieg’s “Sonata No. 3 in C Minor for Violin and Piano” along with Bell. As enjoyable as all of the other tracks may be, if you have the least bit of geek DNA you’ll find this technology and the results amazing...MORE

Poncho Sanchez - Psychedelic Blues

Poncho Sanchez is back with a great collection of material written by jazz greats Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, John Coltrane and Horace Silver, as well as a couple of original compositions from within the band, all performed in the venerated traditional Afro-Cuban jazz style. The new release, Psychedelic Blues, is titled for a track composed by Sonny Henry who wrote Santana’s hit “Evil Ways” (also recorded by Willie Bobo). On recent albums (he has over 26 in addition to his recordings with Cal Tjader) Sanchez has shown a penchant for Stax R&B and Motown sounds, but on Psychedelic Blues he is back in his Be-Bop and Swing tinged Latin Jazz groove...MORE 

Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats - Meet The Meatbats

I recently watched, again, Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007. Bill Murray, as the host, said to the audience at one point, “…enough of the blues already. I’ve had it.” He was, of course, being facetious but the crowd shouted, “No! No!” That’s sort of the way I feel about Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats. There’s no such thing as too much. It’s not like Chad (Red Hot Chili Peppers and Chickenfoot) and the rest of the Meatbats—Kevin Chown, bass; Ed Roth, keyboards; and Jeff Kollman, guitar—weren’t already busy enough gratifying music lovers via other vehicles, but there’s always room for more...MORE

Ramsey Lewis - Songs From The Heart: Ramsey Plays Ramsey

Some artists never recover from success. Ever hear of the Swingin’ Medallions and their flash-in-the-pan 1966 Top 20 Hit, “Double Shot of My Baby’s Love”?* I didn’t think so—unless you’ve heard Bruce Springsteen surprise the crowd with it as a nostalgia piece at one of his live shows over the past couple of years. Another cut on the Double Shot album is “Hang On Sloopy” which just so happens to be the title track of a Gold Record recording of that same year (on Rhapsody) by the Ramsey Lewis Trio. Six degrees of separation not withstanding, we all know that Ramsey Lewis continued, and continues still at age 74, to explore, discover, and excel as an artist. Mr. Lewis’ longevity (80+ albums) is in part due to his awareness and avoidance of the pitfalls inherent in the extraordinary success early in his career. He is once again back in a trio setting on his new release, Songs From The Heart: Ramsey Plays Ramsey...MORE

Pianocircus featuring Bill Bruford: Skin and Wire

Skin and Wire is a collaborative effort among Pianocircus, a 20-year veteran group of six keyboardists; Colin Riley, an unclassifiable English contemporary composer; and Bill Bruford, the prog-rock drummer of Yes and King Crimson fame. Although Pianocircus has been performing for two decades as an innovative cooperative ensemble commissioning, performing and recording innovative new music, one cannot overlook the presence of Bruford on this CD both in name recognition and as an instrumental counterpoint to the six keyboards...MORE

Griffith Hiltz Trio: Now & Then

Griffith Hiltz Trio is comprised of long-time Toronto jazz men Johnny Griffiths (saxophone), Nathan Hiltz (guitar) and Sly Juhas (drums). Another well-known Toronto jazz fixture, Don Thompson, produced Now & Then and plays vibes or keyboards on half of the ten tracks. He also composed “12 Ton Blues.” All other tracks are composed by Griffith and/or Hiltz...MORE

Keb' Mo' The Somerville Theater, Davis Square, Somerville, MA

Keb' Mo' is fresh out on a tour (as of mid October) to promote his new CD, "Live & Mo." I got a chance to hear him at the Somerville Theater in Davis Square, Somerville, Massachusetts, Friday, October 23, 2009. It was some show, starting with the opening act, Kristina Train. Get free tickets by working on Keb's "Street Team" to promote the concert in your area. Check the tour dates for a performance near you: Live & Mo Tour