My Christmas music playlist December 24, 2018
Posted by Mike C. in Christmas, Jazz, Music, Personal.2 comments
In the past (here and here), I’ve talked about my collection of jazz and new age Christmas albums. I’ve continued to add as new albums come out or I rediscover songs on the albums I already have.
The time has come to share what songs are currently in my Christmas music playlist, which I curated in iTunes. There are 329 songs combining for 21 hours, 26 minutes, and 52 seconds of listening. Here is the playlist, over 14 screencaps (click on them for full size):
I usually listen to the playlist twice. The first pass took me a few weeks. The second pass should be quicker since I’ll be playing it at a Christmas Eve party and at home on Christmas Day.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good listen.
10:15 AM UPDATE: I duplicated the playlist so it would appear in a different form. That way, you can see full titles and artist names. Rather than take screencaps again, I made a video recording, set to “Snow Bells” by Ficara:
The parenthetical “MC Edit” and “remastered” mean I edited the files in Adobe Audition. The edits involved removing the first few seconds of a song, fading out the end of a song that led into the next track on the original album, or improving the sound quality.
Mike Chimeri’s Music Collection audio remixes December 20, 2018
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Video.add a comment
Over the past few months, I’ve periodically taken the audio from episodes of Mike Chimeri’s Music Collection, my short-lived YouTube series, and remixed the files in Adobe Audition. By adding song excerpts, while dubbing in corrections and taking out end-of-video calls to action (8/26/19: I dubbed in another correction for episode 2), episodes have gone from as short as 5:08 on video to as long as 23:30 in audio. I’ve remixed six of the eight episodes so far and will update this post if and when I complete the final two. I hope you enjoy them.
Click on the “original video” links (blog posts with embedded video) for an episode’s album list.
Episode 1: 6 Albums from 1981
Remixed audio
Original video
Episode 2: 1970s Debut Albums
Remixed audio
Original video
Episode 3: 8 Albums from 1992
Remixed audio
Original video
Episode 4: 2000s Debut Albums
Remixed audio
Original video
Episode 5: 9 Albums from 2000
Remixed audio
Original video
Episode 6: Albums by Sidemen
Remixed audio
Original video
John Scofield’s Combo 66 at Blue Note December 2, 2018
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal, Photography, Politics, Travel, Weather.add a comment
Two weeks after braving wintry conditions to see the Bob James Trio at Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich Village, I returned to the legendary venue to see guitarist John Scofield‘s Combo 66 quartet.
363 nights after seeing saxophonist Dave Koz for the first time, as his 20th Anniversary Christmas Tour stopped at the Tilles Center, it was time to see John Scofield for the first time.
Skies were partly cloudy with a stiff westerly breeze on Thursday afternoon as I walked from my house to the Wantagh LIRR station. I took an earlier train than the last time: 4:27 this time. Aboard the train, an M3 railcar, I sat in the head car and could see straight ahead, a perspective I seldom see.
Once at Penn Station, I boarded an E train for West 4th Street. I arrived outside Blue Note at exactly 5:45:
Within 20 minutes, I was inside. I thought about sitting by the stage again, but opted for a seat further back and elevated. Unfortunately, I didn’t make any new friends at the table this time. A father and son, and man in his 20s kept to themselves and I was too shy to start a conversation.
John Scofield’s Combo 66 began their set a few minutes after 8:00:
John led the quartet on electric guitar:
He was backed up by Gerald Clayton, on piano for five songs:
…and organ, which I had a better view of, for three songs:
Vicente Archer on acoustic bass:
…and Bill Stewart on drums:
Bill used brushes for “I’m Sleeping In”:
There were eight songs in the quartet’s set, with all but three of them from the Combo 66 album:
1. Can’t Dance*
Originally heard on: Combo 66 (2018)
2. Hand Jive
Originally heard on: Hand Jive (1994)
3. Green Tea*
Originally heard on: A Go Go (1998)
4. Dang Swing
Originally heard on: Combo 66 (2018)
5. I’m Sleeping In
Originally heard on: Combo 66 (2018)
6. Icons of the Fair
Originally heard on: Combo 66 (2018)
7. F U Donald (Bill Stewart composition)
Originally heard on: Band Menu (Bill Stewart) (2018)
I felt like an outcast as John announced the title, an obvious shot at President Donald Trump, which received a hearty applause. The son seated next to me cheered “my man!” at the title’s sentiment. I just sighed and shook my head. The song itself was great. I thought it was better with guitar than saxophone as there was on Bill’s Band Menu. Afterward, John emphatically repeated the title and softly quipped, “now, we’d like to play a beautiful ballad for [Vice President] Mike Pence.” Even I laughed. Then, the set concluded with…
8. New Waltzo*
Originally heard on: Combo 66 (2018)
*-Gerald Clayton played organ.
It was a superb set. Not even a politically-charged song title could dampen my enjoyment. Thank you to John, Gerald, Vicente, and Bill.
Returning to Penn Station on the E train and to Wantagh on a Babylon-bound LIRR train were both uneventful. My next trip to Manhattan is slated for January 10 when I’ll once again see pianist Lisa Hilton perform.
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