Dharma All Stars gig recap July 27, 2008
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Thursday night, for the first time in 15 months, I went to see John Favicchia’s Dharma All Stars perform. The venue was Mirelle’s Restaurant in Westbury, New York.
On this night, the band consisted of:
John Favicchia, of course, on drums…
Chieli Minucci on guitar…
Mike Nunno (“NU-no”) on bass…
I lowered the brightness on Mike’s sheet music cover.
Carl Fischer on trumpet…
…and flugelhorn…
Bill Harris on tenor saxophone…
…and Bill Heller on keyboard.
The set list for the night was:
1. Horizons
2. Te estremeces
3. Coincidence
4. Sing a Song of Song (Kenny Garrett cover)
5. Kukuc (“KOO-kooch”)
BREAK
6. Black (Cedar Walton cover)
7. Snakes (David Sanborn cover)
It was a great night of music and great to see the band perform again.
Ken Navarro, “The Grace of Summer Light” July 13, 2008
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Almost four weeks ago, Ken Navarro’s 18th album, “The Grace of Summer Light” was officially released. It has been available since May 1 on his website. I pre-ordered the album back in February and was fortunate enough to hear the demo version of the title track back in late December.
As I documented back in April, Ken gave me my pre-ordered copy of “Grace” in the lobby of the Hampton Inn Milford [Connecticut] a few hours before this year’s Smooth Jazz for Scholars concert. And as I further documented, I listened to the first six tracks while waiting for my dinner to be delivered from a nearby restaurant. I listened to the remaining four tracks the following day (April 27) once I had returned home. In a thread on The Magic Island BBS the day after that (April 28), I complimented Ken on the album:
… I can’t get enough of [the album]. You’ve created a masterpiece, Ken. Thank you very much.
2 1/2 months later, I stand by that evaluation. “The Grace of Summer Light” just gets better and better every time I listen to it. Here are the tracks on the album:
1. Just Before The Dawn (prelude) (:28 )
2. Blue Skies, Bright Dreams (6:08 )
I mixed tracks 1 and 2 together in Adobe Audition 3. They’re heard best together rather than separate.
3. The Grace of Summer Light (7:51)
4. On My Way To Somewhere (9:16)
5. Perfect Circle Sun (4:10 )
6. Daddy-O (6:50 )
7. Nomad (8:05)
8. Looking Everywhere For You (5:48 )
9. We Might As Well Dance (6:11)
10. Just Before The Dawn (2:18 )
A few days before “The Grace of Summer Light” was released officially, Ken recorded a podcast chronicling how the album was made and what inspired each track. It is available here and on iTunes. Also, Shannon West reviewed the album for SmoothViews in last month’s edition.
Thank you again, Ken on all your guitars and the additional keyboards and percussion; and thank you to Jay Rowe on the main keyboards; Tom Kennedy (no relation to the game show host and brother of Jack Narz) on acoustic, electric, and fretless bass; Joel Rosenblatt on drums; and Kevin Prince on percussion. “The Grace of Summer Light” really is a masterpiece and to those that haven’t heard it yet, it’s a musical journey worth taking.
Pre-order update #5 July 10, 2008
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The last of the CDs I pre-ordered in May arrived today:
Nick Colionne, “No Limits” (Koch)
I’ve only listened to the first track, the title track, so far. If it’s any indication, this is going to be a great album. I’ll try to have a review once I’ve finished listening. I also need to post a review of Ken Navarro’s “The Grace of Summer Light.” In the meantime, I now have all the CDs I pre-ordered on May 10, two months to the date (July 10) later.
7/11 UPDATE: The instrumental tracks are great. I cannot post a full review because I haven’t listened to the vocal tracks (outside of “Melting Into You”), which I generally don’t prefer listening to. Therefore, it would be unfair to review only 10 tracks out of 13. But I do like “No Limits” and do recommend it.
David Benoit interviewed for SmoothViews July 1, 2008
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In this month’s issue of the online magazine “SmoothViews” is an interview Bonnie Schendell conducted with David Benoit to promote his latest album “Heroes.” I posted about the album back on May 29 (late night May 28).
In my days at WCWP, I conducted four interviews of my own with David, which can be found here. I’d interview him now, but I’m out of radio and don’t have a good telephone hybrid to conduct the interview from home for this blog. If anyone knows where I can find a Gentner Telehybrid for sale, you have one to sell, or you know someone that will sell, please leave a comment. The rest of you are also free to leave comments.
Pre-order update #4 June 24, 2008
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Today, I received three CDs I had pre-ordered weeks ago in the mail:
The Jeff Lorber Fusion, “Soft Space” (reissue)
Eric Darius, “Goin’ All Out”
Gerald Albright, “Sax for Stax”
As with “The Jeff Lorber Fusion,” the “Soft Space” reissue sounds much better than its LP counterpart. I have yet to listen to the other two CDs in their entirety. I’ll get around to them after “Soft Space.”
The Dan Siegel Project, “Fables” June 23, 2008
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Two Mondays ago, I ordered The Dan Siegel Project’s new album “Fables.” I received it in the mail five days later. The album is a rearrangement of songs Dan recorded in the mid-1980s, plus two new compositions. Here are the tracks:
1. Dark Star (4:29)
2. Concrete Jungle (4:51)
3. Fugitives (3:19)
4. A Day In The Country (4:06)
5. Celestial Body (5:45)
6. Behind The Shadow (2:24)
7. Before You Wake (3:55)
8. The Last Waltz (4:12)
9. Peace Of Mind (2:48 )
10. Where Are You Now (4:15)
11. Solitary (2:56)
12. Little Creek (4:28 )
13. Star Light (3:36)
Tracks 1, 5, 10, and 12 were “reimagined from” Another Time, Another Place in 1984.
Tracks 7 and 8 were “reimagined from” On The Edge in 1985.
Tracks 2, 3, 4, 11, and 13 were “reimagined from” Short Stories in 1986.
Tracks 6 and 9 were new compositions.
All tracks were written by Dan.
The album personnel was:
Dan Siegel: keyboards, melodica
Michael Lington: saxophone
Tony Guerrero: trumpet, peck horn
Pedro Eustache: flutes, duduk, various winds
Adam Glasser: harmonica
Michael Miller: guitar
Allen Hinds: guitar
Abraham Laboriel: bass
Alex Galas: bouzouki
Aloke Dasgupta: sitar
Paul Livingstone: sitar
Charlie Bisharat: violin
John Riley: oboe, piccolo, bass clarinet
Nadia Freeman: vocals
“Fables” has the same feel as Dan’s “Hemispheres” album in 1995.
My favorite tracks so far are “Concrete Jungle,” “A Day In The Country,” “Celestial Body,” “The Last Waltz,” and “Where Are You Now.”
Acoustic Alchemy concert recap June 22, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Music, Personal.1 comment so far
Later Acoustic Alchemy recaps: October 2010, June 2012, November 2016
Earlier tonight, I attended Acoustic Alchemy’s concert at IMAC. I sat in the first row of the Center Right section’s odd number seats. The theater’s audio mixing board was a few feet ahead to my left.
The set list included:
“Get Up (Levantar y Bailar)”
“Jubilation”
“Jamaica Heartbeat”
“Out of Nowhere”
“Big Sky Country”
“Carlos the King”
“Ariane” (last song before intermission)
“Ernie”
“Tied Up with String”
“She Speaks American/English”
“Tuff Puzzle”
“Lazeez” (encore)
I took 129 pictures during the concert. Here are the ones that stood out:
Greg Carmichael:
Miles Gilderdale on acoustic guitar…
…and electric guitar:
Fred White on keyboards:
Gary Grainger on bass…
…and younger brother Greg Grainger on drums:
Miles and Greg C. in the final measure of “Lazeez”:
And the band taking a bow (or, at least, about to):
It was an excellent show!
Afterward, my friend Kat Sarracco took this picture:
Standing left to right: Greg Carmichael, Miles Gilderdale, Mike Chimeri; Sitting left to right: Gary Grainger, Greg Grainger, Fred White
This was my first Acoustic Alchemy concert, but I guarantee it won’t be the last.
6/29 UPDATE: Kat has added my pictures of Miles Gilderdale (on electric guitar) and Fred White to the 2008 Fan Photo Gallery on the official Acoustic Alchemy site.
7/14 UPDATE: My picture with the band is part of the recently added 2008 Fan Archive.
Acoustic Alchemy at IMAC tomorrow June 20, 2008
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I’ll be going back to IMAC tomorrow night to see Acoustic Alchemy in concert. To prepare, I’ll be spending the next two days listening to many of their songs. This way (hey, that’s their latest album title), I can identify what’s played.
Either tomorrow night or Sunday, I’ll have a recap of the concert, complete with any pictures I take.
No more posts about Cablevision June 12, 2008
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, TV.add a comment
I’ve decided to give up posting about my experiences with Cablevision. I have no confidence in any channels being added no matter how much we customers plead or demand. I don’t know what I’ll do in the future, but one way or another, I’ll get the channels I want, like Fox Business Network, even if it means moving and switching providers.
Thank you for reading my posts about Cablevision. I invite you to stick around for posts about other goings-on in my life, as well as concert recaps and album reviews. For example, next weekend, I’ll have a recap of Acoustic Alchemy’s concert at IMAC. And I’m bound to let you know about any albums I pre-order, buy, or listen to.
RnR concert recap June 7, 2008
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RnR Smooth Cruise recap: 8/4/10
Later today, I will recap last night’s RnR (Rick Braun and Richard Elliot) concert at IMAC in Huntington, New York. I attended the 7PM concert, sat in the first row for the third concert in a row, and straightaway center for the second time in three concerts (SJFS was the first).
Expect pictures and as much of the set list as I can identify or remember.
5:38 PM UPDATE: The recap will now be up by Monday at the latest. Please be patient.
6/8, 1:50 AM UPDATE: I have selected the pictures to use for the recap and cropped them. I hope to write the recap with those pictures later today.
6/8, 11:13 PM UPDATE: Here, finally, is the rest of the recap:
The band was comprised of Rick Braun on trumpet (with and without mute) and flugelhorn…
Richard Elliot on tenor saxophone…
Ron Reinhardt on keyboards…
Dwight Sills on guitar…
Nate Phillips on bass…
…and Ricky Lawson on drums.
The set list included, but was not limited to:
“Curve Ball”
This led off the show.
“Down and Dirty”
“Notorious” (Rick’s song from “Body and Soul”)
“People Make the World Go Round” (covered by Richard on “Metro Blue”)
Midway through, Richard tried to get as much growl as he could out of his sax.
“Cadillac Slim”
“RnR”
“Grazin’ in the Grass” (covered by Rick with Boney James on “Shake It Up”)
This was the last song before the encore.
“Use Me” (covered by Rick on “Kisses in the Rain”)
This was the encore. Rick encouraged the audience to sing the lyric “Until you use me up” as loud as possible.
And there you go. It was a very exciting concert. I can only imagine what the 9:30 crowd got.
MikeChimeri.com 