SJFS reviewed at “SmoothViews” June 2, 2008
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Mary Bentley was another one of the attendees at this year’s Smooth Jazz for Scholars concert in Milford, Connecticut. She has a review of the concert, which I recapped here in the days that followed it, in this month’s SmoothViews internet magazine.
The SmoothViews homepage can be found in Jazz Links on the left part of the screen.
Pre-order update #3 May 31, 2008
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The release of the re-issue of “Soft Space” by The Jeff Lorber Fusion has been pushed back to June 24.
Wayman Tisdale’s “Rebound” comes out Tuesday. It will be shipped to me by Thursday at the latest.
David Benoit, “Heroes” May 29, 2008
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I received “Heroes” yesterday, and after all the computer crashing craziness, I finally got around to listening to it early this morning. Here is my review per a thread on the Magic Island BBS:
Not only is [“Heroes”] a winner [as I referred to it in an earlier post], it is a grand slam! [David Benoit’s] covers are 1000x better than the original versions. Way to go, David…and also, David Hughes [bass], Jamey Tate [drums], Brad Dutz [percussion], Andy Suzuki [saxophone on “A Twisted Little Etude” and “Blue Rondo A La Turk”], and the Asia America Symphony [string quartet on “She’s Leaving Home”].
P.S. I prefer this “Heroes” over the namesake TV series. I’m sure some of you here [on the message boards] would beg to differ, but I digress.
Here are the tracks:
1. Mountain Dance (4:04)
Original artist: Dave Grusin
2. Human Nature (4:13)
Original artist: Michael Jackson
3. Your Song (3:49)
Original artist: Elton John
4. Light My Fire (4:00)
Original artists: The Doors
5. Never Can Say Goodbye (4:19)
Original artists: The Jackson 5
5/30 UPDATE: So far, I am hooked on this song.
6. She’s Leaving Home (3:36)
Original artists: The Beatles
7. Song For My Father (3:23)
Original artist: Horace Silver
8. You Look Good To Me (2:57)
Original artist: Oscar Peterson
9. Waltz For Debbie (5:03)
Original artist: Bill Evans
“Debbie” was originally spelled “Debby” by Bill. David also covered this on “This Side Up” in 1985.
10. A Twisted Little Etude (2:30)
Original artist: David Benoit.
This is the lone original track. It is a tribute to Dave Brubeck, which leads us to…
11. Blue Rondo A La Turk (5:00)
Original artist: Dave Brubeck
If I got any of the original artists wrong, let me know and I will make the necessary corrections.
New old laptop broken May 24, 2008
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I broke the Toughbook last night trying to put in the 1 GB memory card. Since then, the computer will turn on, but won’t boot and is stuck on until the battery runs out. It ran out some time this morning. I e-mailed Panasonic customer support for their help, but what is more likely to happen is I will buy a new laptop from Dell. That was my original plan before my dad gave me the Toughbook.
P.S. Al Turner’s “Movin'” sounds great.
Pre-order update #2 May 22, 2008
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The release date for Nick Colionne’s “Off Limits” album has been pushed to July 8.
David Benoit’s “Heroes” comes out Tuesday and I should get it Wednesday or Thursday.
Yellowjackets’ “Lifecycle” sounds good so far. I’ll listen to Al Turner’s “Movin'” once I complete “Lifecycle.”
Pre-order update May 17, 2008
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For some reason, my copy of “The Jeff Lorber Fusion” was shipped early and I received it today. Having heard it, the audio quality is a big improvement over the LP. The bonus track, “Poppin’,” originally only available on a limited edition LP, was excellent.
My Al Turner and Yellowjackets CDs come out Tuesday and should be shipped right away.
5/20 UPDATE: The two CDs shipped today and will arrive tomorrow, as will that 7-port USB hub.
Lots of pre-ordering today May 10, 2008
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After browsing the Upcoming Jazz Releases page at allaboutjazz.com, I just pre-ordered a whole mess of CDs:
Al Turner, “Movin'” (5/20)
Yellowjackets, “Lifecycle” (featuring Mike Stern) (5/20)
Wayman Tisdale, “Rebound” (6/3)
The Jeff Lorber Fusion, “The Jeff Lorber Fusion” (re-issue) (6/10)
The Jeff Lorber Fusion, “Soft Space” (re-issue) (6/10)
Gerald Albright, “Sax For Stax” (6/24)
Nick Colionne, “No Limits” (6/24)
Eric Darius, “Goin’ All Out” (6/24)
Last April, I bought the original “Jeff Lorber Fusion” and “Soft Space” LPs on eBay, thinking it would be ages before those albums would ever be released on CD. When they came, I recorded the tracks on both from my turntable to my DAT (Digital Audio Tape) recorder. Then, I recorded what was on the DAT to my computer as WAVE files, which I also saved as high-quality MP3s. Now, they’re coming to CD on Wounded Bird Records. Go figure. At least the LP versions held me over for a year.
I pre-ordered David Benoit’s new album, “Heroes,” a week ago. That comes out May 27. Outside of that, I had no idea any of the other albums listed in this post were coming out. But I know now and look forward to hearing them.
P.S. Still bored and lonely.
David Sanborn concert recap May 4, 2008
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As I feared, there was no meet-and-greet after tonight’s (technically, last night’s; it’s after midnight as I post) David Sanborn concert at IMAC. Initially, I was frustrated, but I’ve gradually gotten over it.
My seat was excellent. It was in the left section, first row, aisle. The band was comprised of David on alto saxophone; Ricky Peterson on keyboards, organ, and a vocal on “The Dream,” the encore of the night; Richard Patterson on bass; Nicky Moroch (“MorOCK”) on guitar; and Gene Lake on drums. Besides “The Dream,” the set list was “Comin’ Home Baby,” “Full House,” “Maputo,” “Tin Tin Deo,” “As We Speak,” “Benny,” and “Soul Serenade.” After “The Dream,” some of the crowd wanted another encore, but they didn’t get it. It’s just as well. I’ve been told that most single artist sets are 75 minutes, which is about how long the set was tonight. I wasn’t complaining, though.
Overall, it was great to finally see David in concert, even if this ends up being the only time.
I took around 30 pictures (without the flash). Here are the ones that stood out:
David Sanborn:
Ricky Peterson (the only shot I tried getting with his organ in the way):
Richard Patterson on two kinds of bass:
And Nicky Moroch:
Gene Lake was completely obstructed from my view.
Another Saturday, another concert May 3, 2008
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For the second Saturday in a row, I’m going to a concert. This time, I’ll be seeing David Sanborn at IMAC (the Inter-Media Art Center) in Huntington, New York, 20 to 30 minutes northeast of me. Hopefully, I’ll enjoy myself as I did last week. If there’s a meet-and-greet following the concert, I’ll likely have a picture to share of me with him. Just don’t expect a detailed recap like I had for Smooth Jazz for Scholars.
Last year, the same thing happened. On April 28, I attended Smooth Jazz for Scholars, and one week later on May 5, I saw Bob James and Angels of Shanghai at IMAC.
For those of you not familiar with David Sanborn–and since my blog is intended to appeal to everyone, some of you may not be–his website is one of the Jazz Links listed on the left side of your screen below the Blogroll and Friends/Family.
Incidentally, Bob James and David Sanborn have worked together in the past. David appeared on Bob’s “Heads” (1977), “Touchdown” (1978), “Lucky Seven” (1979), and “Foxie” (1983) albums. And they released a collaborative album, “Double Vision,” in 1986. (If I made any mistakes, let me know and I’ll correct myself.)
SJFS meet-and-greet pics April 30, 2008
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As promised, here are pictures from the meet-and-greet following the Smooth Jazz for Scholars concert Saturday night.
First, Eric Marienthal:
Chieli Minucci:
Ken Navarro:
The man behind SJFS, Jay Rowe:
Joyce Cooling:
Jay Rowe, Joyce Cooling, and Jay Wagner:
Oops, Jay blinked.
But through the magic of Adobe Photoshop:
Does it look authentic?
And finally, back in the Hampton Inn lobby, shortly after midnight, Kim Waters:
Kim, Ken, and Kat Sarracco (who took the above picture) were on their way to the after party at the Stonebridge Restaurant. I opted not to go and was sound asleep in my room within an hour and a half.
I slept soundly until 10:30 AM Sunday. From there, I did my push-ups, showered, and packed. Then, as I checked out, I ran into Kat in the lobby where my mom and her friend Mandy were waiting to drive me back home after driving all the way to the hotel. I introduced Kat to them and we all had a nice brief conversation. Then, Mom, Mandy, and I drove back to Long Island. Meanwhile, Kat drove Ken and Eric to JFK (John F. Kennedy International Airport) for their respective flights. Ken was flying home; Eric was flying to Moscow to begin a tour with his band comprised of all Russian musicians.
And that concludes our journey through my weekend in Milford. I hope you enjoyed this look back as much as I enjoyed it in real time.
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