Well, jello again. It's ME, Jack Benny. No, but seriously, after a lengthy pause, I'm back, and boy do I have a lot of albums that I'm excited to share with you all. Lots. But before taking that plunge into the sea of the new and exciting, here's an old and familiar album that I've [...]
Here's an album off the beaten trail that I find myself frequently grabbing on Sunday mornings, an album perfect lazy days. Listen closely enough and you can hear the pancakes sizzling on the griddle. Now I'm making myself hungry... Every April and May, I engage in some musical silliness on my humble blog where I [...]
It's been a while, I know. Three whole entire months with nada. I and the entire Raggy Waltz staff apologize for this AWOL, and will attempt to do better going forward. Ok, I feel better now. ANYwho... Today is International Women's Day (or it was when I started writing this), and as such, it gives [...]
Pianist, composer, arranger, and all-around nice guy Dave Brubeck was a remarkable individual and musician from the very beginning, and his life and music continues to be discussed today. Born December 6, 1920, this year would've been his 100th, yet despite passing away in 2012, his legacy and controversy has been celebrated in articles and [...]
Much has happened since I last did something on this here humble blogsite (new job, new state), but what hasn't happened is bossa nova. Considering it's nearly the end of summer, this is all the more egregious. In light of this serious situation, here's a tasty little album of bossa nova from one of the [...]
Driving a few miles north of Hermosa Beach, humming "Appointment In Ghana" as you motor along the Pacific Coast, you find yourself in Los Angeles, the first major city on your jazz journey. Being that this is the capitol of Southern California and its jazz mecca, there's almost too many options to choose from. LA [...]
Leaving Laguna Beach for another beach, you travel almost an hour north towards to Los Angeles to the beach town of Hermosa Beach. Well, it's supposed to be about an hour, but the traffic makes it more like an hour and a half. Pulling into the parking lot of The Lighthouse Cafe, you hear the [...]
If there's one thing that I and the Raggy Waltz staff love more than Brubeck and Desmond, it's starting blog series. Well, here's another one, inspired by the forced Coronacation we're all on. Here in the United States, at least, we're still under travel restrictions and social distancing regulations. As such, I thought it would [...]
It's been a wild couple of weeks for everyone, with uncertainty and anxiousness everywhere. During stressful times like these, my record library takes on the role of a refuge and safe space. It's a place where I can recharge, relax and unwind. Luckily, my record shelves are full of the best stress-reducing medicine I've found: [...]
Although I am a huge fan of Dave Brubeck and his music, I don't always listen to his music. There are times, however, when I revisit his music and momentarily listen to nothing else BUT Brubeck. During one of those recent (ok, current) Brubeck Binges, I had thought about all of the wild, next-level, phenomenal [...]
It's A Raggy Waltz 