It's Tuesday, I have a rare day off, but I have a full week and some change of long days and short nights ahead. I'm pre-exhausted. When I'm pre-exhausted, there's nothing better than slipping into an easy chair, putting on a soothing record, and letting the music give me a back rub. As of late, [...]
Here at Raggy Waltz headquarters, we love creating new blog series. Enter this new series, entitled 'Record Storing'. "What's it about, and what the heck is 'record storing'?" you ask? Good question. Quite simply, it's about me going to record stores, the subsequent albums I take home, and my thought process that takes place between [...]
What is it about the color blue that is so expressive, so hip, so cool? Rhapsody in Blue. Kind of Blue. Blue Trane. True Blue. And then there's Midnight Blue. The Music The Tune: "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You"Recorded: 8 January, 1963 at Englewood Cliffs, NJPersonnel: Kenny Burrell - GuitarMajor Holly - BassBill [...]
*Disclaimer: This is not -I repeat NOT- an authoritative piece of writing, nor is it personal exposition passed off of as the gospel. What follows is exactly what the rather academic-sounding title says: my personal thoughts on an interesting aspect of collecting jazz on vinyl! Last week while in the Motherland of Southern California, I [...]
I mean, if I'm doing a Black History Month tribute, I can't NOT feature an album from the illustrious Blue Note label, can I? The answer, of course, is no. Hail no. And as a trumpeter myself, of course I had to profile one of my favorite trumpeters of all time. Enough chit chat; to [...]
Rolling right along in my celebration of Black History Month, here's an album featuring a rare type of jazz artist- a female who strictly plays and doesn't sing. Of course, there's also a bit of intrigue behind the album as well. To the music! The Music The Tune: "Hip Soul"Recorded: 2 June, 1961 at Van [...]
It's February 1st, which is the beginning of Black History Month here in the States. At the Raggy Waltz offices, we're celebrating Black History Month by highlighting albums made by black artists. To kick off the official start of February, here's quite possibly the most unpretentiously black album I own. With that, to the music! [...]
UPDATE: Yesterday, at 86, Michel Legrand passed away in Paris, France. A new post is forthcoming, but in the meantime, I thought it appropriate to bring this one back. It's my personal favorite Legrand album and it features Legrand's piano on all the tracks. Rest easy, Michel Legrand! Full disclosure. This post was completely inspired [...]
Over here in the United States, the month of February is Black History Month. The month of February is also the shortest month of the year. As a result of both of these facts, the staff of Raggy Waltz decided to celebrate Black History Month by spotlighting jazz albums made by black artists. Beginning now. [...]
Wrapping up the Brubeck Birthday series, I thought I'd finish with what I consider to be the Brubeck Quartet's best live album and one of the best live jazz albums of the 20th century. High praise, I know. Let's jump to the music then! À la musique! The Music The Tune: "Blue Rondo a la [...]
