Dave Brubeck (1920-2012) will of course be remembered as a brilliant musical explorer, a virtuoso improviser, a prolific composer with a fondness for odd time signatures and a great ambassador for jazz music in general. Yet, Dave Brubeck … [Read more...] about Dave Brubeck: Piano Blues
Jazz
Misha Alperin: Her first dance
Two simple chords, a few notes on the piano and a soaring theme on the flugelhorn. Neither classical nor jazz but floating somewhere in between, a slow piece replete with subtle internal rhythms, “Her first dance” is a superb composition by Ukrainian … [Read more...] about Misha Alperin: Her first dance
Sam Jackson: The Gramophone
Sam Jackson is a Dublin based pianist, but when I heard "The Gramophone" for the first time on the radio, I mistook it for what could have been a track from an early recording from the Esbjörn Svensson Trio. Sam Jackson's music is of the … [Read more...] about Sam Jackson: The Gramophone
Brad Mehldau: River Man
Any version of Nick Drake’s River man will always stop me in my tracks. The unusual time signature and the eerie contemporary classical arrangements to the original song make it such a rich ground for covers. If Norma Waterson’s version introduced … [Read more...] about Brad Mehldau: River Man
Ibrahim Maalouf: Will soon be a woman
Born in Lebanon and now based in France, Ibrahim Maalouf is a young jazz trumpet player whose sound can truly be described as unique. Ibrahim Maalouf plays a "hybrid" trumpet fitted with a fourth valve, allowing him to play the quarter tones … [Read more...] about Ibrahim Maalouf: Will soon be a woman
About Spellbinding Music
Why is it that a particular piece of music, a tune or a song will move us in such a way that it will stop us in our tracks, send shivers up our spine or give us goose bumps? Spiritual or secular musical traditions such as Sufi music, Gnawa music, … [Read more...] about About Spellbinding Music
