Tampa Calling

So, you thought you were going to be cooler than your iPod worshiping friends and buy a Zune? Well, if you bought a Zune 30gig you are SOFL right now. (more…)

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A couple of weeks ago, my brother in Seattle called and asked if I could recommend a few jazz CDs for his 20-year-old son who had expressed an interest. A starter kit, if you will.

I’ve had like requests many, many times over the years, and so it dawned on me: Why not publish one?
Here’s a 10-CD jazz primer designed to lure those curious about the genre into being, if not hooked, at least satisfied enough to continue a jazz quest. Being a jazzbo like me can be lonely these days, so the more folks I can recruit the better.

Before we get started, a few words about criteria. I didn’t attempt to cover all the bases in jazz history. The idea here is seduction through listenability, while offering a solid overview. I may love 1930s Duke Ellington, but to the uninitiated it tends to sound like music from old cartoons. Likewise, I dig Albert Ayler, but most people would hear it as squawky noise and want to plug their ears.

That said, this is no dumbed-down list. Most of the titles are recognized classics, and a few will pose a challenge, especially for those who like their music sensible and orderly.

There are many overlapping players on these discs, but I purposely limited artists to one title.

Miles Davis: Kind of Blue (Columbia/Sony, 1959)
This is always the first album I recommend to the jazz curious. The ultimate gateway drug — gorgeous, intimate and expansive at the same time. Kind of Blue is probably the most widely revered jazz record of all time, and for good reason. Simple, grabby melodic sketches give way to extended solos by one of the greatest lineups ever assembled, including Miles on trumpet, John Coltrane on tenor sax, Cannonball Adderley on alto sax and Bill Evans on piano. The music is dark and moody yet somehow comforting.

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Want to toast the New Year with local denizen while enjoying some sort of live music? The following is a list of shows taking place all over in bars, concert clubs, pubs, PACs, and other various venues.

Nervous Turkey at Yeoman’s Road Pub, 236 E. Davis Blvd., Tampa, 813-251-2748.

Sister Hazel at Jannus Landing, 16 Second St. N., downtown St. Petersburg, 727-896-1244.

The Doobie Brothers at Universal Citywalk, 6000 Universal Blvd., Orlando, 407-363-8000.

Lounge Cat (pictured) at Slim and Chubbie’s, 1436 U.S. 19, Holiday, 727 938-7336.

The Vodkanauts, Maestro’s at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, downtown Tampa, 813-229-7827.

Rewind: The WMNF Tribute to the Music and Songs of 1968 with Talk to Mark, boon, Crabgrass Cowboys, Rancid Polecats, Midnight Bowler’s League, Ted Lukas, Christie Lenee, Johnny Zoom, Chadun, Lush Progress, and Roppongi’s Ace, at Skipper’s Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road, Tampa, 813-971-0666 or 813-238-8001.

Swingin’ the New Year at The Coliseum, 535 Fourth Ave. N., St. Petersburg, 727-892-5202.

DJ Icey at Green Iguana, 9202 Anderson Road, Tampa, 813-690-0938 or 813-288-9076. (more…)

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No matter how hard we might try, family gatherings and holiday season don’t always add up to joyous — or even peaceful — experiences. But when the Trucks clan joined forces for their Soul Stew Revival bash at Tampa Theatre on Monday, a near capacity crowd of around 1,400 witnessed domestic bliss at its finest. The jubilant vibe, marked by expert musicianship, permeated the ancient venue. If the rumors are true about the historic movie house being haunted, even the ghosts must have been grinning.

The gnat’s-ass-tight gang of musicians mesmerized with gorgeous executions of the timeworn tension-and-release dynamic. It’s a God-send rooted in the churches of the Deep South, one that was sold with aplomb to the secular world by the likes of Ray Charles, James Brown and Aretha Franklin. The Allman Brothers Band, Derek Trucks’ chief employer, then expanded the sonic presentation with Kind of Blue-indebted jazz elements in the late 1960s. Decades later, the holy tradition thrives, coming together wonderfully Monday night at Tampa Theatre.

Trucks, a 29-year-old slide guitar master, and his band, were joined by his soul singing (and pretty damn good ax player herself) wife Susan Tedeschi for an awesomely old-school R&B revue goosed with jam band touches. A three-man horn section, two drummers (one being Derek’s younger bro Duane), a percussionist, bassist and keyboardist who doubled as a flautist for one number (think Astral Weeks and save the Jethro Tull jokes) filled the stage. The formidable ensemble, which featured members of Tedeschi’s and Trucks’ individual bands, melded terrifically. 

Photo of Tedeschi and Trucks, from a previous performance, courtesy of Flickr. 

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The concert at the Hall with Obie Trice never happened. Mr. Trice canceled on the morning of the show because supposedly his house was raided by law enforcement and he was being detained for questioning. If that smells like Motown manure to you too then congratulations! You’re not gullible either.

He didn’t get arrested. I’d love to ask him face to face the real reason why Mr. Real Name No Gimmicks decided to pull this last minute missed appearance act, but my wish to maintain a clean criminal record will probably keep me from pursuing that.

I was initially informed of the cancellation around 11am the day of the show via Myspace. I called The Mind Syndicate to find out if this was true. They assured me the show was still going on as they had heard nothing about a cancellation, but said they’d call me back after making sure. That return call came around 2PM while I was in the mall with F.a.T and Milo. That’s when I got the original excuse Obie gave them of getting arrested… (more…)

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I met Freddie Hubbard many years ago backstage at the Clearwater Jazz Holiday. A few people warned me that he could be an asshole. He was a sweetheart. Hubbard was a brassy, fiery player who performed on seminal avant-garde recordings by Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane, as well as his own, commercially-oriented albums for CTI (Red Clay). His best work was probably in the straight post-bop realm. Here’s more on the passing of a jazz titan.

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Hankshaw & Friends

The annual New Granada Christmas Show at New World Brewery featuring King of Spain, Davey von Bohlen, Hankshaw and Jarvik 7 was a splendid night of reunions with a grand soundtrack.  The show has a reputation for unique elements (including in past years the reunions of Scrog, Pohgoh and appearances by elusive bands like The Blackwoods Orchestra) and it’s a place to meet up with friends from near and far.

King of Spain… (more…)

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After several false starts, virus-laden downloads and out-of-control fan anticipation taken to an email hoax level, the real Merriweather Post Pavilion has finally surfaced on the file-sharing blogs. The much-anticipated eighth studio album of wildly avant-garde rock ensemble Animal Collective leaked this past weekend, and fans that were foaming at the mouth to listen are now foaming at the mouth while listening, soaking it up like a bunch of hipster sponges, IM’ing their friends about its greatness, about how “catchy” it is compared to their previous efforts and how it’s already the greatest album of ‘09, and has anyone ever thought of using an optical illusion as the cover of their album? How groundbreaking! (”Holy shit, it moves!“)

The buzz surrounding this album has been as big as I’ve seen buzz get, most likely because it took so long to leak in advance of its January 20 release date on Domino.

As a fan of Animal Collective, a music writer who tries to keep track of what’s going on in the music world, and the wife of a man who happens to be an inexhaustive explorer of file-sharing music blogs, I snagged a copy and listened to it last night. There was no doubt about who created the album; it was pure Animal Collective, surreal meets out-there. I’m not sure whether or not it’s really catchy, although it is probably more accessible than other stuff I’ve heard by them (less melodic yells and screeches, more straighforward singing). Once I’ve recieved a concrete copy of the album, I’ll report back here with my review. Stay tuned.

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From the “Just Fuckin’ Creepy” Dep’t. here at CL Music, John Lennon pimps free laptops for the Third World:

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Veteran guitar-playing songstress Bonnie Raitt (pictured at right) adds some Florida stops for her upcoming tour, including a show at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Sun., March 15, $59-$100, Clearwater.

Combichrist, an industrial electro-metal fivesome from Atlanta, brings their tour to State Theatre in support of their forthcoming album, Today We Are All Demons. Wes Borland’s Black Light Burns provides support. Thurs., Jan. 15, $16, 727-895-3045.

Bay area reggae makers Variety Workshop stage a CD Release Party in honor of their self-titled debut album, available for free to all release party attendees. Sat., Jan. 17, $9, Big Shots, Clearwater, 727-723-1091.

Suncoast Blues Society welcomes Delta Moon for its Jook Joint Night series. Sat., Jan. 17, $7, Dave’s Aqua Lounge, St. Petersburg, 727-576-1091.

Acoustic blues singer/singwriter Roy Bookbinder returns to town and plays a gig at the quaint Craftsman House Gallery & Cafe. Sat., Jan. 24, $18 in advance, 727-323-ARTS.

Louisiana rockers Cowboy Mouth play a gig at the Tamiami. Sat., Jan. 24, $15, St. Petersburg, 727-550-0419.

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Undoubtedly, Japan’s premier Steely Dan tribute band:

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There are plenty of albums I listened to incessantly (or not so incessantly but still enjoyed) this past year that didn’t make my top ten, but are still worthy enough of mention. I’ve also included a few I missed all together when they came out and am just now really digging on — there’s just too much music out there, people. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

Erykah Badu, New Amerykah, Part One (4th World War) [Universal Motown]
I only heard Badu’s fourth studio effort for the first time a couple days ago, and kicked my self profusely for not listening sooner. Love it, gives me an automatic head bob, and the only reason I ever avoided it was because I’d heard it was too political. It’s political, all right, but in a blacksploitation film sort of way, all hot funk meets justified rage.

Black Moth Super Rainbow, Drippers EP [The 70's Gymnastics Recording Company]
The five-member experimental ensemble released another album of colorful, synthified, psychedelic fizz – the sort of music you’d expect from the soundtrack to a 1970’s space odyssey. The album includes songs produced over the past year that won’t be on the next album, and each limited edition release comes with one of five scratch n’ sniff scents: fruit punch, campfire, firecracker, tomato and dirt.

Phish, At the Roxy CD Box Set [Jemp]
It’s just not fair to pit a three-night show performed by a band more than 15 years ago against new music, even if said shows do include one of the best versions of “Tweezer” ever known to Phish kind. A truly great box set that anyone who considers themselves a Phan should own.

Panther, 14kt. God [Kill Rock Stars]
Spastic fun rock music with big beats and a Mick Jagger swagger. This album is just a great time.

Beach House, Devotion [Car Park]
The second dream pop album by Baltimore duo Beach House is simple and elegant, each song leisurely, achingly lovely and marked by the soft, sweetly ethereal vocals of singer Victoria Legran. (more…)

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