Finance

We first mentioned Amy Winehouse in April 2007. She was yet another talented UK vocalist who took cues from the past, but with a modern twist. her style was to freshen up the classic soul sound of the 1950/60′s girl groups, with smoky depths of a jazz chanteuse. Stylistically, she was a mash up of...

I first mentioned Amy Winehouse back in April 30th, 2007: “A fierce English performer whose voice combines the smoky depths of a jazz chanteuse with the heated passion of a soul singer.” Her death at 27 was tragic but inevitable; Now comes news of a posthumous release of Lioness: Hidden Treasures. Its a full 12...

I just learned that one of my favorite bands, R.E.M., is coming up on the 25th anniversary of their breakout album, Lifes Rich Pageant. It is getting the full Expanded & Remastered treatment, according to Paste. The band‘s groundbreaking fourth album, Lifes Rich Pageant re-release date is July 12, the album’s 25th anniversary. A special...

Hey, its a special Saturday night edition of Friday Night Jazz! I mentioned Vaughn Trapp’s terrific first release, Amerika, back in 2006. I loved the rich, Beatles-like melodies and topical lyrics.(Hear it at Yahoo Music; review here). Now, Vaughn Trapp has released a new album called “Songs Of The Great Depression.” You can stream it...

Its that time: We present our annual “Different Kind of Music List” for 2010;  If you missed prior versions, then here’s the deal with what makes this list different: There are lots of Best of Lists out there, but most of them aren’t relevant to real people, i.e. adults (a group I have only recently...

> I went to a delightfully quirky pop/jazz  show last night — Rickie Lee Jones at Westbury, NYCB Theatre (12/09/10). I say quirky because of The Duchess of Coolsville’s music is genre bending — bluesy, boozey, laid back, smokey, jazz pop songs of great beauty and delicacy, held improbably together by that distinctively different voice...

I have no idea how a magazine subscription to Rolling Stone started coming to the house — probably a freebie associated with something else I bought on Amazon. (It goes straight to the bathroom magazine rack). The cover this month has Keith Richards on the cover, discussing his new autobiography, Life. Last weekend, I started...

I saw the original Pink Floyd The Wall concert at Nassau Coliseum back in 1980. Floyd played something like 8 shows between Nassau Coliseum and Los Angeles. I always assumed that The Wall would show its age over time, and surprisingly, that isn’t really the case. What was an quasi-autobiographical discussion of a single person’s...

Two months ago, I asked a simple question:  What are the 5 best unknown, unheard Rock albums ? The question generated 100s of comments overnight; anyone looking to discover some great new music is advised to sift thru the laundry list of suggestions. As promised, I am going to share my list this evening. Before...

This song has been stuck in my head for weeks now: “(Do The) Push and Pull (Part 1)” is a 1970 single by Rufus Thomas. This was the only number-one song for Thomas — Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles chart for two weeks in February 1971 — who hit the R&B chart in 1953. Thomas...

I had an interesting discussion with a music buddy about some of the least popular, best discs of the past few decades. The challenge: Name 5 outstanding Rock and Roll albums that 90% of the music buying/downloading public are unfamiliar with. 3 rules: 1. Rock and Roll (including Pop)!  No jazz, classical or world music 2. Obscure: Not a...