Sunday Music Muse Day - Jake Hertzog, John Stein

This Sunday Music Muse day find me encountering a typical Rochester morning. Up at 7:30 am to light snow, followed by heavy blowing snow result in near whiteout conditions. Ten minutes later bright sunshine, and still cold as the North Pole. You got to love it. Nothing better to do than to do a little house cleaning and listen to some new tunes.  I did just that with two guitarist who were new to me. I previewed them at the record shop and decided to give them a try.  First up, Jake Hertzog Throwback, it's in the vain of the post Pat Metheny new generation of jazz guitarists, like Gilad Hekselman and Matthew Stevens.  An online search describes him as "a critically-acclaimed guitarist, composer and educator whose music transcends genres ranging from jazz and jazz/rock to contemporary classical."  Throwback is solid outing, with able assist by Randy Brecker (Grammy Award winner with Brecker Bros. and countless others) on trumpet and flugelhorn.  The liner notes are by Bill Milkowski, who. I think, is friends with some of my musician friends.  Hertzog has six CDs out, so I'll have to keep an eye out for them.

Next up is and another shot in the dark for me is John Stein Color Tones. Again, the cover art and packaging caught my eye and I'm always on the hunt for new guitarists.  I quick online search reveals he is a "Internationally renowned jazz guitarist... born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri USA ...His talent for and love of music ultimately earned him a faculty position at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he is a Professor in the Harmony Department.  John Stein is an experienced teacher, clinician, recording artist, and author. John has performed as a leader or a sideman with some of the world’s finest jazz acts, and his compositions and performances cover the spectrum of jazz styles."  He has 14 releases to his credit, still I've never come across him before.  Color Tones is very enjoyable, easy swinging set of all original tunes, except for one.  I'll definitely pick up more of his other CDs, in fact there was another one at the record shop I'll pick up next time.

John Stein's cover art  make me miss the LP sized graphics, worth framing and hanging on a wall. Still the music the thing to enjoy.

Robot Sunday - 1/27/2019

I pressed for time today, I'll a pull a drawing out of my a**....I mean archive. Here two original pencil panels from my Warrior in the Mist comic story published my Shannon Eric Denton's Komicwerks. They got revised and enlarged in the final version.

 Enjoy.

Robot Sunday 1-20-2018 "Snow Day"

This Robot Sunday find us having a heavy snow storm here in the north eastern US. So, several outings with a snow blower clear the driveway inspired this quick drawing.

Stay warm.

Sunday Music Muse Day - Pat Metheny, Philippe Kahn with John Abercromie

This second Sunday Music Music Muse Day of the year, finds me enjoying warm tune on very cold winter day.  Pat Metheny Day Trip helps warms the day.  This is a trio outing with Christian McBride on bass, and Antonio Sanchez on drums, released on Nonsuch Records in 2008.  Consisting of all Metheny compositions it's a solid CD, but I admit none of the tunes really stand out, except the tune the Red One which I remember from a John Scofield and Pat Metheny LP, I Can See Your House From Here. That said, I'm sure the music will grow on me.  The cover art paintings by Josh George, is very worth checking out.

My next selection is one of those picked up for the side musicians rather than the leader, flutist  Philippe Kuhn Walkin' on the Moon. This 1991 release on Pacific High Productions (indie label, I guess) features the late John Abercrombie on guitar, Peter Erskine on drums, Charlie Haden on bass, and several other name players.  It a pleasant enough CD, but again it not a stand out offings.  Reading the liner note the Kuhn heart seem to be in the right place. Again, I'll give this more listenings before giving up on it.

Winter is here, so try to warm and healthy.  Enjoy.

Robot Sunday 1-19- 2019

Robot Sunday 1-15-2019. My apologies for stealing, my friend,  Derek Carter's starship, but I couldn't design a better one.  One day I will do Derek design justice by putting it in a one of my Dime-A-Dozen project.

Enjoy

Sunday Music Muse Day - John McLaughlin, Wayne Shorter.

Happy New year.  Here to start of the first Sunday Music Muse day with John Mclaughlin & the 4th Dimension- Jimmy Herring & the Invisible Whip - Live in San Francisco (man that's mouthful of title).  Yesterday (Jan. 6) was John Mclaughlin's 77th birthday and I heard a radio interview from the end of the 2018 farewell tour that this album form the last concert is from.  I caught the first concert of the this final tour, at the University of Buffalo.  I'm glad I got to see McLaughlin. who's one of my favorite musical artist, not just as a great guitarist. 

The radio interview was very insightful.  One gem of interest was that he was invited to join Weather Report at its inception by co-founder bassist Miroslav Vitous, but turned down the offer as he was forming Mahavishu Orchestra.  Weather Report is favorite non-guitar-centric groups.  I think you can get feel for they would sound with a guitarist from their tune The Moors from I Sing the Body Electric album, their second, featuring Ralph Towner. 

I sort of glad McLaughlin didn't join Weather Report as it might have meant no Mahavishu Orchestra.  What void in my music collection that would have been.

Speaking of Weather Report, my next selection is from another founding member legendary saxophonist, Wayne Shorter.  Wayne Shorter - Emanon is his latest release by 85 tear old recent Kennedy Center Honors recipient .  Emanon is multimedia concept project with 3 CDs and 84 page science fiction graphic novel, illustrated by Randy DuBurke. I'm not familiar with the artist. The music is as adventurist as his early solo. Amazing.

Interestingly, this is not Wayne's first example of comic book art attached to his music.  I came across an old album of his, Phantom Navigator, that has Wayne comic book art from his teen years on the inner sleeve.

There are other examples of jazz players who were into sci-fi, like bassist Stanley Clarke  and drummer Lenny White of Return to Forever.  I'll have to do a post them sometime.

For now, enjoy the coming New Year.

Robot Sunday 1-6-2019

Here's my Robot Sunday drawing. Poor little R3Bop finds a reluctant role model. (I missed last week because of the holiday)

Enjoy.