Sunday Music Muse Day - Mike Melito, Ralph Towner

This sunny Sunday Music Muse Day, I'm happy to share two new releases I've been looking to. First, from friend Mike Melito To Swing is the Thing. The title says it all.  This is a swinging set by one of the hardest swinging jazz drummer you'll ever hear. Mike is a fan of my father's drumming, and I've told him after hearing him play many times, I can hear Sam's legacy in his drumming. Keep swinging, Mike. (P.S. Tom Cohn at the Bop Shop Records store, I bought the last copy of your CD, so he'll need more.)

Next is the new release by Ralph Towner At First Light.  This is a solo guitar recording on ECM.  Towner remarks in the liner notes how he met ECM founder Manfred Eicher in 1970, "...and to have done my first recording for ECM in 1972.  It is a rarity for an artist to remain with the same recording company for an entire career, and I am grateful to be one of them".  I'm truly grateful I discovered ECM and Ralph Towner in the 70's, also. Ralph is now 83 and still performing, and touring. Towner's playing and music has always been a favorite of mine. His playing was sort of a bridge between classic guitar and jazz for me. The ECM recordings were always had the feel to them. This is another wonderful addition to the Towner/ECM legacy.

It's Easter Sunday, and Passover, so to all who observe, I wish you peace, love, and joy.