Sunday Music Muse Day - Grant Geissman, Den Magraw & Eric Kamau Gravatt

This Sunday Music Muse Day find us planning for Thanksgiving in a week and a half. To me the sight of Xmas Trees is too soon for my taste, but in the retail world all the end holidays blend into media blur.  For this week's musical selection I'll start with guitarist Grant Geissman Bop! Bang! Boom!.  This CD is as enjoyable as the title and cover art.  Geissman came to fame through his playing with Chuck Mangione in the 1970's and wrote the theme for the Two and a Half Men TV show.  This 2012 CD is his 14th of 15 record releases.  According to Wikipedia, "In 2006, he released his thirteenth album as a leader, Say That!, on his own label, Futurism Records.^[  A throwback to the jazz that first influenced him, he has described the sound of this album as "Wes Montgomery meets Horace Silver meets Jimmy Smith."  I found that's a fair assessment.  This ai enjoyable CD to listen to and very entertaining, but there flashy moment grabs me, but I do recommend giving it a listen.  I will say Grant Geissman really goes all out on the cover art and insert art , and packaging graphics.  That alone grab my eye. 

My second selection, Dean Magraw & Eric Kamau Gravatt  Fire on the Nile, was a shot in the dark, as I had never heard of these musicians, and a duo of just drum and guitar is out of the ordinary.  I'm glad to say, I like this 2014 CD release. The music is a little hard to lock down, but my favorite track, "Sharrock", give a nod to the late progressive jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock.  I could hear echoes of his music in the tune.  Again, another CD worth a listen.

Again, this time chaos and worry, I hope you take care of yourself and find time to enjoy some good music to calm your soul.  Enjoy.

Sunday Music Muse Day - Father's Day, Grant Geissman. Bireli Legrene, Warped Sky Stray Cloud

Here's wishing a happy Father's Day.  What better way to enjoy the day than to kick back and share some good tunes.  First up is Grant Geissman Say That.  This is interesting, I do favor guitarist in my music selection, and must admit the cover art and packageing caught my eye.  I vaguely remembered hearing of Geissman, with the term "Smooth Jazz" popping in my mind.  You know I hate Smooth Jazz. So, reading his liner notes he admit most people see him as a Smooth Jazz guy, and he says, "And I don't really want to be known as a Smooth Jazz guy.  In fact that's the last thing I want to known as, especially the way the music is going, which is to say...it's not music . It's Muzak".  Okay, he earn my money with that statement. He playing is definitely more straight ahead jazz, but there some soft edge to the set.  Another interest note.  Geissman is the co-writer of the Two and a Half men TV comedy theme.  He performs a longer jazzier version on the CD.  All in all a pleasing outing.

My second pick is Bireli Lagrene Standards is 1992 release, from guitarist I remember as a 15 year old who play amazing Dranjo Reinhardt styling in 1981 on his first record release.  This is set of jazz standards, and it has lost none of the fire in his playing. He's just got better with age.

Lastly, here is another tune in my Warped Sky: Stray Cloud project, a combination of songs from old tapes and new renditions of original tunes written and played by me in the 1980s. Beliefs is my "Bob Dylan" tune, an long opus full of social commentary. It was written back 1981, and never really completely until now. (My vocals, rhythm guitar. The rest produced in the Band in Box music program)   The Part (Slight Return) is mainly the Band in the Box rhythm section,  The Part 2 title "Slight Return" is  nod to Jimi Hendrix Voodoo Child (Slight Return). 

As with other tunes of mine, there the making of an animated video in the song's storyline. Time will tell. For me, it's one more off my music bucket list. Enjoy.