By Devon Wendell I just cannot process the fact that B.B. King is no longer on this earth. How can it be? It’s like trying to imagine life without oceans, trees, and air to breathe. No one in history changed the approach and sound of the electric guitar like B.B. King. Sure, there were T-Bone… Read More An Appreciation: Remembering The King
By Brian Arsenault They were so different. Unalike. Distinctive. Is that what unique is? Seems like that was typical of the era. Hendrix, not Clapton. Beatles, not Stones. Airplane, not Beach Boys. Each showed us something different. A different pulse and pace. Perhaps why we miss them in today’s largely homogenized pop rock world and… Read More 2014 Remembered: “Lost Boys” Lou Reed, Joe Cocker, Jack Bruce
By Mike Finkelstein Jack Bruce passed away on Saturday at the age of 71. It’s yet another hard-to-accept cold shot for any rock fan who fondly remembers what the rock medium had to offer in its late ’60’s/early ’70’s heyday. The luminaries of the field are disappearing slowly but surely. But around that time, rock… Read More An Appreciation: Farewell Jack Bruce
By Brian Arsenault I ‘d like to write something about Jack Bruce dying. But I can’t. “Crossroads” keeps playing over and over again in my head. By the way, he is dead isn’t he? Not a hoax, like one report said. I’d like to write something about Jack Bruce living. But I can’t. “I Feel… Read More Brian Arsenault Takes On: Dead (and loses again)
By Mike Finkelstein Los Angeles, CA. Of all the guitar players to come along in the 20th century, none have been more influential than Jimi Hendrix. Forty-four years after his death, his presence is still felt vividly by anyone with ears open. On Friday night, the Experience Hendrix tour 2014 vintage rolled into the Greek… Read More Live Music: Experience Hendrix at the Greek Theatre
By Fernando Gonzalez Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra The Offense of the Drum (Motema) Maestro Mario Bauzá — trumpeter, saxophonist and music director of Machito and His Afro- Cubans, direct link between Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo and a key figure in blending jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms — scoffed at the label Latin… Read More Jazz With An Accent: Drummin’ Back Out Into the World — CDs by Arturo O’Farrill and Ginger Baker
By Devon Wendell There have been countless films made about the blues and about B.B. King. A large percentage of these films merely focus on how King (Born Riley B. King on September 16th, 1925, between Itta Bena and Indianola Mississippi) inspired a plethora of overdriven, unoriginal rock guitarists from the ‘60s and ‘70s. Very… Read More Film Review: B.B. King “The Life Of Riley”
By Michael Katz Hollywood, CA. “I’m 74 years young,” sings Buddy Guy, “and there ain’t nothin’ I haven’t done.” After a few verses, Buddy admits to being 77, but the extra few years haven’t diminished anything, most importantly his ability to engage an audience. Dressed in his trademark polka dot shirt, Guy’s voice is clear… Read More Live Blues: Buddy Guy, the Funky Meters and Quinn Sullivan at the Hollywood Bowl
By Devon Wendell Blues master Buddy Guy encountered the now 14 year old Quinn Sullivan six years ago after Guy invited the young Sullivan to sit in with him. And he’s mentored this budding electric six stringer ever since. Sullivan’s sophomore CD Getting There is an appropriate title for Sullivan’s blistering blues oriented rock-pop.… Read More CD Review: Quinn Sullivan: “Getting There” (SuperStar Records)
By Brian Arsenault Annalisa Ewald Live at the factory underground (Dionysian Media) Annalisa Ewald is a classical guitarist of significant reputation. But don’t let that stop you from her performance live at the factory underground recorded last year in Norwalk, Connecticut. Even if you’re like me and equate great guitar with Eric Clapton and Pete… Read More Brian Arsenault Takes On: A Guitar Tour of the World, the Phony Hipness of Country Muzak, the Tastelessness of Network News and Free Music from Moscow
The International Review of Music 