OK...so when asked about my favorite styles of music, KLEZMER isn't usually near the top of the list. But, then again, I just heard The Alexandria Kleztet...and these guys (and a lady) from the D.C area turned my head. It definitely has "that klezmer feel" mixed in there...but it's way more musically interesting than any klezmer I've heard before. And I suspect you'll feel the same! The Kleztet is Seth Kibel (woodwinds), Helen Hausmann (violin), Tim Jarvis (percussion) and Scott Harlan (bass). Their new album is Peace, Love and Coffee...and they brought us two tunes to share with you: Bad Coffee (Builds Character) and Harmelodica Theory.
And as long as I'm in a confessional mode...I don't tend to care a lot for most improvisational jazz, either. I like music that feels like it's going someplace. But...once again, my preconceptions are shaken...by Sunna Gunnlaugs. For a lady from ICELAND who plays jazz piano, this is very warm music indeed...and there's a significant "purposeful" quality to it. The instrumental performances are clear and confident...substantive rather than showy...and you truly do feel like you're on a journey as you listen. Her latest album is Mindful, and she's offered us the title track to share with you.
Grigor Iliev hails from Bulgaria and didn't start to pursue music until his mid-teens...first on guitar, then discovering the piano. While his full-time occupation is computer science, his not-so-secret side passion is his modern classical piano compositions. He's sharing a beautiful piece with us called The Lonely Ballerina.
The National Guitar Workshop features instruction by some truly amazing players. And you'd better be prepared for a master-class in the Blues before downloading Mr. H's Blues, performed by Harry Jacobson. It just gets sweeter as it goes on...so be sure not to just file it away for later reference. Don't miss the section between about 3 and 4.5 minutes in.
Cincinnati's Kelly Richey Band is fronted by a flaming-red-haired woman who plays a flaming blues guitar...and no, it's not Bonnie Raitt. You'll love her blues-rock guitar chops, honed over more than 20 years of live playing. From the album Speechless, check out Is There Any Reason and Only The Bird Knows.
At only 21 years of age, Ólafur Arnalds is Iceland's latest export. Having already sold out The Barbican Hall in London, toured major European festivals and opened for Sigur Rós on their most recent European tour...the future seems bright for this extraordinary talent. Arnalds' music can only be described as achingly beautiful. He creates a world of delicate symphonic compositions. His music scales the heights perfected by the romantics. Yet by mixing strings and piano with loops and edgy beats it remains equally engaging to the contemporary ear. Check out 3055 and Ljósið from his self-titled album.
El Patapsco is an instrumental rock band from Baltimore, MD...influenced by the usual suspects like Link Wray, Dick Dale and the Ventures as well as contemporary instrumental bands like Man or Astroman, Laika and the Cosmonauts and The Shadowy Men from a Shadowy Planet. That being said, you can hear plenty of punk, reggae, rockabilly and jazz in their songs. They are also big fans of TV and film scores of all eras and often tinker around with Mancini and Morricone tunes as well as more modern stuff such as the Buffy the Vampire Slayer theme. They've brought us the title song from their L.R.D.G. album (Long Range Desert Group).
Wacky Southern Current is Marco Cervellin from Italy who, with a little help from his friend Gianni Garbo, recorded these songs at a farmer's country house and this calm of the surrounding rural scenery had a lasting effect on the songs. Ageless Calm in Times of War contains references to diverse music genres, but also contemporary ambient sounds. They've brought us Watercolour.
Our latest addition is Morning Has Broken by Nat Kerr, who performed this song on The Piano Guy series on PBS. He's one of Memphis' hottest and most well-known keyboard players, and accompanies blues singer, Barbara Blue, during weekly performances at Silky O'Sullivans on world-famous Beale Street in Memphis. The song itself was a popular church hymn which has appeared in hymnbooks for many years...but was also recorded by Cat Stevens in 1971, becoming a top 10 pop hit in the U.S. in 1972. |
