After naming Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bunky Green's thorny Apex my third favorite album of 2010, I'm hardly in a position to wax nostalgic for the era in which serious jazz could also double as pleasant background music. Yet I pine for the time in which giants like Herbie Hancock made high art that was also accessible and melodic. Bobby Watson is one of the few remaining jazz men in that tradition, and with the January 1 death of Charles Fambrough, that select group became even smaller. (Fambrough and Watson, perhaps not coincidentally, were band mates in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.) The Philadelphia bassist's 1995 album Keeper of the Flame is smooth but never trite. He'll be missed.
---
Beatle Bob is interviewed about his quasi-Grammy nomination. (Via the Riverfront Times.)
---
Brian Rust has died. (Tip via BGO.)
---
The Wakarusa lineup for 2011 was announced today. My favorite acts at this year's festival are My Morning Jacket, Sharon Jones, Toots & the Maytals, Lucero, Ryan Bingham, Budos Band, Grupo Fantasma and Carrie Rodriguez. (Tip via CH.)
---
Kansas City Click: Red Line Chemistry perform an acoustic show at Crosstown Station on Friday.
Easton Corbin plays the Beaumont on Saturday.
The Dixieland sound of the New Red Onion Jazz Babies will fill Jardine's on Sunday.
(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)
3 comments:
Oh man, it keeps getting bleaker with all these great musicians passing way, way before their time. Thanks for keeping their spirits active and alive.
The Wakarusa lineup reminds me of being a teen again. Perhaps the crowd will multi-generational.
Yeah, BGO. But Wakarusa's strong lineup, as you suggest, is a reason to be optimistic.
Post a Comment