RIP James Cotton

從小就對口琴有一種情意結，十分驚嘆小小一件樂器可以發出如此動人的聲音。在美國迷上藍調音樂，除了結他，口琴算是最重要的藍調樂器，The Rolling Stones的Mick Jagger也經常喜歡露兩手口琴，不過我真正追隨的口琴大師卻不多，只曾在2012年慕名到Yoshi's看James Cotton的Superharp band演出，當晚負責結他的也是高手Elvin Bishop，原來之前James Cotton曾患喉癌，所以唱歌部份已交由歌手負責，但他仍然屢有新作，今天我聽了他13年群星拱照的唱片Cotton Mouth Man來紀念他。
 

Got the blues

With the moods at work these days, the best suited music would be the Blues. Previously I mentioned the newly available (on Rhapsody) Led Zeppelin, whose music was rooted in the blues. Another British blues band which was much less well-known (doesn't even have a Wikipedia page!) but I enjoyed a lot was The Hoax. I "discovered" this band after I got hooked with Stevie Ray Vaughan's electric blues. Like SRV, these guys are all-white but they got the blues. I bought their critically-acclaimed debut "Sound like this" but then they kinda dropped off the radar after 1999, until their reunion later in the next decade and finally put out 2 new albums. (I just read about them on the latest UK Guitarist magazine)
Their music is kinda hard to find but thanks to Youtube:
At the end of the song, the singer reminded me of the legendary Hong Kong singer Johnny Ip (葉振棠)
P.S. This is my 800th posts on this blog. Another milestone reached :)

A playlist from 10 years ago

I wanted to blog about these 6 in 2005:
[Jazz] Marc Johnson - Shades of Jade. Bassist Marc Johnson is probably best known for his work with the Bill Evans trio. On this CD he worked with some greatest jazz musicians in the current generation : saxophonist Joe Lovano and guitarist John Scofield. Along with Joey Baron on drums and Elaine Elias on piano, this is an all-star lineup any jazz fan can't miss. With Scofield and Baron, I expected some explosive jazz. The album opens with several beautiful ballads instead. What a pleasant surprise!
[Jazz] Dewey Redman - Musics (recommended track: Need to Be)
[Jazz] Ravi Coltrane - In Flux
[Metal] Hed PE - Blackout (recommended: Suck it Up) This rap metal band was unfortunately grouped together with the less talented bands under the Nu-metal umbrella. I completely overlooked them in early 2000. Just found an interesting fact: the band covered Sabbath's Sabbra Cadabra earlier in their career. And they also have a song named "No Rest for the Wicked" from their 2010 release, which is the name of an Ozzy's album (didn't contain a track with the same name though) This tune was a departure from the usual rap metal formula with some bluesy elements. 
[Metal] At All Cost - It's Time to Decide (recommended: Death to Distraction) I have no idea why I wanted to blog about this band at that time. Maybe they sounded kinda like Shadows Fall. Now I find their tunes a bit too pop. This metalcore band hasn't released anything new since 2007.
[Blues rock] Try! John Mayer Trio Live In Concert. This guy looked too mainstream but his music is actually better than what his look/tabloid appearances imply (yes, he dated the awesome Jennifer Aniston. Taylor Swift and Katy Perry too. He allegedly wrote "Paper Doll" on his 2013 album about Swift. His duet with Katy Perry, "Who You Love" also appeared on the same album) Of course this album is more like an exception to his more usual pop offerings.

Blues playlist

I was feeling the blues the other day and realized I haven't written about it for a while. In fact, I haven't listened to much other than Johnny Winter's "Nothing But the Blues" when he passed away last year :( I also like the album "Badlands" by Trampled Under Foot earlier in the year. Found this list of award winners from May 2014 and decided to check some of them out:

• Lurrie Bell carries the torch of Chicago Blues passed down by musicians like his dad Carrie Bell. "Blues in my Soul" is the name of his album from 2013.
• Another electric Blues guitarist that I have been listening to is Toronzo Cannon, who released "John the Conquer Root" in 2013.
• Also in 2013, folk rocker Ben Harper teamed up with Blues harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite for the awesome album "Get Up!" 
• Speaking of harmonica, the tribute album to Little Walter by Musselwhite and other harmonica greats like Mark Hummel was getting a lot of attention in 2014. Here is a video that features Billy Boy Arnold from the album:

Some new (and old music)

Some of the albums mentioned here actually came from a post that I started last year but never finished :P I couldn't believe I missed the SFJAZZ concert by Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood last month (what else better could I have done instead?)Well, there's another funky group featuring guitar and organ called Organissimo that I "discovered" last year. I must have been in the mood of trio when I started that post because I was also listening to the avant-garde Tin Hat Trio's "Book of Silk" (love the instrumentation with violin and accordion) as well as the Steve Kuhn Trio's "Life's Magic" (Very interested in listening to his 2009 release of "Mostly Coltrane" with Joe Lovano on sax)

I have listened to some more old music of the recently passed away blues rock guitar great Johnny Winter. Alex Skolnick from Testament recommended "Nothing but the Blues" while "Live Johnny Winter And" (what an interesting album name!) topped the Guitar Player's Reader Poll.

Finally, time for more metal: I found Suicide Silence's brand new 2014 album "You Can't Stop Me" on the top of the Billboard's Hard rock album chart. Definitely doesn't sound like commercial B.S. though. Highly recommended.

Everybody wants to rule the world: Blues version

I've just learned about a few new releases from Concord/Telarc's newsletter. One of them is 7 Cities by the blues rock group Moreland & Arbuckle. This is the first time I heard of their music. The most special track to me is their cover version of "Everybody wants to rule the world," the huge hit of Tears for Fears.

Music of the day: Dusty Porch by John Williams

This John Williams is not the famous composer (most well known for his movie soundtrack), not the famous classical guitarist but an acoustic blues musician. I am trying to learn as much as I can about acoustic blues and found his album Dusty Porch on Rhapsody. He has the classic acoustic blues sound.