King of Slide Guitar

Today, as I drove to the local market, my buddy Dann and I were cruising through town listening to Elmore James. James has a very distinctive style and voice, and he is known as the King of Slide Guitar.

Here's the man himself.

The music just made the ride perfect, it couldn't have been selected any better. Here is "Got to Move"



And here's the Album! (I Need You - 1967)

I can't wait to post this.

Below is a sick jazz tune by Woody Herman (Clarinet). He is accompanied by Buddy Tate and Al Cohn on Sax, John Bunch on The Ivories, Steve Wallace on Bass, and Jake Hanna on the drums.



I actually dig the song a lot and give a lot of props the the performers. But, come on, let's be honest....could they look any less like awesome jazz musicians? I die once they put the shot on the pianist. He's great and I really can groove to his sound, but I feel like he could also be teaching me Earth Science.

I just want this to show you guys that you can't judge a performer by his look. Jazz and blues are on the inside, not outside (even though Miles Davis is pretty much the definition of cool).

Rockin' Pneumonia

So I am in a new house, I finally moved out of where I was and now am living with a fellow Math Grad student named Dann. It's really nice; we live in a great house in a great location. We've got about a fifteen minute walk to campus and about a 10 minute walk to one of the really hip happenin' spots in Cuse.

But, the downside is Dann knows a lot about blues and I find myself regularly at a loss for what he's talking about when he mentions old blues tunes and it makes me feel inadequate. He mentioned a song at a bar-b-que yesterday that absolutely not a single other person had ever heard of; and when he showed me it actually existed I told him I'd put it on the blog to vindicate him. So without further adieu, here is "Rockin' Pneumonia and Boogie Woogie Flu" by Huey "Piano" Smith and the Clowns:



And here is a much better version by Johnny Rivers:



And now on to something a little more satisfying. I Think today I will post this concert, available for listening on the NPR website.

Joey Calderazzo and Branford Marsalis at the Newport Jazz Festival 2009

This is Joey Calderazzo (Piano) and Branford Marsalis (Saxophone). Marsalis had actually already performed a gig at the festival with his whole ensemble, but this is just him and Calderazzo, and from what I hear, it is pretty fantastic.

And lastly, a hot blues tune to get you moving on this Saturday morning.



Peace.