Category Archives: Music

Duke Ellington & His Orchestra’s The Ellington Suites

The first thing you notice when you start up the first movement of Duke Ellington’s “The Queen’s Suite” is that you can’t tell if it’s “classical” or “jazz” or “pop” music. That, of course, is a hallmark of Ellington’s oeuvre, … Continue reading

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Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Pass, Ray Brown, Mickey Roker’s Dizzy’s Big 4

Dizzy Gillespie is often referred to as one of the best jazz trumpeters of all time, and is credited along with Charlie Parker with being one of the most influential figures in the development of bebop. He was also known … Continue reading

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Maras Sinemilli Deyisleri & Ulas Ozdemir’s Ummanda, Erkan Ogur & Ismail H. Demircioglu’s Gulun Kokusu Vardi, Kardes Turkuler’s Dogu, Yarkin Turk Ritm Grubu’s Ten/Skin, and Selim Sesler ve Grup Trakya’nin Sesi’s Kesan’a Giden Yollar

Big Earl Sellar wrote this review. Turkey is perhaps the oldest continuously inhabited region on this planet. With the Karain cave giving us evidence of Anatolian civilization beginning at least 10,000 years ago, the people of this corner of our … Continue reading

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Wah!’s Transformation, and CD Krishna

Big Earl Sellar wrote this review. Ummmmmmmmmmmm… Oh wait, that’s supposed to read “Om.” Wah! is a California based singer who writes and records music inspired by and for the New Age yoga movement. These two discs show two of … Continue reading

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David Lyndon Huff’s Worldbeat: World Music for a New Millennium

This CD is the sort that one finds in the bookstores of retreat centers catering to middle aged, middle income, New Age types. It is a solo effort, where session musician Huff samples vocals from several traditions. Unfortunately, none of … Continue reading

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Jack Hardy’s The Collected Works of Jack Hardy Sampler

Rebecca Swain wrote this review. This fifteen-song CD is a sampler of The Collected Works of Jack Hardy which was released in 1998 in two boxed sets of five CDs each. If you already know and love Hardy, you will … Continue reading

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Alistair McCulloch’s Highly Strung

Naomi de Bruyn wrote this review. If you like fiddling and Celtic music, then you’ll like this first release by Alistair McCulloch, although the material is not all Celtic in origin and a great deal of it is original. Highly … Continue reading

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Wes Corbett’s Drift

As I was giving Wes Corbett’s Drift a listen on my headphones — at the gym, as it happens — I thought the fiddler sounded familiar on one decidedly Celtic sounding track. Was that Brittany Haas? That track turns out … Continue reading

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Shawn Camp’s The Ghost of Sis Draper

Fans of the late Guy Clark, and of top-notch acoustic Americana, rejoice! Shawn Camp, one of Guy’s long-time songwriting partners, has released a concept album of songs they wrote together over many years about the legendary Arkansas fiddler known as … Continue reading

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Ivan Farmakovskiy’s Epic Power

Ivan Farmakovskiy at age 52 is one of the premier jazz pianists in Russia. Following formal schooling he played in a number of Russian and Western ensembles, won the 1994 bi-annual Russia Jazz Competition, the biggest contest for young Russian … Continue reading

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