A walk in the woods and the wet
We must have passed the place a thousand times without stopping: a roadside parking lot with a quiet sign inviting visitors. Then a miniature windmill was added, amplifying the welcome. So when we found the Plotterkill Preserve overflowing on Mothers Day, the Great Flats Nature Trail proved a fine Plan B. Clouds cloaked the sun … Continue reading A walk in the woods and the wet →
Help…
Three strangers said “God bless you” and a woman handed Ellie an umbrella from her car window and drove on. Ellie and I were standing in the rain directing drivers to a drive through food distribution event Wednesday in Collins Park – a miserably wonderful experience, and vice versa. With our son Zak, we joined … Continue reading Help… →
Sad news on a stormy day
Nobody who loves music hereabouts wanted to believe that bassist and producer Tony Markellis has passed. Sadly, devastatingly true; among the most terrible news of a wretched time. How unfair that he moves on just as the world begins to recover. Tony was my second favorite musician after my brother Jim. A player of subtle … Continue reading Sad news on a stormy day →
FROM The Record Shelf: Loving Laura Nyro (especially “New York Tendaberry”)
When a friend shared “Beads of Sweat” by Laura Nyro with Duane Allman on Youtube, I sat hypnotized by these geniuses who left us too soon. Late into that night, I listened to Laura Nyro music; thought about her, remembered her and loved her. Apart from Dylan, the 60s strongest singer-songwriters were Laura Nyro and … Continue reading FROM The Record Shelf: Loving Laura Nyro (especially “New York Tendaberry”) →
A DIFFERENT JAZZ FEST
Rejoice! Listen up, WAY up! Anywhere! Before (and after) the plague, New Orleans hosts its annual Jazz and Heritage Festival on the last weekend in April and first weekend in May. On 12 stages, music rings out across the Racetrack Fairgrounds in the Gentilly neighborhood from late morning to dinner time. Obviously, not this year…except, … Continue reading A DIFFERENT JAZZ FEST →
TO The Record Shelf #4 – “Blue Ice of Winsted” by Steve Ferguson
It came in a flat box, as vinyl albums did for decades. One day, YEARS ago, I got 29 albums in the mail on the same day. But the one that landed Saturday was the first new album I’d seen in years. The return address was Terry Adams’s P.O. box. Inside was: “Blue Ice of … Continue reading TO The Record Shelf #4 – “Blue Ice of Winsted” by Steve Ferguson →
TO The Record Shelf #3 – “Universal Blues” by Keith Pray
Some see the blues as a confining category, a system of fences, borders or limitations. To Keith Pray, the fences touch what’s on the other side, and imports freely cross borders. The Rotterdam resident took his musical training at three schools here and another in the Swiss Alps; he teaches music on two campuses, plus … Continue reading TO The Record Shelf #3 – “Universal Blues” by Keith Pray →
TO the Record Shelf #2 – “Loste” by Alex Goldberg
Once a precocious Niskayuna kid, Alex Goldberg built his mostly instrumental album “Loste” in bits and parts, fits and starts – unlike the all-together-now live process of the Chandler Travis Philharmonic on “The Ivan Variations” (TO the Record Shelf #1). “‘Loste’ took a long time to make,” said the Brooklyn resident. “The fastest part was … Continue reading TO the Record Shelf #2 – “Loste” by Alex Goldberg →
TO the Record Shelf: “The Ivan Variations” by the Chandler Travis Philharmonic
OK, now, From the Record Shelf looks back, at music from the past that has endured. TO the Record Shelf looks ahead, at new music. Frighteningly prolific, wildly witty, relentlessly clever and fiercely fun-loving, Chandler Travis made his album “The Ivan Variations” the old-fashioned way. In a method unavailable in these plague years, he piled … Continue reading TO the Record Shelf: “The Ivan Variations” by the Chandler Travis Philharmonic →
From the Record Shelf: The O’Kanes “Tired of the Runnin’”
And Kieran Kane rolls on, with partner Rayna Gellert Early in the plague time, she-plays-everything singer-songwriter Rayna Gellert emailed about a Caffe Lena live-stream gig with partner Kieran Kane. I didn’t know their duo music, but this caught my attention since Kane is the real goods. His Nashville major label duo with Jamie O’Hara called … Continue reading From the Record Shelf: The O’Kanes “Tired of the Runnin’” →
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