I was watching this amazing video below (the “United Nations Orchestra”) of master jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and a friend commented that because he lived until the age of 75, he didn’t get the same iconic status as Charlie Parker.…
This past weekend was full of musical and cultural inspiration as I journeyed through the land of my birth, Los Angeles. First up was DJ Moonbaby’s set at the Natural History Museum’s First Friday event near downtown Los Angeles. The…
Los Angeles native DJ Moonbaby (Angela Jollivette) has been exposing Angelenos to the finest of soul, jazz, r&b, hip-hop and electronic music since she was in grade school hiding her boombox under the desk. Today she has her own inspirational…
“The blues tells a story. Every line of the blues has a meaning.” ~John Lee Hooker Ali Farka Touré was born near Timbuktu in Mali, West Africa in 1939. He’s known for his electric guitar style which was his own…
In an earlier post, “I live for the funk…” I featured one of my favorite James Brown songs, an instrumental track “Why Am I Treated So Bad.” To continue on that funk-jazz trip, I’m taking the road to Memphis, Tennessee!…
Having lived in Washington DC for five years, I love the unique mix of musical culture and history of that city as well as Maryland and Virginia: Shaw Neighborhood, Adams Morgan, Mt. Pleasant, U St. Cardoza, Takoma Park, Mt. Ranier,…
I was watching this amazing video below (the “United Nations Orchestra”) of master jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and a friend commented that because he lived until the age of 75, he didn’t get the same iconic status as Charlie Parker. We couldn’t see him as the true jazz prophet he actually was, because we saw…
This past weekend was full of musical and cultural inspiration as I journeyed through the land of my birth, Los Angeles. First up was DJ Moonbaby’s set at the Natural History Museum’s First Friday event near downtown Los Angeles. The DJ booth was set up in front of a replica of giant African elephants across…
Los Angeles native DJ Moonbaby (Angela Jollivette) has been exposing Angelenos to the finest of soul, jazz, r&b, hip-hop and electronic music since she was in grade school hiding her boombox under the desk. Today she has her own inspirational soul/gospel radio show “Worry Free Wednesdays” on www.churchbeatradio.com, every Wednesday at 11 a.m. and 4…
“The blues tells a story. Every line of the blues has a meaning.” ~John Lee Hooker Ali Farka Touré was born near Timbuktu in Mali, West Africa in 1939. He’s known for his electric guitar style which was his own unique blend of Malian folk styles and American blues. He had a hypnotic droning style…
In an earlier post, “I live for the funk…” I featured one of my favorite James Brown songs, an instrumental track “Why Am I Treated So Bad.” To continue on that funk-jazz trip, I’m taking the road to Memphis, Tennessee! Another funk soul pioneer was Booker T and MGs, a band who mainly backed up…
Having lived in Washington DC for five years, I love the unique mix of musical culture and history of that city as well as Maryland and Virginia: Shaw Neighborhood, Adams Morgan, Mt. Pleasant, U St. Cardoza, Takoma Park, Mt. Ranier, hip-hop, R&B, 9:30 Club, Black Cat, Blues Alley, spoken word poetry, salsa, Afro-beat, Bossa Nova,…
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