Jazz Piano Cafe

Tag: drums

  • Song of the Week – Kurt Elling “Where I Belong”

    One of my all time favorite jazz vocalists is the inimitable Kurt Elling. He has been voted Male Vocalist of the Year for 10 years in a row by critics in Downbeat magazine and for 5 years by the Downbeat readers’ choice awards. Kurt Elling has done some really incredible recordings, and I am definitely…

  • Song of the Week: “Your Amazing Grace” by Marcus Miller feat Chaka Khan

    The JazzPianoCafe song of the week is “Your Amazing Grace” by Marcus Miller featuring Chaka Khan. It’s from Marcus’s 2001 album M2 (find Marcus Miller M² on Amazon.com). The song features a stellar cast of musicians: Marcus Miller Bass Clarinet, Bass Guitar, Bass Synth, Synths, Percussion Programming Chaka Khan Vocals Kenny Garrett Alto Saxophone solo…

  • Song of the Week: Stars by Kate McGarry

    I just discovered the music of jazz vocalist Kate McGarry (view her page on All About Jazz, her website, or her myspace). She has a really contemporary and modern sound, a bit similar to Bjork but with the passion and intensity of some of the classic “old school” vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.…

  • Little Sunflower by Freddie Hubbard – Victoria Conservatory Jazz Workshop students

    Last week I took a holiday from work and attended a jazz workshop at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in Victoria, BC, Canada. It was a fun week of attending concerts put on by the faculty, and going to piano masterclasses and composition classes by New York jazz pianist, composer, and producer, Misha Piatigorsky. We…

  • Three Little Bops – awesome jazz cartoon

    I stumbled upon a wonderfully jazzy and funny Looney Tunes cartoon video, thanks to my Facebook friend and jazz singer Jennifer Scott! From the Wikipedia article on this cartoon (click here to view): Three Little Bops is a 1957 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Friz Freleng, with voices by Stan Freberg and music by jazz…

  • Ambrose Akinmusire – Trapped in a Dream

    I discovered an amazing track entitled Trapped in a Dream by jazz trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. In this article on San Francisco Bay Area jazz musicians, David Rubien writes: Akinmusire – a graduate of Berkeley High School’s renowned jazz program with degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, the University of Southern California and the Monk…

  • Interview with “Mr. Bongo” – Jack Costanzo

    Found a fascinating interview with the one and only “Mr. Bongo”, Jack Costanzo. From his own web site (which contains MP3 samples from his album Back from Havana): Jack Costanzo is known and responsible for the popularity of the bongos all over the world. He introduced bongos into American music when he was with the…