The News Review:
- Music Review: Festival harvests bounty of blues
- Marigold has enjoyable music
- Music Review: Andre Previn CD
- Blue-Ballin’ Blues
Music Review: Festival harvests bounty of blues
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Pittsburgh Post Gazette – Jul 24, 2007
htm –>Music Review: Festival harvests bounty of bluesTuesday July 24 2007By Jim White Pittsburgh Post-GazetteThe Pittsburgh Blues Festival this past weekend was an eclectic affair. From the acoustic blues of Guy Davis to the explosive rock guitar of Frank Marino there was a little something musically for everyone.
Marigold has enjoyable music
Rediff – Jul 24, 2007
The sensuality in Tan man’s mood barely comes out during the fidgety momentum of the composition. Shaan chills out limberly to the semi-rhythm and blues track Listen to the music. Truth Hurts pitches in for the words and voice. There’s more what with leading lady Ali Larter joining in to contribute her two cents. Sweet! Marigold’s soundtrack with its dulcet creations and relaxed beats is easy on the ears. It might not create history but it’s still enjoyable music.
Music Review: Andre Previn CD
San Francisco Chronicle – Jul 24, 2007
GANS Associated Press WriterTuesday July 24 2007(07-24) 11:42 PDT (AP) — Andre Previn “Alone: Ballads for Solo Piano” (EmArcy)Andre Previn has set the gold-standard for “crossover” artists throughout his 60-year career: winning Grammys for his jazz and classical recordings scars for his film scores and composing everything from hit pop tunes to an opera based on “A Streetcar Named Desire. The 78-year-old Previn usually can be found as a pianist conductor or composer with some of the world’s leading symphony orchestras. But before focusing on classical music in the mid-’60s he was one of the most popular mainstream jazz pianists. Jazz fans looking for daring extended improvisations that take standards in new directions won’t find that here. Previn is a masterful storyteller who uses subtlety and nuance to create the right atmosphere employing virtuosic flourishes to embellish rather than overwhelm. He caresses but rarely strays far from the melodic line of familiar standards by Richard Rodgers (“Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered”"It Might As Well Be Spring”) and Cole Porter (“What Is This Thing Called Love”"Night and Day”)… Previn is a masterful storyteller who uses subtlety and nuance to create the right atmosphere employing virtuosic flourishes to embellish rather than overwhelm. He caresses but rarely strays far from the melodic line of familiar standards by Richard Rodgers (“Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered”"It Might As Well Be Spring”) and Cole Porter (“What Is This Thing Called Love”"Night and Day”). Previn’s own compositions blend right in with these classic ballads: “Andre’s Blues” a softly soulful 12-bar blues improvised on-the-spot in the studio; “Darkest Before the Dawn” a song from his 1974 musical “The Good Companions” that Judi Dench introduced on the London stage and his most famous pop hit “You’re Gonna Hear From Me” from the 1965 Natalie Wood movie “Inside Daisy Clover. Previn has absorbed stylistic influences from jazz piano masters dating back to Earl “Fatha” Hines but breaks no new ground. Instead “Alone” stands out as the work of a mature artist who knows that less is more when it comes to crafting beautifully mellow music. CHECK THIS TRACK UT: n “Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered” Previn deftly evokes the range of emotions found in this tale of love found and lost in a performance suited for those intimate late-night hours.
Blue-Ballin’ Blues
sfweekly.com – Jul 24, 2007
Where:Thursday July 26 at Great American Music Hall; Friday July 27 at Slim’s. Details:Both shows start at 9 p. and are sold out; visit… Casey (bass) and Jim Sclavunos (drums). The noisy climaxes on the quartet’s self-titled debut have garnered it the most attention and those moments are indeed exhilarating. “No Pussy Blues” — in which Cave sings of his futile attempt to bed a love interest — provides the kind of guitar-skronk explosions once heard on ironically enough Pussy Galore albums. Menacing rhythms push “Depth Charge Ethel” and in “Honey Bee (Let’s Fly to Mars)” guitar and organ twist into a frenzy suggesting Spiritualized tackling “Magic Carpet Ride. ” The comparably subdued occasions are still equally compelling. The hypnotic title track turns guitars into flagpole-clang then bisects them with rattlesnake tail shakes. The harrowing “Man in the Moon” places keyboard drone beneath Cave’s mournful baritone.