Dr. Horner's Classic Jazz Corner

New play list!

A new play list has been uploaded recently! Happy sounds everyone.

Peder

New play list update

All sorts of new songs have been added to a completely new play list. You'll love it!

I've moved

No longer in Portland. I'm now in Denver, checking out the local scene. New job starting soon. Hopefully, I'll have more time for jazz.

CD Giveaway! Chick Corea and Gary Burton's "The New Crystal Silence"

Great news! It's time for another CD giveaway. I have 2 copies of the new Chick Corea & Gary Burton CD “The New Crystal Silence” to giveaway. I've listened to the promo copy, and I can tell you that this is a great 2 disc set of new recordings from this fantastic duet. It's amazing to hear these two guys 35 years after they first recorded "The Crystal Silence."

Here's how to do it:

Send me an email (peder at classicjazzcorner dot com) with:

1) Your name,
2) Your email address,
3) Your shipping address, and
4) Constructive criticism(s), requests, and/or suggestions.

If you’ve never emailed me before, you’ll probably get an email back requiring a certain simple response (it’s a spam blocker).

You might ask about privacy: Well, under no circumstance will I sell or give away your contact information. I will mail the discs from my home personally.

The giveaway will close at 2359 on 12 February 2008. Then, I’ll print off the entries and pick 3 winners out of a hat (more likely, one of my children's toy bins.) I’ll contact the winners via email.

Let the giveaway begin!

Peder

Play List Update and New Music

Happy Monday to you all. I just uploaded a smokin' new play list, full of straight-ahead hard bop and some more classic jazz thrown in as well.

Featured are a few new CDs I've recently been given. Of note are Coltrane's "My Favorite Things", Hank Mobley's "Straight, No Filter", and Kenny Burrell's "Midnight Blue."

"Straight, No Filter" is a collection of initially unreleased tracks from Mobley's 60s Blue Note sessions. It really cooks, and it's a fantastic addition to my already large collection of Hank's work.

Kenny Burrell serves up some some great "late-night" bluesy jazz guitar on this essential Blue Note disc. For someone starting a jazz collection, this is an album to buy, along with any of Grant Green's Blue Note work, such as "First Session" or "Idle Moments".

Take some time to enjoy great music this year, whether it's jazz, blues, indie rock, etc. Enjoy life with music that matters.

As Karin Bergquist from Over the Rhine sings in her smoky, sultry, voice, "I don't want to waste your time with music you don't need."

Happy sounds,

Peder

Great New Website - Anywhere.fm

I came across a very useful website recently. I was skeptical at first, but it works very well, and it seems legitimate without any RIAA violations.

You can upload all (or selected playlists) of your mp3 library to your individual account. Then, you can "stream" each track over http. I love it for times when I'm not at home but want to listen to my music via the internet. You can also share playlists.

It even has a handy "hands free" desktop loader application.

Here's the link: anywhere.fm.

Playlist Updated

Hey everyone. Tonight, I removed the Christmas tracks and uploaded some more Freddie Hubbard from "Hub Tones", Frank Strozier, Curtis Fuller, Jimmy Smith, and some others.

Have a great 2008! It's looking like a great year for us.

Happy sounds,

Peder

Long Hiatus, Deepest Apologies

Hey everyone. I've been very busy these past 6 months with my Interventional Radiology fellowship. I apologize for having not updated the play list as often as I wanted. I've reorganized the way I handle play list creation, so updates should be easier for me and therefore more often.

Since it's the season, I've also just served up a huge new play list along with some Dave Brubeck and Vince Guaraldi Christmas music. Sorry, but I was too late to get any other holiday (e.g., Chanukah) music up on the play list.

Enjoy your holidays and the promises of the new year.

Happy sounds,

Peder

CD Giveaway! Bela Fleck and Chick Corea's "The Enchantment"

Good news everyone! Through a deal with a music publishing/marketing company, I have 3 copies of the new Chick Corea / Bela Fleck CD "The Enchantment" ready to giveaway. I've never done a giveaway, but, why don't we do something like this:

Send me an email (peder@classicjazzcorner.com) with:

1) Your name
2) Your email address
3) Your shipping address, and
4) Your favorite thing about the Classic Jazz Corner (e.g., could be an artist, album, my approach to jazz programming, my site layout, etc). I'll also accept constructive (keep it nice!) criticisms too.

If you've never emailed me before, you'll probably get an email back requiring a certain simple response (it's a spam blocker).

You might ask about privacy: Well, under no circumstance will I sell or give your contact information away. I will have to forward the information from the 3 winners to the publisher, but I've been told that the winners won't be put on any email lists unless they want to.

The giveaway will close at 2359 on 04 July 2007. After that time, I'll print off the entries and pick 3 winners out of a hat (more likely, one of my wife's huge Tupperware bowls). I'll contact the winners via email.

Happy sounds, and let the giveaway begin!

Peder Horner

New play list uploaded, PDXV CD Review

A few days ago, I uploaded an entirely new, smokin' set of jazz. From the recent stats, I've noticed that you all are digging the play list as well. Fantastic.

I've got tons of new material from Freddie Hubbard, Horace Parlan (didn't know much about him until recently), Hank Mobley, Keith Jarrett (6 disc At the Blue Note live set- amazing), Herbie Hancock, and Curtis Fuller.

My featured independent artist this month is PDXV, an up and coming jazz quintet from, you guessed it, Portland (PDX is the three digit code for Portland International Airport). They write some original material, which they play live (if you live in Portland or visit PDX, you must see them), but their cover selections are superb - which are nearly all outside the "standard" jazz repertoire. For instance, the opening track on this live album, "Step Right Up to the Bottom", was penned by Harold Land. Another favorite is Kenny Dorham's "Escapade" later on in the disc. Band leader Dick Titterington is confident and very impressive on the trumpet and (is that a flugelhorn I hear??). PDXV: Volume 1 is available online.

Latin Percussionist - Patato

I have to admit that I'm a real novice when it comes to Latin music. Every time I think I've figured out the genres and subgenres of Latin, I find another two or three to listen to. But, I digress. This is just a quick post about Carlos "Patato" Valdez, a Cuban percussionist that I recently found.

This is a great album, recorded when Patato was in his 70s. Amazing! Those rhythms are incredibly infectious.

Happy sounds,

Peder

New play list uploaded

It's been a while since my last post, but I have been updating the play list here and there throughout the past few months with little changes. You've probably noticed by now that I've just completely changed the play list. I've got new material from Barrie Lee Hall, Jr, who is an uncle to one of my co-residents (thanks the CD Teri!) and a fantastic band leader (Duke Ellington Orchestra) and trumpeter in his own right.

The play list also includes the entire Freddie Hubbard album "Goin' Up", which is a fantastic straight-ahead album, recorded in 1960. I just love Freddie's tone. I've really been listening to a great deal of his work from the early 1970s, including Red Clay, Straight Life, annd First Light.

I love that electric piano! What has happened to me? I'm just crazy for the e-piano these days, especially Bill Evans' work in that decade. Perhaps, as I purchase more 1970s jazz, it will begin appearing on the Classic Jazz Corner play list. Watch out for that in the coming months.

Complete Play List Update

Hello jazz fans:

Last week I completely updated the play list (0.5 GB) and set it in motion. I'm featuring several independent artists this month, and you should hear their fantastic music a rather good amount during the next few weeks. The featured artists are: dummer Evan Stone, pianist Roberto Magris, and pianist Sameer Ramchandran Trio (great trio debut!).

And, just for kicks, I've added a track from Madeleine Peyroux's new album "Half the Perfect World," a truly exceptional album. Most of the material on this album doesn't fit my format, but her track "Smile" fits... barely. Enjoy!

Happy sounds,

:: peder horner ::

Review: Roberto Magris Europlane - Il Bello del Jazz

Roberto recently sent me his newest Europlane disc, Il Bello del Jazz. I've been listening to it lot lately. You'll be sure to hear it in heavy rotation soon on the Classic Jazz Corner. This CD is another great example of the kind of high quality jazz being recorded in, and birthed from, Italy. Roberto hails from Trieste (Google Maps), which is in northeastern Italy just at the border to Slovenia, at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea.

Magris's playing is superb on this recording. He's got a great ear for both melody and harmony. He proves his agility as a band leader with his ability to support the soloists so well. Herb Geller's tone is spot-on throughout the disc, and the production sounds fantastic. Not many new CDs sound so well. It's clean but not overproduced or sterile-sounding, that phenomenon oh so common to contemporary recordings. Perhaps it's the Italian wine influence that makes the production sound so great.

Roberto contributes three originals: "No Sadness", "Il Bello del Jazz", and "Parker's Pen." They're all up-tempo and give a lot of room for soloists to improvise. Jurkovich's guitar work on the opener is top-notch, and Engel's bass solo on "Il Bello del Jazz" is expressive and forceful. The band really smokes on "Here I'll Stay." The CD also contains moments of reflection on the slower, meandering tracks "Some Other Spring", "A New Town is a Blue Town", and "Pretty Woman", allowing Magris and Geller to showcase their attention to melody and grace.

Track listing:

1. No Sadness
2. Stray Form
3. Some Other Spring
4. Key Largo
5. A New town Is A Blue Town
6. Here I’ll Stay
7. Ah Moore
8. Il Bello Del Jazz
9. Pretty Woman
10. Parker’s Pen
11. Deception

Musicians:

Roberto Magris (p)
Herb Geller (as)
Darko Jurkovic (g)
Rudi Engel (b)
Gabriele Centis (d)

Album ratings (in blue notes):

Production: 4.5(5)
Composition: 4(5)
Improvisation: 4(5)
Groove Factor: 4.5(5)
``````````````````````
Overall Rating: 4.25(5)

If you live near/in Los Angeles, be sure to check him out out live:
Catalina Bar and Gril (Hollywood) October 11 and 12
The Jazz Bakery (Culver City) October 16

:: Happy sounds ::

Review: Wes Montgomery - Full House

I just purchased this CD a few weeks ago and have finally had some time to really give it a good listen. As always, Wes's guitar and method are clean and straight-forward, which is something I have come to expect from the master.

Overall, there are 9 tracks. Tracks as follows:

1. Full House
2. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
3. Blue 'N' Boogie
4. Cariba
5. Come Rain Or Come Shine (Take 1)
6. Come Rain Or Come Shine (Take 2)
7. S.O.S. (Take 3)
8. S.O.S. (Take 2)
9. Born To Be Blue

This 1962 lineup is incredible, as this live album pairs Montgomery with tenor Johnny Griffin and the Wynton Kelly Trio (Wynton on piano, Jimmy Cobb on drums, and Paul Chambers on the bass). The players are on fire on this one, and their improvisational chemistry really shines. This is one live Montgomery album every jazz enthusiast should own.

Happy sounds,