Posts Tagged Bob James
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July 18, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 92
Phoebe Snow, Phoebe Snow (1974) Was Phoebe Snow underrated? Certainly by me! Every time I’ve heard her I’ve loved her – that Paul McCartney cover. Singing with Paul Simon. I used to have that single-disc Best of Phoebe Snow (on CD – though I thought I had the record too, apparently not). So I picked […]Archive
February 17, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 170
Bob James, Three (1976) The truth is I was into Bob James before I knew I was into Bob James; before I knew who he was. The TV show Taxi had such an impact on me – its theme tune continues to – and then of course all the hip-hop and dance tracks that have […]Archive
December 5, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: Tight But Loose
Playing along to Babylon Sisters on the drums. And Angela- the Theme from Taxi. Man, Bernard Purdie and Idris Muhammad. Beautiful. There’s a philosophy to their playing. They know the magic is in holding back. I never knew how to hold back, so I just dropped out. That’s how it’s usually been. Coming back to […]Archive
November 25, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Kenny Pore: A Place Across Town
Kenny Pore A Place Across Town Kenny Pore Sessions Smooth Jazz, Light Jazz, Dinner Jazz…it goes by many names and it’s usually awful to all but hi-fi nuts and sessions musicians (usually just the cats that played on that actual session).Archive
May 30, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: Taxi
he’s in the back of the car, as usual, and i’m his taxi driver. my son asks me if the day he was born was the best day of my life. and i say“yes. of course”. “what about when you and mum got married?”, he quizzed. “second. nearly as good. can’t have one without the other”. he nods. and i didn’t […]Archive
May 29, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Bob James Trio: Espresso
Bob James Trio Espresso Evosound Returning to the trio format after a recent lovely foray into duo work with Nathan East, here the master player and composer stretches his fingers across jazz, his first love. Small combo playing has been a huge part of James’ career whether polite (Fourplay) or deep and funky (the classic early 70s albums now […]Archive
August 16, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
Bob James & Nancy Stagnitta: In The Chapel In The Moonlight
Bob James & Nancy Stagnitta In The Chapel In The Moonlight Tappan Zee Records Bob James follows on from 2015’s set of duos with Nathan East – the best kind of dinner-jazz going, don’t let that term put you off, it’s a wonderful record – with another set of duos, this time light-classical with flautist […]Archive
April 23, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
Radio on the TV: My Top 10 All-Time Favourite TV Themes
The other day I was listening to Carl Stalling for the first time in a while – his bonkers-brilliant cartoon music puts you right there. You no longer need the images. The same is true of any great soundtrack composer, for film or TV. I regularly give Danny Elfman’s Music For A Darkened Theatre a spin […]Archive
April 4, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
Trading: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
I often see posts on Facebook complaining/warning people to be careful when buying records from TradeMe auctions. The warning/complaint usually suggests that – essentially – things aren’t always what they seem. This is part of buying goods when you can’t see/test them first. You can view pictures, sure, but with something as tactile as vinyl […]Archive
February 25, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 577
Bob James, All Around The Town (1981) I’ve been collecting up Bob James records ever since I reconnected with the TV show Taxi and of course Bob James’ Theme (aka ‘Angela’) – from there it’s been to whatever versions of the Taxi theme I can get – the original album, Touchdown, the compilation of the […]Archive
August 31, 2016 by Simon Sweetman