Posts Tagged Herbie Hancock
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April 16, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Ghost-Note: Swagism
Ghost-Note Swagism ROPEADOPE If Kamasi Washington is exploring the Albert Ayler/Coltrane connections in a modern landscape then Ghost-Note is doing something similar with templates created by Quincy Jones and Herbie Hancock…which is to say on Swagism they hint at the late-80s/early-90s hip-hop influenced and inflected funk and R’n’B jams of those masters whilst also adhering to the types of grooves Hancock and Jones […]Archive
March 5, 2019 by Simon Sweetman
Wellington Jazz Festival: 2019 Headliners Announced
The Wellington Jazz Festival usually pulls together a great line-up, we’re talking over 100 gigs in just a few days. A real showcase for local talent – and of course some international headliners. The full reveal is a week or so away – but the international headliners have been confirmed. And it’s one of the best […]Archive
June 11, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 400
Bobby McFerrin, Spontaneous Inventions (1986) I’ve loved Bobby McFerrin and I’ve hated him too – and just recently I’ve decided the guy might be a genius. Yes, it’s hard to give his career an appraisal that’s fair because Don’t Worry Be Happy gets in the way. But I was taken with this album – and […]Archive
October 16, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: Always Starting, Never Ending
jesus, FUCK! – Alan Bennett is 83. I better get watching – and reading – his books, his TV, his films, scripts… Shit! There’s too much for me. (I’ve read some, seen some – but there’s much to revisit, and so much to try, to find, to hunt, to line up). A name gets mentioned, […]Archive
May 23, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
R.I.P. Mickey Roker
It was sad to hear of the passing of the great jazz drummer, Mickey Roker. He was 84, he died of natural causes, he played drums his entire adult life – Roker worked with so many of the greats. He was a force, as a progressive bop drummer, as a legendary sideman. I have records […]Archive
November 8, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
Drummers You Just Can’t Beat: # 14 – Vinnie Colaiuta
I first met him (in a musical sense) with the Sting album Ten Summoner’s Tales. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing – the sharp cymbal sound, the crisp snare; the fact that Colaiuta had his head around 5/4 and 7/4 time signatures – playing in 7/8 here on St Augustine In Hell. I think […]Archive
October 12, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
Jaco Pastorius by Jaco Pastorius: One of My Favourite Albums
Here’s one of my favourite albums – I don’t want to say of all time, because that feels a bit trite, but I’ve certainly loved this album since I first heard it, nearly 20 years ago – and nearly 20 years after it was released. Jaco Pastorius’ eponymous debut arrived in 1976. Bobby Colomby, the […]Archive
August 20, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 647
Herbie Hancock, Thrust (1974) I went through a huge Herbie Hancock phase a decade or so ago – all the albums, pretty much; all the phases anyway, all aspects/eras of his leadership. I knew he was good but it was albums like this that sealed the deal – actually this album was the big one, […]Archive
August 9, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
Betty Davis: The Columbia Years 1968-69
Betty Davis The Columbia Years 1968-69 LightInTheAttic It’s fitting that LightInTheAttic should shine the light on these fabled Betty Davis sessions – via this comprehensive round-up with stellar liner notes, as is the way with LightInTheAttic releases, and of course the good oil being the music – since it was the reissue label which represented […]Archive
March 30, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 725
Miles Davis, Miles Smiles (1966) One of the early records from the second great Miles Davis band. And this one showcases some of Wayne Shorter’s contributions as composer (as well, of course, as a player). I owned about a hundred Miles Davis CDs at one point, all the box-sets, some bootlegs, most of the live […]Archive
March 14, 2016 by Simon Sweetman