Shot by The Innkeeper’s Gun

Not too long ago, I mentioned my infatuation with Bombella, the latest work by Abdullah Ibrahim which also features the incredibly awesome WDR Big Band Cologne. As it happened, the bass player of the WDR, John Goldsby, read my review and emailed me a few nice comments. He said that if I would be interested in reviewing his trio album which was due out soon, that he would be glad to send me a gratis advanced copy. Of course, I told him I would be happy to oblige by listening to his music and writing a review.

Now, let me say (as a sort of disclaimer), when I accept stuff for free, like I do with the Amazon Vine Club, I am careful not to let the fact that I have no skin in the game affect my opinion of whatever it is I’m reviewing. If I don’t like it, I say so. If I like it, I say so. If I couldn’t care one way or the other, I say so. That is to say, I’m an honest reviewer and if anything, I tend towards being overly critical. So, I was a little nervous accepting Mr. Goldsby’s offer, because if I didn’t like his work, I was faced with the unenviable task of having to tell him that.

Surprisingly, and happily, even though Goldsby’s trio is a piano-less, sax-bass-drums band, I really liked his work. It’s called The Innkeeper’s Gun, and it is a sparse-sounding, but richly detailed work that swings. I won’t bother reprinting my whole five-star review here, so feel free to click on the link and read the review I posted to Amazon. You might even want to pick up or download your own copy of TIG while you’re there.

I’m glad I blog. Making friends and hearing new jazz is what it’s all about.

Yoity Tot Big Band CDs

So, as I said some time ago, I thought that in order to get more CD’s on the Yoity Tot list, but to be fair to all, (that is, never have to relegate any CD from the list because I come across something I like better) I thought it expedient to break the list into two. One is for “regular” jazz CD’s, the other for big band CD’s. (I could go even farther in expanding genres, and I might someday as the list expands.) My big band CD collection is not that big (oops) yet, so the list is basically everything I own that is big band. The regular list is my top 25 as I see them today.

I still have some CD’s I haven’t even listened to yet, leftover from my crazy buying spree a month or so back. I’m having fun and enjoying them, going through them slowly, finding gems, learning things, just loving jazz.

Anyway, check out the lists over on the right.

Admitting to going a little crazy of late

The job is literally killing me, sending me to the doctor every week as bad things happen to my body, such as my arm going numb one night (better now, thanks), gaining eight pounds in two weeks (dropped four since), and even losing a crown from my wisdom tooth. To cope, I just decided to keep myself occupied with music. And since I’m studying jazz arranging, I’ve been focusing on big band stuff to keep my muse energized. Here’s what I’ve acquired, just in the last two weeks:



By far the CD getting the most listening right now is Abdullah Ibrahim’s Bombella. The WDR Big Band just blows Ibrahim’s arrangements right out the door and halfway up the street. If you could hear the sound of energy, this is what it would sound like.

A close second is the Bill Holman Big Band compendium. Talk about fun music! I’ve only listened to about five songs so far because I can’t stop myself from going back for seconds and thirds. The thing is just amazing.

In third, I have to go with Buddy Rich for two reasons: one, he and his bands embody the west coast sound and are similar enough to Stan Kenton as to be confused with those great works, and two, his version of Love for Sale is probably the best ever recorded. Brilliant.

And this recent trend gave me a good idea that I’m happy to announce here: I’m doing away with the Yoity Tot “B” List and breaking it out into The Yoity Tot Big Band CD list and the “regular” Yoity Tot CD list. It’s going to take me a little bit to put those together, so keep watching this space for that change.

Keep it jazzy, folks!