Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Ray Brown-Monty Alexander-Russell Malone • Ray Brown, Monty Alexander, Russell Malone
Review by Rick Anderson
It would be nice to say that Ray Brown's final recording session before his sudden and untimely death in the summer of 2002 resulted in a masterpiece, but although this trio session with guitarist Russell Malone and pianist Monty Alexander is perfectly serviceable, a masterpiece it is not. It's a very attractive album -- Brown was probably not capable of producing anything less as a leader -- but it suffers just a bit from Alexander's slightly sugary style and from the lack of a drummer. Recording without a drummer had been the latest thing in the jazz world for several years when this album was released, but it's not entirely clear what the benefit of such an arrangement was supposed to be. On this album, the swing standard "Fly Me to the Moon" and Dexter Gordon's boppish "Dexter's Dex" would have had much more oomph with a sympathetic drummer on board (though on the latter, Malone's Django Reinhardt-styled backup and Brown's inimitable freight train rhythmic drive do go some distance toward making up for that lack). And the mid-tempo numbers seem to plod just a bit as well. But as always, there's no questioning either the inventiveness of Brown's solos or the rich sumptuousness of his enormous tone.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/ray-brown-monty-alexander-russell-malone-mw0000227413
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Reseña de Rick Anderson
Estaría bien decir que la última sesión de grabación de Ray Brown antes de su repentina y prematura muerte en el verano de 2002 resultó en una obra maestra, pero aunque esta sesión de trío con el guitarrista Russell Malone y el pianista Monty Alexander es perfectamente útil, no es una obra maestra. Es un álbum muy atractivo - Brown probablemente no era capaz de producir menos como líder - pero sufre un poco del estilo ligeramente azucarado de Alexander y de la falta de un batería. Grabar sin batería era lo último en el mundo del jazz desde hacía varios años, cuando se publicó este álbum, pero no está del todo claro cuál se suponía que era el beneficio de tal arreglo. En este álbum, el estándar de swing "Fly Me to the Moon" y el boppish "Dexter's Dex" de Dexter Gordon habrían tenido mucho más ímpetu con un simpático batería a bordo (aunque en este último, los coros de Malone al estilo de Django Reinhardt y el inimitable impulso rítmico de tren de mercancías de Brown compensan en cierta medida esa carencia). Y los números a medio tiempo también parecen flojear un poco. Pero como siempre, no hay duda de la inventiva de los solos de Brown ni de la suntuosidad de su enorme tono.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/ray-brown-monty-alexander-russell-malone-mw0000227413
Lightnin' Slim • Hoodoo Blues
Highly regarded as a Louisiana Swamp Blues legend, Otis Hicks aka
Lightnin' Slim, was born March 13, 1913 on a farm outside St. Louis,
Missouri. At an early age, Hicks left Missouri and moved to St.
Francisville, Louisiana where he worked outside of music. Hicks learn to
play the guitar from his brother Layfield Hicks during the 1930's.
In the late 1940's Hicks worked the bars of Baton Rouge, Louisiana with
other local bluesmen like Arthur Kelly. During the 1950's Hicks often
worked with his brother in law Slim Harpo, and they performed together
occasionally in the 1960's.
He recorded for Excello from the mid-50's to mid-60's, and under the
production of Jay Miller established his reputation in the Bayou State
with the release of his classic “Rooster Blues.”
Slim’s recording fortunes waned in the mid-60s and he left Louisiana for
Romeo, Michigan, where he worked as a laborer. Several years later
while living in Pontiac he received an invitation to perform at the 1972
Ann Arbor Blues Festival. The concert and a subsequent date for Excello
led to a minor resurgence in his popularity and a string of European
tours. There isn’t a lot of material available from Slim’s second
coming, but “Blue Lightning,” a live club date on the London-based
Indigo imprint, gives a pretty accurate barometer of where he was at.
This jump started comeback and he began his European tour which took him
to England in 1972 as part of the American Folk-Blues Festival. He
performed at the 1972 Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreaux, Switzerland
and toured with the American Blues Legend Tour in 1973.
On July 27, 1974,Louisiana Swamp Blues legend Otis V. “Lightnin' Slim” Hicks died of cancer.
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Altamente considerado como una leyenda de Louisiana Swamp Blues, Otis
Hicks alias Lightnin' Slim, nació el 13 de marzo de 1913 en una granja
en las afueras de St. A una edad temprana, Hicks dejó Missouri y se mudó
a St. Francisville, Louisiana donde trabajó fuera de la música. Hicks
aprendió a tocar la guitarra de su hermano Layfield Hicks durante los
años 30.
A finales de los 40, Hicks trabajó en los bares de Baton Rouge,
Louisiana con otros bluesmen locales como Arthur Kelly. Durante los años
50 Hicks trabajó a menudo con su cuñado Slim Harpo, y actuaron juntos
ocasionalmente en los años 60.
Grabó para Excello desde mediados de los 50 a mediados de los 60, y bajo
la producción de Jay Miller estableció su reputación en el estado de
Bayou con el lanzamiento de su clásico "Rooster Blues".
La fortuna discográfica de Slim disminuyó a mediados de los años 60 y
dejó Luisiana para ir a Romeo, Michigan, donde trabajó como obrero.
Varios años después, mientras vivía en Pontiac, recibió una invitación
para actuar en el Festival de Blues de Ann Arbor en 1972. El concierto y
una fecha posterior para Excello provocaron un pequeño resurgimiento de
su popularidad y una serie de giras europeas. No hay mucho material
disponible de la segunda venida de Slim, pero "Blue Lightning", una
fecha de club en vivo en el sello Indigo con sede en Londres, da un
barómetro bastante preciso de dónde estaba.
Este salto comenzó su regreso y comenzó su gira europea que lo llevó a
Inglaterra en 1972 como parte del American Folk-Blues Festival. Actuó en
el Festival de Jazz de Montreux de 1972 en Montreaux, Suiza, y realizó
una gira con el American Blues Legend Tour en 1973.
El 27 de julio de 1974, la leyenda del Louisiana Swamp Blues Otis V. "Lightnin' Slim" Hicks murió de cáncer.
B-Sides, Undercurrents and Overtones Peripheries to Popular in Music, 1960 to the Present
There are undercurrents and peripheral taste preferences that are a defining part of our individual and collective cultural experience. Music is no exception. George Plasketes adapts the iconic "A-side/B-side" dichotomy from the 45 r.p.m. for use as a unique conceptual, critical, historical, and cultural framework for exploring and threading together a variety of popular music and media texts. The profiles and perspectives focus on the peripheries; on texts which might be considered "B-sides"”overlooked, underappreciated, and unsung cases, creators, patterns and productions that have unassumingly, but significantly, marked popular culture, music and media during the past 40 years. The underappreciated yet enduring contributions of a variety of creative individuals in music, television and film are a centerpiece of this volume: actress Doris Day's son, Terry Melcher, a 1960s music producer whose imprint is on the surf, country blues, garage pop and most importantly the folk rock genre; Hans Fenger's kid chorus cover project, a musical variation of "outsider art" that became representative of the tribute wave that began in the 1990s and continues today; versatile guitarist virtuoso Ry Cooder's extensive film soundtrack work; World Music "missionary efforts" of American artists beyond Paul Simon's Graceland, including Neil Diamond's precursor with Tap Root Manuscript in the 1970s and the exotic adventures of Henry Kaiser and David Lindley in Madagascar and Norway”to name just a few examples. These B-sides represent undercurrents, but they resonate as overtones in the mainstream of music and culture, many as historical hinges. Collectively, these B-sides are an A-side antidote of outskirt observations, individual snapshots of artists, artifacts and rituals, genres and generations, producers and musical productions in television, film and video. They constitute an important connect-the-dots cultural chronicle with a multi-layered context”social, legal, historic, economic, technological, generational, aesthetic”for interpreting the interrelations between creators and institutions, the music market place, the production of culture and important connections between the peripheral and the popular.
Una retrospectiva del futuro, vida y obra de Astor Piazzolla
El libro aborda la vida, la obra y la música de Ástor Piazzolla de una manera diferente. ¿Quién fue realmente? ¿Qué quiso ser? Los interrogantes y dudas abundan; la vastedad y variedad de su producción es única. ¿Siguen vigentes ya, en pleno siglo XXI, ciertos cánones, sentencias y prejuicios que se esgrimen desde hace más de seis décadas? Piazzolla fue, desde la cuna, un cúmulo de contradicciones, rarezas y hechos excepcionales.
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