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Jazz/Blues

Jochen Rueckert Fuses Indian Classical With Western Jazz on 'Charm Offensive' [REVIEW]

Jochen Rueckert is on a 'Charm Offensive' for his second Pirouet release. Having immigrated to 1990s New York City from his native Germany, he's got some top-notch New Yorkers behind him to fuse classical music from India with jazz to create a whole new sub-genre. Blending ragas with jazz opens up whole new avenues of exploration and this quartet does Ruekert's eight complex originals proud.
By Mike Greenblatt

  • Bassist/Composer Peter Brendler's 'Message In Motion' Lives Up To its Name [REVIEW]

    Another winner from the left coast's Posi-Tone: consider it a 'Message In Motion' by Peter Brendler where six of the tracks feature no chords whatsoever as it's Brendler's bass augmented by Rich Perry's tenor sax, the trumpet of Peter Evans and Vinnie Sperazza with the type of kinetic drumming that continually moves the music forward.
    By Mike Greenblatt

  • Blogarrhea: New Book by Memphis Mafia Member David Stanley Digs Up Elvis Dirt

    'My Brother Elvis' by David Stanley (Impello) is a true warts-and-all look at Elvis Presley from an insider's perspective. Stanley's mom married Presley's dad to become The King's step-brother. Elvis yanked him out of high school and took him on the road at the tender age of 16, inaugurating the kid with five hookers on the first night of a tour. Five years later, Elvis was dead. But it didn't have to be that way. Still, I had to ask the burning question...
    By Mike Greenblatt