Notations

In my Beach Boys’ Pendleton shirt holding my favorite album of all time; Pet Sounds (SACD edition). The timeline went something like this; Rubber Soul > Pet Sounds > Sgt. Pepper.

Throwing down the musical gauntlet 50 years ago this week with this beautiful collection of rich melodies, emotions, harmony and vision. Thank you Brian Wilson (he was just 23 years old), you changed everything. It just took the world a few years to catch-up. I used to use the beautiful “Let’s Go Away for Awhile” as my sign-off song in my early DJ years.

This is Abbey Road Studio #2. See that little window upstairs? That’s the control room where producer George Martin sat, listened and looked out as some of the greatest music in history unfolded down below.

From “Please, Please Me” to “Sgt. Pepper” Sir George and his crew of engineers rolled tape, collecting takes and helping to steer that creative force known as The Beatles. I walked down that stairway once upon a time thinking about just how important he was to the recipe. Thank you George Martin for your vision and dedication. You were one of a kind.

Rather than being auctioned off to wealthy collectors piece by piece, Bob Dylan’s massive $60 million collection of papers, poetry, films and notebooks are going to be kept under one roof. And, believe it or not, it’s in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Aside from being the home state of his hero and mentor Woody Guthrie, it’s the location of the George B. Kaiser Foundation and the University of Tulsa. Scholars, musicologists and historians will have access to this stunning trove for all time. Eventually there will be a museum/gallery for all of us Dylan fans.
Here’s more from the New York Times.

Happy Birthday to a most amazing cat. Teruo Nakamura has been a great friend and mentor for thirty years now. He’s an incredible acoustic and electric bassist, as well as record producer, concert promoter and photographer of the highest order.

Over the years we’ve traveled to Japan together for some of the finest radio broadcasts of my career. Along the way Teruo has introduced me to some of the finest jazz players on the planet.; The MJQ, Brian Blade, Roberta Flack, Roy Haynes, George Benson, Lenny White, and Chaka Khan. From Harlem to Tokyo, a true Renaissance man. Happy Birthday Nak!

There you were, playing that kalimba, singing your butt off, and fronting one of the finest bands I have ever witnessed. Maurice White, you will always be a shining star.

Well, somewhere on my desk in a pile of unfinished blogs about things musical sits a rough draft of a rave review about my favorite jazz record of 2015; Eliane Elias’ “Made in Brazil”. Hey Eliane, congrats on your Latin Jazz Grammy this past weekend! I know, posting my prediction in this musical horse race a week late won’t cut it. But at least I can nudge Brazilian jazz lovers to go check out her latest disc.

For over 25 years now Eliane Elias has made an incredible stack of releases that showcase just how special and gifted she is. I first met her right after she had just moved to New York City back in the ‘80s. You could sense she had that personal motivation, immense talent and spirit to make it in the rough and tough music world. All these projects later she still taps into her roots, capturing the essence of her native Brazil. Eliane makes it look so easy. Her tools are that rich voice and amazing piano chops. She has a knack for picking just the right tune and then making it her own. Very few can do that.