“Where words fail, music speaks.” ~ Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) Danish short-story writer.

Nat Cole introduces Mahalia Jackson singing a brief yet soulful rendition of “Down By the Riverside” in 1957.

“Blues are the songs of despair, but gospel songs are the songs of hope.” ~ Mahalia Jackson

I have been a fan of Ziggy Marley ever since I first heard “Ziggly Marley & The MelodyMakers” perform. Being a die hard Bob Marley fan, that owns everything he released on vinyl, I naturally was interested in checking out anything done by his family legacy. This new release by Ziggy in May 2009 was no exception.

Little Ziggy has grown over the years both physically and musically and now he has a family of his own. This musical effort celebrates that family and does so marvelously. The songs are great sing along melodies with perfect lyrics for both children and adults — you know the kind of tune with hooks that you just can’t stop singing along to.

Ziggy’s mom, sister, children and famous friends ( including both Willie Nelson and Paul Simon!) and children  all participate. Jamie Curtis reads a piece written by Ziggy’s namesake son and also a wonderful childrens poem that she co-wrote.

All in all I have listened to this CD at least  a dozen time since I purchased it just last week. I highly recommend it as a great tool to use to spend time with your child as you listen to the songs, sing them and discuss them.  The packaging of the CD is even designed with colorful graphics and a picture inset that little ones can color while listening to the music.

Of course you can purchase this set even if you don’t have children. I did and I have no regrets. It is perfect positive music for these stressful times for one and all .

Track List:

1.  Family Time with Judah Marley

2.  I Love You Too with Rita Marley & Cedella Marley. This is my favorite song of the CD
3.  Cry, Cry, Cry with Jack Johnson & Paula Fuga
4.  Take Me To Jamaica with Toots Hibbert
5.  Ziggy Says
6.  This Train with Willie Nelson.  Another favorite with great lyrics.
7.  Wings Of An Eagle with Elizabeth Mitchell
8.  ABC
9.  Hold him Joe
10.  Walk Tall with Paul Simon
11.  Future Man, Future Lady with Laurie Berkner
12.  My Helping Hands written by Ziggy Marley & narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis
13.  Is There Really A Human Race written by Jamie Lee Curtis & Laura Cornell & narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis

Musically Yours,

“You can cage the singer but not the song.”  ~ Harry Belafonte

NEW YORK – Jazz legend Sonny Rollins and big-band leader Maria Schneider each were triple winners at the Jazz Awards, but it was 90-year-old pianist Hank Jones who struck the most sentimental chord.

Rollins, 78, collected awards for musician of the year and top tenor saxophonist on Tuesday night. Rollins’ “Road Shows, Vol. 1,” a collection of live concert recordings from 1980 to 2007, was chosen the historical recording/reissue of the year.

Rollins’ nephew, Clifton Anderson, the trombonist in the saxophonist’s band, accepted the awards on his behalf.

“`Road Shows’ was a great experience to work on with Sonny and if you like that, there’s plenty more where that came from,” Anderson told the audience at the ceremony at the Jazz Standard club.

Schneider once again won the awards for composer, arranger and large ensemble of the year in voting among the 450 members of the Jazz Journalists Association.

Jones was voted pianist of the year among a crowded field of nominees that included such distinguished veterans as Kenny Barron, Cecil Taylor, Ahmad Jamal and Keith Jarrett and newer faces like Jason Moran and Matthew Shipp. With characteristic modesty, Jones declared it “should be a group award.”

“This to me is an honor and also it’s a great incentive to me to do better,” said Jones, who turns 91 next month. “It’s not the end of things, it’s the end of the beginning for me.”

Jazz impresario George Wein, who began his career as a jazz pianist, acknowledged Jones in accepting the award for events producer of the year.

“He’s an inspiration to all of us and maybe by the time I’m his age, I’ll know a few changes that he plays on the piano,” joked the 83-year-old Wein.

Wein, who stepped out of semiretirement to save the Newport Jazz Festival which he founded in 1954, acknowledged that the era has passed when he could fill festival programs with such jazz legends as Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and Count Basie.

“But the spirit of jazz does not die when those great people die,” said Wein. “The concept of young people who are adventurous and trying to do new things has to be acknowledged.”

Other winners included Cassandra Wilson, Branford Marsalis, and Kurt Elling.

SOURCE: Yahoo News

List of all awards is here at JazzHouse.Org.

“All music is beautiful” ~ William “Billy” Thomas Strayhorn

Note: This 1965 video depicts Strayhorn performing, what is probably his most famous his composition, “Take The “A” Train.”

NEW YORK (Billboard) – Spin magazine is going crazy with its July issue, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Prince’s “Purple Rain“ with a comprehensive oral history of the film and album and a free downloadable tribute that features nine bands doing song-for-song covers of the record’s classic tracks.

Dubbed “Purplish Rain,” the album boasts a real coup: Apollonia, the one-time Prince protegee who starred in the film, contributes a cover of “When Doves Cry” that she recorded with Greg Dulli and his band, the Twilight Singers.

Other cover versions on the album include Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings doing “Take Me With U,” Of Montreal’s take on “Computer Blue,” a punk-mariachi version of “I Would Die 4 U” and Lavender Diamond’s rendition of the title track.

The Apollonia/Dulli duet is currently streaming at Spin.com, and the full downloadable album will be available when the magazine hits the streets on June 23. The album download is free, but a clue from the magazine article will be required for access.

“We approached a bunch of bands, and we got nine who were really into it,” Spin editor Doug Brod told Billboard.com. “All these bands did it for free — they paid for all of their recording time and they mastered all the tracks themselves.”

Unlike several other Prince cover records that have run afoul of The Artist’s wishes, SPIN cleared all of the tracks and is covering the royalty expenses.

The 10-page oral history was compiled and written by Brian Raftery, who spoke to most of the key participants in the original project, including Wendy and Lisa, other members of the Revolution and the Time, Bob Cavallo (the film’s producer and Prince’s manager at the time), director Albert Magnoli, and the original screenplay writer William Blinn. Prince and the Time’s main man Morris Day did not participate.

“We did a full court press to get Prince himself involved,” said Brod. “He’s a pretty tough guy to get a hold of, and he doesn’t dwell much on nostalgia.”

(Editing by Dean Gooodman at Reuters)

(SOURCE)

I support the sophomore year American Idol winner 101%.  It may not seem that way  when you read some of the comments I am offering up on some of the tracks on his newest CD — but all in all this set was worth my hard earned cash and I would buy it again in a heartbeat. Reuben is still finding his way as an artist and very young in the industry, so I am expecting a lot more from him in the seasons and sets to come.

Here are the tracks on his latest CD of  love ballads released last month on  May 19, 2009.

Track List:

1. Together – This is apparently the first  single released from the CD. I am glad I had not heard it before I made the purchase because it is pretty MOR and reminiscent of the majority of songs on the  Lionel Ritchie CD that was just recently released. Listen to the promotional video to judge for yourself.

2. More Than Words – Cover of Extreme’s hit classic love song.  I repeat,  I love Reuben, but I am sorry to say that this cover reminds me of something he had to sing as an Idol contestant only because it was selected for him to sing — not because he loved the song.

3. Song For Her

4. How You Make Me Feel. This is one of my three fave on the CD and I think it would have made a fantastic first single release to grab attention in the Pop music world. It’s awesome. It makes me think that perhaps Ne-Yo would be the perfect writer/producer for Reuben to have to to get him some chart success.

5. Don’t Make ‘Em Like U No More

6. I Can’t Help it. Standard “karaoke” cover of the Michael Jackson classic.

7. Just Because.

8. My Love Is A Rock.

9. The Long and Winding Road. Another cover — this time of a Beatles classic. The arrangement is a bit interesting and has a few notes “tweaked” in the melody. I have listened to it  about a dozen times and can’t decide if I like it or not. Regardless  we all know it is a great song and Reuben has a great voice.

10. For The Good Times.  It seems that Reuben tried to channel Al Green’s hit cover of this Kris Kristofferson song. It’s ok for what it is, but I really wish Reuben would find himself and be himself and not attempt to emulate the folks he is covering. He is better than that.

11. We Got  Love (That’s Enough).

12. Footprints in the Sand.

Exclusive Bonus Tracks:

13. Someday We’ll All Be Free.  Now this cover, of the Donny Hathaway gem, is great!  I am not sure if I like it because I love the song lyric or Ruben’s interpretation of it — probably a little of both.  But this is another of the three songs that made this purchase worthwhile for me.

14. It’s Your Love.  And the BEST has been save for last. Like all of the songs on this set, production credit is given to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, but this song has a third credit given to Mr. John Rich. Mr. Rich’s  involvement would of course explain the country music flavor this marvelous love ballad has.

Featuring, the prominent and melodic song stylings of backup singer Lauren Evans and a slamming organist accompanist in one Mr.  John Jackson,  this is far and away the best song on the CD IMHO: a perfect blend of voices, harmonies, instrumentation et al!

I vividly recall that when Reuben sang “Sweet Home Alabama,” a country rock anthem,  on AI that his performance was really on point. So a country flavor just might be his bag. Hey, after all, Ru is just a big ol’ southern country boy. See what I mean:

Ever since the purchase of this CD I have put Track #14 on repeat play during my long commute to work and am not tired of it yet. I only break from it to listen to the previous bonus track and track #4.

I became impressed with Mr. Rich when  watching the only reality show that I tolerate. It probably wouldn’t hurt Reuben to have Mr. Rich produce and entire album for him if this song is an example of  how he shapes Ruben’s talent . Simply awesome song.

I don’t believe it is the right thing to do when people digitize an entire CD and post it on YouTube. I only review CDs with the goal of sharing music I like, in hopes that you might make a good purchase or telling you what I didn’t like, so that you might save yourself a few bucks by not making a bad purchase.  Therefore I have been sharing less and less of the music here at EOINA and just providing  more of the Record Company Promotional videos to let you hear the music.

But this song (Track 14)   I just had to share above.  Hope you like it as much as I do.

Be sure to check out Ruben’s Official Site to see when he will be coming to your town.

Musically yours,

PS. I wish this one was included on this  CD of Love Ballads. Oh well maybe next time RU. I still  love you!

“When I sing, trouble can sit right on my shoulder and I don’t even notice.” – Sarah Vaughan

CREDIT: This Sarah Vaughan clip is a an excerpt from the 1955 film (now in the public domain) “Rhythm and Blues Revue.”  It was posted on YouTube by jazzvideoguy.tv

“Music is spiritual. The music business is not.”
Van Morrison