Overall, Songbird’s Prayer is a strong statement for the Montreal pianist. With such a heavy tradition of Montreal jazz pianists behind her, Rudolf steps up and stakes her claim as a name to watch for in coming years. Leaving the audience wanting more, this record is the perfect introduction to Rudolf’s musical world, and a welcomed addition to the modern jazz piano library.
After spending seven years on the road touring with the Nashville based band The War, singer and songwriter Daniel Levi Goans returned to his native North Carolina to begin writing and recording his first effort under his own name. A few years and albums later, the talented musician has been working hard on developing his craft, which is showcased on his latest release BrotherStranger. Using his surroundings as influence for this music and lyric writing, Goans “looks into the loneliest moments of (the) human experience” with
The Barns at Wolf Trap was abuzz with excitement as guitar lovers of all ages entered the rustic hall. As the sold out crowd settled into their seats and many a debate could be heard as good natured points were argued as to the virtues of their favorite player and what they would be in store for as the evening would progress. As the house lights dimmed and the spotlights came up, all in attendance knew they were about to partake in an aural buffet with four masters serving up multiple musical courses intended to most certainly send them all home full.
Being a huge fan of action flick heroes Jason Statham, Jean Claude Van Damme, and Jet Li, I can’t say how excited I am that Director Steven Soderbergh has made this remarkable motion picture showcasing and built around a real life female action heroine who does all her own fighting and stunts.
Love ’em or hate ’em, scales are important to any guitarist. Everybody knows the box method, with the five different patterns for each scale, and some guitarists subscribe to the 3 notes per string approach, but other than that, there haven’t really been any innovations with scales on the guitar lately. Enter New York jazz guitarist Adam Smale with A New Approach to Scales for Guitarists, which puts forth an interesting and useful 4 note per string method of learning and implementing scales.
Director and co-producer Steven Spielberg was so moved by War Horse’s timeless anti-war story that he expounded, “From the moment I read [Michael] Morpurgo’s novel, War Horse, I knew this was a film I wanted DreamWorks® to make. Its heart and its message provide a story that can be felt in every country.”
South Carolina native Adam Cross makes waves with his debut album Sirens. The singer, guitarist and songwriter brings a high-level of intensity to his music, all while maintaining a strong pop sensibility that digs the hooks in deep right from the opening track. With a penchant for knowing just the right effect for each track, as well as when to use the electric guitar, acoustic guitar or a mixture of both, Cross keeps listener’s guessing as to what’s coming next, while engaging their musical curiosity at the same time. Sirensis a strong debut for Cross, one that is sure to set the stage for a bright career to come.
Sadly, Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson passed away in 2004 at only fifty years old, before he could witness the publication, acclaim, and monumental success of his Millennium thriller-novel trilogy and its subsequent transformation into the universally, critically and commercially acclaimed 2009 Swedish film adaptations that caused a worldwide sensation. So much so, that now, the greatly anticipated 2011 English language adaptation of the first motion picture in the Millennium film series,The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, directed by David Fincher, has just been released to much fanfare.
When the British rock group, Badfinger, hit the airwaves there was a rumor that it was The Beatles, working under a different name. They had the pop sound of Paul McCartney with guitar work that hinted of Harrison, as well as some very melodic harmonies that could easily be mistaken for the Fab Four. Of course, Badfinger was on Apple Records and McCartney did write and produce their hit “Come and Get It”, so the rumors had an edge of truth to them.
Envision in your mind’s eye a stage that resembles a demented Santa’s workshop straight from Hell, a pants-less Santa Claus, several wicked snow blowing elves, and three sexy girls pulling Dee on a hot rodded sleigh. Sound like a Christmas fairy tale? Not quite, more like the Twisted Christmas Spectacular at the Best Buy Theater in New York City!
