The Video Audio Overdose Galore

One of the funniest music videos I have ever seen, period.

2009-03-22T13:23:00.002-04:00

My lack of love for smooth jazz is no secret, and fusion types (of which I am certainly one) are often the most brutal critics. The wonderful sax and EWI player Steve Tavaglione sent me a link to a YouTube video of Dave Koz "playing" John Coltrane. The poster's description reads as follows:

Refreshing sounds from Dave Koz from latest album, At the Movies. The bass player can play Ascension all on his own. Its amazing.

Since then I've laughed so hard, I'm in tears. Funny, funny stuff.

Emily Remler

2008-05-23T17:02:00.002-04:00

Emily Remler was likely the best woman (yet) to ever play jazz guitar. She had a grace about playing, combined with effortless technique, that made her always a pleasure to listen to. Unfortunately, she also had a reported heroin addiction that led to her untimely death at only 32.

Emily Remler - How Insensitive

Allan Holdsworth - Proto Cosmos

2007-11-08T17:29:00.000-05:00

Guitarist Allan Holdsworth remains one of the most respected musicians among peers anywhere. Here's a tune he first began playing with drummer Tony Williams in the 1970's.

Allan Holdsworth - Proto Cosmos

Miles Davis - Hannibal

2007-11-08T16:47:00.000-05:00

Miles Davis playing "Hannibal" on David Sanborn's "Night Music" in 1988.

Miles Davis - Hannibal

Michael Landau - Why U Lie

2007-11-08T16:33:00.001-05:00

Michael Landau has been around for decades playing on zillions of studio tracks in Hollywood, touring with people like Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, and quietly building his own library of blues, rock and fusion songs. When he's in town, you can catch him in a variety of settings at Studio City's The Baked Potato including Hazey Jane (with wife Karen), the Jazz Ministry (with Greg Mathieson and Abraham Laboriel (Jr. and Sr. - book early) and this little "power trio" with Jimmy Johnson on bass and Gary Novak on drums. I shot this one night in September, 2007 with a new camera, and happened to catch one of the killer guitar performances you'll likely hear in some time. Great stuff.

Michael Landau - Why U Lie

The Stones Do Psychedelic

2007-11-08T08:38:00.000-05:00

The Rolling Stones' effort at psychedelia was largley obscured, and forgotten, in the era of The Beatles' overwhelming success of Sgt. Pepper, etc. However, the track "2000 Light Years From Home" remains one of the most representive tunes to ever come of the period.

Rolling Stones - 2000 Light Years From Home (Live)
Uploaded by bebepanda

The Rolling Stones - 2000 Light Years From Home

The Best Working Fusion Band On The Planet

2007-11-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

After seeing these guys off and on over the last two years, I'm now convinced the Scott Kinsey Group, in its various forms, is the best regularly working fusion band on the planet.

Kinsey, lead keyboardist for Tribal Tech, released his own solo CD, "Kinesthetics", in 2006 to generally rave reviews. And the CD doesn't really do justice to what these guys do live.

The group comes in two basic versions, one with guitarist Scott Henderson as the co-leader, the second with sax/EWI/flute master Steve Tavaglione. Jimmy Earl from The Jimmy Kimmel Show is on bass, with Gary Novak on drums. The parts change from time to time depending on who has other gigs going, but the bottom line is that these guys simply play their asses off, night after night, no matter who's there. The tune below, "2Fast", is called "2Hard" by Earl, who is tasked with playing a bass line at a tempo another bass virtuoso calls simply..."vicious".

Kinsey is poised as the only real heir apparent to Joe Zawinul, and is beginning to work a few classic Weather Report tunes into his repertoire. We can also only hope more of the Tribal Tech library is resurrected into this band. Regardless, a chance to hear these guys is one that should not be missed. Period.

Scott Kinsey Group - "2Fast" - At Joe Zawinul's Birdland, February 2006, with Matt Garrison on bass.

Eliane Elias - Samba Triste

2007-08-18T00:38:00.000-04:00

Brazilian born pianist Eliane Elias is likely the best intereprter alive of Brazilian samba jazz, some of the most sensual music on earth. Here from the movie "Calle 54", with husband Marc Johnson on bass.

Joni Mitchell - Sex Kills

2007-08-17T05:15:00.000-04:00

Here's a rare live performance of "Sex Kills" from 1994...

Tribal Tech - The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life

2007-08-17T02:56:00.000-04:00

Scott Henderson and Gary Willis formed Tribal Tech in the late 1980's while Henderson was being schooled in the bands of Chick Corea and Joe Zawinul. In 1991 the band came of age with the self-titled album "Tribal Tech". Fusion music was reborn, and along with Allan Holdsworth, Tribal Tech led the way to some of the best modern music ever recorded. This live track from 1993 features a rare line-up with Hilary Jones on drums, joined by the young keyboard virtuoso Scott Kinsey, who eventually became Henderson's twin collaborator. I took a well-known L.A. studio musician and producer to see Henderson and Kinsey at Hollywood's Baked Potato - his reaction to Henderson was "He's a motherf****!!! - where did these guys come from?!?" This tune, "The Precipice" features some of the most intense Henderson soloing ever recorded.

Christina Aguilera Sings A Standard - Song For You

2007-08-16T04:26:00.005-04:00

Although it certainly didn't go unnoticed with a 2005 Grammy Nomination, Herbie Hancock's collaboration with Christina Aguilera on Leon Russell's "Song For You" showed off the incredible range and control Aguilera has in a way never seen before.

The song was only performed three times live, each time for a TV audience. While the Grammy night live performance went well over the top with Aguilera's vocal gymnastics, this earlier video from "The Tonight Show" shows what Aguilera can do with the right material and musicians. Herbie Hancock remains the greatest counterpoint pianist in the history of jazz, and his talent is on full display here in helping Aguilera find her way in a musical genre unknown to her prior.

Christina Aguilera & Herbie Hancock - Song For You

Animal Logic, Live on The Tonight Show, 1991

2007-08-16T04:09:00.001-04:00

If you never heard of Animal Logic, you're not alone. This short-lived supergroup featuring Stewart Copeland of The Police, jazz virtuoso bassist Stanley Clarke, and singer-songwriter extraordinaire Deborah Holland graced the musical stage from 1987 to 1991.

After acheiving moderate success with their first CD in 1989, a second album in 1991 met with little notice, and the group disbanded shortly thereafter. The Tonight Show performance below from November 7, 1991 was their last. It gives a sample of just how good Animal Logic had become, yet the material from their second release was almost never played live. After hearing this, you'll wonder why.

Animal Logic on MySpace

The Cheese Shop

2006-09-23T09:05:00.000-04:00

John Cleese and Michael Palin...If you've heard of 20% of these...you know more than me.

Wes Montgomery

2006-09-23T00:57:00.000-04:00

The great Wes Montgomery....playing Round Midnight...

With A Little Help From My Friends...

2006-09-23T00:46:00.000-04:00

Joe Cocker at Woodstock...

Joe Cocker
Uploaded by Hanvak

Lively Up Yourself

2006-09-23T00:33:00.000-04:00

Bob Marley Live...he was great at messing with tempos to drive stuff live. From the 1977 concert at the Rainbow Theatre in London

Bob Marley Lively Up Yourself
Uploaded by kitano78

The Great Buddy Rich

2006-09-23T00:01:00.000-04:00

An incredible talent and maybe the best drummer I'll see in my lifetime....this is from a 1981 Sinatra Special...when he was no kid anymore.

Buddy Rich & Frank Sinatra
Uploaded by Hanvak

Maybe the funniest seven minutes in the history of television

2006-09-22T22:31:00.000-04:00

The Upper Class Twit of the Year

Last Year's Competitors:
Vivian Smith-Smythe-Smith
Has an O-level in chemo-hygiene

Simon Zinc-Trumpet-Harris
Married to a very attractive table lamp

Nigel Incubator Jones
Best friend is a tree
Stockbroker in his spare time

Gervaise Brook-Hampster
Used as a wastepaper basket by his father

Oliver St John-Mollusk
Said to be this year's outstanding twit

The Course:

-Walking Along The Straight Line
-The Matchbox Jump
-Kicking The Beggar
-The Hunt Ball Photograph
-Reversing Into The Old Lady
-Waking The Neighbour
-Insulting The Waiter
-The Bar
-Shooting The Rabbits
-Taking The Bras Off The Debutantes
-Shooting Themselves

This is the rare full version with all the events. Incredible announcing by John Cleese. If you don't laugh at this, you may never laugh.

George Benson & John McLaughlin

2006-09-22T22:15:00.000-04:00

George doing the Miles Davis standard "All Blues"...I ran into George on a plane between Orlando and Phoenix about ten years ago, and we have talked on occasion since. A very smart businessman on top of being a great talent. Since people heard him do pop stuff like "Breezin", they often never knew what a great player he was. I also produced an interview with him in Orlando in the early 80's for a television program and the soundcheck video we shot was some of the hottest Benson I ever saw anywhere...was I think with a 17-piece band at the Tupperware Center in Kissimmee. Maybe it'll make it to the Web someday. The second part of this clip is John McLaughlin doing "In A Silent Way", another great Miles tune, with another Miles tune after with Dennis Chambers and Ray Cooper.

George Benson
Uploaded by Hanvak

My Generation

2006-09-22T22:04:00.000-04:00

The Who from The Smothers Brothers Show...good ole Tommy Smothers...this is where Keith overloaded the explosive charge at the end and about deafened Pete forever. His tinnuits started here...

The Who
Uploaded by Hanvak

The Beatles - Nowhere Man

2006-09-22T21:44:00.000-04:00

A 1966 recording from Munich, Germany...maybe the only live video in concert I've ever seen where they weren't being drowned out by hysterical screaming...

The beatles
Uploaded by Hanvak

Higher Ground

2006-09-22T21:01:00.000-04:00

Steviw Wonder doing "Higher Ground" from the German show Beat-Club. From maybe the best record to ever come out of Detroit - "Innervisions". I had the pleasure of meeting him one night in a small club in L.A. about ten years ago. An incredible talent.

What's Goin' On

2006-09-22T20:50:00.000-04:00

Marvin Gave with a killer version of this tune on the Motown 25th Anniversary Special with a great narrative from Gaye. I bought this video years ago largely to get this tune...but there is certainly a lot of other great stuff on the video.

Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
Uploaded by chilavert

The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing

2006-09-22T20:02:00.003-04:00

Frank Zappa doing this tune on Saturday Night Live...an obvious favorite for personal reasons...lol.

Frank Zappa - The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing

Zappa Does Stairway

2006-09-22T19:33:00.000-04:00

Frank playing that totally overused "Stairway To Heaven", a song no one will ever know the meaning of short of Robert Plant or whoever wrote it. Note the interesting horn section choreography. I believe this was recorded in Cleveland. Enjoy.

Frank zappa - stairway to heaven
Uploaded by touffu

Bill Evans - My Foolish Heart

2006-09-22T17:19:00.000-04:00

The late Bill Evans from a Jazz 625 show originally done for the BBC in 1965. Larry Bunker on drums and Chuck Israels on bass. I saw these on very expensive Japanese laserdiscs (there were two shows) years ago at Tower Records in Las Vegas. I debated buying them...but did...and wondered if I'd been stupid all the way home. Then I cued one up when I got back...and within 30 seconds knew I'd made the right decision. This is my favorite track from those shows. The touch and subtlety here has never been matched by another pianist.

VSOP II In Chicago On Soundstage - 1984

2006-09-22T16:56:00.000-04:00

I actually begged a cable operator in the Lakeland area to tape this for me, which he did, more than 20 years ago. A very young Wynton Marsalis being pushed hard by Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams. Really hard. The tune is Thelonius Monk's "Well You Needn't".

Wynton Marsalis VSOP II
Uploaded by Itsme

Every Breath You Take

2006-09-22T15:52:00.000-04:00

I post this not only because I like The Police in their later days, but because of a good story Sting told a few years ago on VH1's Storytellers. He mentioned that he'd gotten all kinds of notes and comments from couples telling him this was "their song", that it had been played at their weddings, etc. Sting's reply was one of surprise, as the song was actually written to describe obsession and control, rather than love. Go figure.

The Police - Every Breath You Take
Uploaded by Discodandan

Christine Lavin - The Best New Folk Singer Of The Last 20 Years

2006-09-22T15:27:00.000-04:00

Not many people have heard of Christine Lavin...she's a great songwriter that like Loudon Wainwright III, can be very funny, and yet write beautifully poignant songs too. Below is a tune from her Web site...a link...of a song called "What Was I Thinking?"...with three different endings...you can vote too.
Christine Lavin - What Was I Thinking?

Loudon Wainwright III

2006-09-22T15:03:00.000-04:00

Loudon Wainwright III - a guy that thinks unlike nearly anyone else you'll ever hear, and has the gift of expressing it in wonderful ways. A funny guy that can also write wonderfully poignant serious songs as well - samples of each below. And as a few of us know him, GorDonDon...look for him on MySpace.
Nocturnal Stumblebutt

Homeless

Mahavishnu Orchestra - The Noonward Race

2006-09-22T14:47:00.000-04:00

One of, if not the, greatest fusion bands, maybe the greatest band of all time. John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer, Jerry Goodman and Rick Laird. This is one of their great live tunes, "The Noonward Race", the best version of which was actually issued on the obscure Mar Y Sol Pop Festival release in 1972. And somewhere there are the full tapes, and film most likely, of that show, buried in a vault somewhere. The version here is from the BBC in 1972. Billy Cobham just explodes through this number.

Jean-Michel Pilc - One Helluva Pianist

2006-09-22T08:35:00.000-04:00

In the summer of 2006 I was poking around some jazz Web sites looking for club info in New York City...and saw a number of raving reviews for a French pianist named Jean-Michel Pilc. Which isn't something I'm used to seeing from New York reviews. I found some snippets of him on the Web, and decided I needed to go to NYC to see him. A couple of weeks later he showed up in Philadelphia at Chris' Jazz Cafe with the drummer Ari Hoenig. The kind hostess at Chris', who had gotten used to seeing my face, seated me next to Pilc's right hand at the piano. I was, frankly, boggled. Especially by the left hand. The most ambidextrous playing I have ever seen - the fact he's self-taught, like Allan Holdsworth of guitar fame, may help explain his radical approach. I talked to him outside between sets, and he's a very interesting guy with some not surprisingly very independent thinking. There are links below to his Web site and to one of his song videos, a Monk medley. And the video doesn't do him justice. If you can find this guy, go listen, and watch.

Jean-Michel Pilc

Jean-Michel Pilc - Monk Medley

Richard Thompson - I Misunderstood

2006-09-21T18:34:00.000-04:00

Richard Thompson (solo here) from Rumour & Sigh...a truly great CD. This guy can write songs, and also play guitar, like very few other people can. Rumour & Sigh was nominated for a Grammy in 1991, and contains some of the blackest lyrics you'll ever hear on a record, bar none. It may have to do with the fact Thompson was spending a lot of time hanging around Loudon Wainwright III at this point, one of the most unusual (and gifted) songwriters to ever grace the planet Earth. A sample from the tune "Mother Knows Best"...

Well your baby's hungry
Your baby's sick
Don't make babies
That'll do the trick
Put another string of barbed wire
In your little love nest
It's better than a cardboard box
'Cause mother knows best

Bruce Hornsby - The End Of The Innocence

2006-09-21T18:08:00.000-04:00

This is from the "A Night On The Town" video...the late Joe Henderson on sax. This video was produced in conjuction with the CD of the same name, and reportedly Capitol spent huge dollars renting a soundstage in L.A. and flying in music critics from around the world for the event. And although either "A Night On The Town" or "Across The River" could have, maybe should have, been huge hits, they weren't. However, this video remains, and the lighting and audio are of great quality, even if the director was overly enamored with trucking/arcing the front camera to death at times, partially missing some important solos in the process - if you have good musicians, it's not necessary to make every shot move to keep things more "interesing" - take a lesson from Stanley Dorfman of the BBC. Jerry Garcia's playing on two tracks on this DVD, recorded not long before his death, is simply amazing - the solo on "Across The River" is the single best summary of Garcia's playing I've ever seen (I confess to not being a genuine DeadHead), the chemistry between Hornsby and Garcia is obvious. Shawn Colvin also does an excellent duet of "Lost Soul" with Hornsby here, and Bela Fleck appears as well. Finally available on DVD - buy it...you will play it to death. A link to "The End Of The Innocence" with the great Joe Henderson is below.

Bruce Hornsby - The End Of The Innocence

Bela Fleck & The Flecktones

2006-09-21T17:56:00.000-04:00

Bela Fleck & The Flecktones in the studio...good video...but I'd like to find one of the band with FutureMan on the Drumitar.

The Late Great Michel Petrucciani

2006-09-21T17:24:00.000-04:00

The French dwarf pianist, he had special extensions built so he could reach the pedals. A great talent...I saw him in Clearwater, Florida in the late 1980's. Died of pnemonia at age 36. Here with Steve Gadd and Anthony Jackson.

Sting - Burn For You Live

2006-09-21T16:54:00.000-04:00

This is from the "Bring On The Night" film/video...released in conjunction with the formation of the Dream Of The Blue Turtles band. Although the video is a tad over-dramatic in this respect, it truly was a leap for Sting to leave the shell of The Police and introduce millions of fans to jazz. Omar Hakim plays a huge solo on this...Branford Marsalis and the late Kenny Kirkland are here too.

Andy Summers...a nice guy

2006-09-21T16:29:00.000-04:00

I spent awhile about 10 years ago talking to Andy between sets at The Baked Potato in Hollyweird, and corresponding with him for some time after. A very nice guy, and a great talent. One little known fact about Andy is that he had a very short stint with Soft Machine in early 1968, but didn't record with them as far as anyone knows. He did two really good fusion records in the early 90's, "Charming Snakes" and especially "World Gone Strange" below. Another little known fact is that his band was the original house band for "The Dennis Miller Show" around this same time, and the show's closing theme came from those recordings. However, he only played the gig for a month before splitting. That band also featured Chad Wackerman (seen here). Also in this video are Bill Evans on sax and vocals, and Darryl Jones on bass. The video identifies this tune as Pennhill March", it was actually released as "World Gone Strange"...odd...I know.

Roy Orbison...Pretty Woman...Surprised?

2006-09-21T16:11:00.000-04:00

Roy Orbison was a unique talent...he wrote great simple songs that told stories, and he had a voice of amazing range...I think I heard him once described as the "Pavarotti of Rockabilly" or words to that effect. This is from the "Black & White Night" originally done for Cinemax in 1988, I believe. Among the all-stars on this video are Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Tom Waits, and a female backing trio of Bonnie Raitt, Jennifer Warnes and K.D. Lang, if you can believe that one. The band with Orbison here is Elvis's long-time backing band, led by James Burton, who basically explains how to play rock guitar with his part of the great solo duel with Bruce Springsteen in this video. Bruce isn't at that level...but he has a lot of fun here. This is available on DVD - a great find.

Sting...a very talented guy...

2006-09-21T16:05:00.000-04:00

Sting's "Shape of My Heart" from "Ten Summoners Tales"...a video that was shot during the recording sessions for the CD. Sadly, it has never been released on DVD as of 2006. Really a well done video.

Johnny Carson As Art Fern

2006-09-21T15:02:00.000-04:00

The Tea Time Movie...would love to find one with Carol Wayne.

Zappa Plays Whipping Post...The Small Band

2006-09-21T09:39:00.000-04:00

With the incomparable Bobby Martin on vocals...the man who later became "Robert Martin, Jr.", married Cybill Shepherd and was her pianist - along with Ray White, Chad Wackerman, Ike Willis, Allan Zavod and Scott Thunes on bass. From the video "Does Humor Belong In Music?", available again now on DVD. Scott Thunes has a MySpace site...go say hi...he says he's lonely. Really. Let Scott know you still care.

Scott Thunes on MySpace

Frank Zappa-Whipping Post
Uploaded by peakers

Another One From Spinal Tap

2006-09-21T09:02:00.000-04:00

"Bitch School", featuring the famous Marshall double-stack guitar.

Speaking Of Gone Mad...Spinal Tap

2006-09-21T08:41:00.000-04:00

The 1992 MTV version of "Majesty Of Rock". The video has even more cross-references than the song...I saw these guys live in Orlando about this time, and their parody band was more talented than 90% of the "real" bands out there. Orlando didn't get the joke...only about 1000 people at the Bob Carr Auditorium. A guy down the row was waving a foil-wrapped potato, however, in his own little tribute to Harry Shearer (aka Derek Smalls). Some of the best Spinal Tap lyrics ever in this tune, including -

"When we die, do we hog the sky?
Do we lurk in the murk of the seas?
What then, are we born again?
Just to sit asking questions like these?
I know for I told me so...

...and so on.

Spinal Tap - The Majesty Of Rock
Uploaded by trashking

Jeff Beck - Slingshot

2006-09-21T08:28:00.000-04:00

With Tony Hymas and Terry Bozzio - Arsenio Hall show 1990.

Jeff Beck - Sling Shot Live 1990
Uploaded by spotless-mind

Vernon Reid, Jack Bruce & Terry Bozzio - Manic Depression

2006-09-21T08:11:00.000-04:00

Recorded in Germany in 1995. A great example of Terry Bozzio's drum work with his "full kit", and some amazing playing.

The Wonderful Jonathan Winters...A Man Wired A Tad Differently Than Most...

2006-09-21T04:42:00.000-04:00

Jonathan Winters as Maude Frickert on Dean Martin...

Soft Machine Circa 1970

2006-09-21T03:50:00.000-04:00

The great English fusion band Soft Machine...Mike Ratledge - Keyboards, Hugh Hopper-Bass, Robert Wyatt-Drums and Vocal, Elton Dean-Sax. This is a mix of songs that appeared on their second and third records. Soft Machine "Third" is one of the great early records of jazz-fusion, and was in print for many, many years based largely on word of mouth reviews. These guys toured with Jimi Hendrix in 1968, I missed seeing them at the University of Toledo. My life for a time machine...

I wouldn't be caught dead watching American Idol...but...

2006-09-21T02:53:00.000-04:00

Something else I ran across linked on MojoFlix...the girl is named Bianca Ryan...11 years old...from Philadelphia...she has um...pitch. Am I the only one thinking it was like watching Janis Joplin at 11?

And now I find out the second week she actually did "Piece O' My Heart"...too funny. And she won the goofy show. Good for her.

Victor Wooten

2006-09-21T02:34:00.000-04:00

Bela Fleck's bassist and a member of the fusion group Vital Tech Tones. Regarded as god by a lot of bass players...an original of this can also be found at MojoFlix.

Aptly named I suppose - These are a few (well maybe more than a few) of "My Favorite Things"

2006-09-19T20:31:00.000-04:00

"My Favorite Things"...the great John Coltrane with McCoy Tyner, Eric Dolphy, Elvin Jones, and Jimmy Garrison.