Saxophonist Greg Abate has been leading the charge of post-bop excellence around the state and remains a constant fixture in the area when he isn’t touring around the world. To coincide with the release of a new live album, Gratitude, he and I spoke on the phone about the new album, his music and his […]
Okee dokee folks… “We are stardust, we are golden” and we are coming up on the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. To celebrate, my girlfriend and I took a trip to Bethel, NY, where it all happened. This was not my first time there. At the time of the 25th, my duo Fuzek-Rossoni had just played […]
James Montgomery is a busy guy. The blues legend is constantly touring. “I’m one of these guys who’s never gone off the road. I’m probably performing about 100 gigs a year right now,” he tells us. We caught Montgomery somewhere between performances in Texas and in Ireland, where he also coordinates a blues festival. Ireland? […]
Sweet Dreams – How Ya Dune? On their debut EP, How Ya Dune?, Sweet Dreams kick things off with “Heaven Sent,” which has a power pop meets You’re Living Me Over Me-era Dinosaur Jr. vibe, especially with the production. Singer/Guitarist Eric Smith may lack J. Mascis’ guitar pyrotechnics, but he does a good job of capturing […]
Rhode Island’s long list of jazz musicians began with George M. Cohan. George was born in Providence during 1878. He was to grow up to become a leader in Broadway musicals. His credits include, being a giant entertainer, actor, composer, lyricist, jazz singer, dancer, producer and playwright. George was considered among the most important music […]
To help shine a light on the lives of working musicians, I’ve been interviewing my peers about performing and balancing their lives to make the music happen, and asking if they see a difference between playing for art’s sake or as a job. For this final article I talked to percussionist Ryan Kowal, a fantastic […]
Courtney Swain – Between Blood and Ocean Courtney Swain, the singer and keyboardist for Boston’s experimental rock group Bent Knee, has taken the next step in an impressive solo career with her latest full-length, Between Blood and Ocean. For the type of genre pigeonholing journalists love, Between Blood and Ocean is a formidable task. Citing […]
Okee dokee folks… The other night I went to see the film Rocketman, a pseudo-biopic about Elton John — I think it’s being advertised as a “rock ‘n’ roll fantasy.” I was a huge fan of Elton back in the ’70s, have seen him in concert a couple of times and even shook his pudgy […]
The warmer months are always prime music time around Rhode Island, and jazz is no exception. To make your life easier, here is a list of a few performances to help you get that calendar filled up. Over the past couple years, the music scene has been blessed with a growing number of regular sessions. Check […]
Okee dokee folks… As the temperatures rise so will my annual annoyance with the heat. By the way, climate change is a real thing. We are screwed, but enjoy this summer — have fun, go see shows. By next summer we will be fully into election season and regime change should be the priority of […]