Listening & Reading

I picked up a new portable MP3 player this week. My old player only held a hour of music and the proprietary software wasn’t compatible with the playlists generated by Media Monkey.

Nothing special about the player, it was whatever was on sale at Kmart. However, the real story is the coupon that came with the player. It entitled me to 40 MP3 downloads from the eMusic site.

Several years ago I had subscribed to eMusic and found a nice selection of jazz, including releases from the Concord Jazz label. But at that time it did not seem like the site was adding a lot of new jazz and I soon canceled my subscription.

Fast-forwarding to today, I am greatly impressed by the selection on eMusic. They’re still posting material from the now-expanded Concord family of labels. Additionally, they have releases from many smaller labels including Sunnyside, Basin Street and Arbors. I also found Eric Reed’s 2006 release “Here” from the Max Jazz label at eMusic. The recording has been on my wish list ever since hearing Reed with Herlin Riley at Dizzy’s Club in 2006.

The downloads include album cover art and the MP3s are encoded at a variable bit rate which is usually in the 200kbps range which is sufficient audio quality for my ears.

Needless to say, it took no time at all for me to run through my free downloads! With the monthly subscription rate at $9.99 for 30 downloads; I expect to remain with eMusic for a while.



The other day I ran across the newly posted official website of composer, pianist and writer Dave Frishberg. The site is attractively designed and containis a wealth of material.

As one would expect from the composer of such delights as “I’m Hip” and “Blizzard of Lies,” Frishberg’s prose is well written and witty. For example, check out this story that combines Tiny Tim, Carol Sloane and Cecil Taylor among others.

Two Reviews

Folk Music
Deep Blue Organ Trio
Origin # 82489

The tradition of the organ trio in jazz goes back to at least the 1950’s. Much of the history of this distinctive sound was made in the clubs and bars of Philadelphia. It is groups such as the Deep Blue Organ Trio that are keeping the tradition alive.

As guitarist Bobby Broom puts it, “What we do is kind of a folk music because of the legacy of organ combos in jazz.” Broom says, “The organ used to be in all the clubs. We used to groove to it, go out to the neighborhood tavern and hang out, sit at the bar, listen to the organ groups, and have a good time.”

For their latest release, Folk Music, the Chicago-based trio digs into the heart of the music and serves up nine tasty tracks. There are several standards on the disc like Johnny Mercer’s “I Thought About You” which chugs along at a medium tempo in delightful fashion. To my ears this is the proper pace for the organ, guitar, drums group. No finger-busting tempos will be found here, just a steady stroll through the melody.

Taken at a quicker pace is the Hank Mobley bebop anthem “This I Dig Of You.” However, guitarist Bobby Broom, keyboard wizard Chris Foreman and drummer Greg Rockingham allow the melody to shine through with the correct amount of embellishment.

Folk Music is a worthy addition to the lexicon of the Hammond B3 in jazz.

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Last week I promised a look at some software designed for bringing order to the chaos of a wide-scattered media collection. The program in question is called Media Monkey and it contains all the tools necessary to put your digital house in order.

I’ve been using Media Monkey for several months to digitize and catalog my music collection. The program has a built in CD ripper that makes adding tracks or entire discs a one or two step operation.

With direct connections to the CDDB database of recorded music as well as Amazon.com’s catalog, it’s a simple process to tag your tracks for sorting. The collection can be sorted by artist, album title, individual song title, genre, date recorded and a host of other variables.

The program includes a music player, playlist generator and many other features too numerous to mention. At $19.95 Media Monkey is a bargain worth considering when the music collection threatens to take over your life.

Jazz Multimedia (part 2)

Continuing last week’s topic, here are a couple of sites that deserve our attention. Feel free to pass along any online gems deserving of wider recognition send an email or use the comments link..

Bret Primack is a noted Jazz Journalist, website creator and video producer. Over the years he’s maintained a website with the beboppish title “Bird Lives.”

The current incarnation is a gathering place for Bret’s many enterprises. Found here are links to the artist sites he has created and manages. Sonny Rollins and Dr. Billy Taylor are just two of the jazz luminaries found here. There is so much more here than this space can do justice. Check out the site for yourself and enjoy!

Jazz journalism is also the topic at Jazz House, the website of the Jazz Journalists Assoc. If reading about or writing about Jazz is your favorite thing this site is a treasure trove. Anyone with an eye for jazz photography will also find an online gallery here.

The bulk of the space at Jazz House is devoted to a showcase of the work of the members of the Jazz Journalists Assoc. There also is a thriving online community here with a wide variety of discussion topics. Well worth repeated visits.

Last but not least is the Ellington on the Web site. Don’t be put off by the 1990’s style of the webpage. There is a ton of information and links on this single page that seems to scroll on forever. A cosmetic and organizational make-over is way overdue.

Much of the material here is the product of the Duke LYM (Love You Madly) online discussion group. This is not your typical musician site but a source of serious scholarly information.

Next week on MFT I will review a new recording and report on some software designed to organize your digital media collection.

Jazz Multimedia

One of the problems with online videos is the simple fact that they’re online. Until the day comes when the output of websites such as You Tube is available on the living room television, online video will remain out of the mainstream.

That being said, a jazz fan searching for videos on the web stands a great chance of having a less-than-satisfactory experience. The search engines of the major video sites rely extensively on the tags assigned to the videos by whoever posted the clip. It is hit or miss as to what a search on the word Jazz will turn up. One time the results will point to an Ellington video. The next search will point to a Kenny G clip.

I say all this by way of introduction to the Jazz Tube website. Actually, Jazz Tube is a group of websites. Here on one rather lengthy page are viewers from the You Tube and Daily Motion video sites. You’ll find links to jazz videos categorized by genre (Mainstream, Hard Bop etc.)

Along the right side is a column of artist websites produced by Jazz Tube’s creator Harvey Bloomfield. The individual sites have a well-researched biography of the artist and a selection of videos.

A couple of caveats about the site. The web page is way too long and requires an inordinate amount of scrolling to see all the content. The site designer would have done better to have created multiple short pages.

Secondly, there are numerous advertisements and links to commercial sites scattered throughout Jazz Tube. It can be a challenge to differentiate between ads and actual content.

Obviously a lot of work went into this site and everyone connected should be commended. I heartily recommend Jazz Tube.