So glad we had this time together

The old show has ended...the new show has just begun!

One Track Mind: The Allman Brothers Band "Melissa" (1972)

by Pico

Long before I was able to digest the epic, twenty-five minute meandering noodlings of Dicky Betts and Duane Allman, I deeply dug the Allman Brothers' "Melissa." It's a wistful, country-flavored ballad that was easy to learn how to play on a beat-up Yamaha acoustic guitar, and since it was one of the more popular cuts from Eat A Peach, I'm sure I wasn't the only kid who tried to take it on.

WE'VE MOVED!: Dablog by DaSlob is now ... SOMETHING ELSE. Find the remainder of this review through the new link.

Arthur Brown - The Voice Of Love (2008)

by Pico

From the God Of Hellfire to an Angel Of Love?

That's the one-hit wonder from 1968 who brought us that singularly psychedelic, bombastic classic "Fire." Brown had been mostly out of the public focus since then, but one of rock's most flashy and colorful characters never faded. Nah, he was merely obscured.

WE'VE MOVED!: Dablog by DaSlob is now ... SOMETHING ELSE. Find the remainder of this review through the new link.

Sleeper picks: Dave Brubeck, "Trio Brubeck" (1993)

NICK DERISO: "Trio Brubeck," though not the first time that Dad Dave had collaborated with the kids, had the randy feel of a whole new direction for the legendary pianist.

Following the 1970s recording "Two Generations of Brubeck," and the more recent "Quiet as the Moon" with son Darius (also on MusicMasters), Brubeck sat down with other sons Chris and Dan for his first trio work in some time.

WE'VE MOVED!: Dablog by DaSlob is now ... SOMETHING ELSE. Find the remainder of this review through the new link.

Quickies: Three From Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records

For this installment of Quickies, the inaugural releases of a new label dedicated to presenting the music of talented up and coming jazz musicians are highlighted. These musicians are all members of an artist collective, the Brooklyn Jazz Underground, and this spring saw the launching of the collective's Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records.

BJU Records' mission statement goes like this:

"Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records is an independent and artist-run label committed to creative and adventurous contemporary improvised music. We strive to put out quality recordings that define the shape of today's jazz. BJU Records is a sister company of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground bandleader collective."

Sounds to me like a worthy goal to aspire to.

WE'VE MOVED!: Dablog by DaSlob is now ... SOMETHING ELSE. Find the remainder of this review through the new link.

DaSlobTribute: Cab Calloway

NICK DERISO: Between the tombstones of the two World Wars, there emerged the knock-down joys of swing music. Perhaps no single figure from the period was more affable, or more famous, than was Cab Calloway.

Turns out, he's still salve for a conflict-weary country, even after all this time.

Back then, the repeal of Prohibition, and the slow upward climb of American economics after the Great Depression fueled the frenzy around this upbeat jazz. The time was right, and maybe it is again, for an explosive, even wild, popular music.

Enter the hip phraseology -- ooh-bop-sh'bam! -- fresh, lowdown jackets and wide-brimmed hats. Enter, too, Cabell Calloway, who began his career as a big-band leader in 1929.

WE'VE MOVED!: Dablog by DaSlob is now ... SOMETHING ELSE. Find the remainder of this review through the new link.

One Track Mind: Al Green with Chicago "Tired Of Being Alone" (1973)

by Pico

Last month Al Green released a new album, Lay It Down, which I'd recommend to any fan of pure, old-school soul. Later this month Chicago's Stone Of Sisyphus, originally record in 1993, will finally be officially released. But twenty years even before that was taped, both of these acts were regulars at the top of the charts. It would've been a sublime combination if both of them had recorded together then at the peak of their respective careers.

Actually, for one song, they did just that.

WE'VE MOVED!: Dablog by DaSlob is now ... SOMETHING ELSE. Find the remainder of this review through the new link.

Walter Becker - 11 Tracks Of Whack (1994)

by Pico

It's not our nature here to get stuck on an artist; there's too many of 'em worth chatting up to get into a rut on a single one. No siree, we love 'em and leave 'em and maybe love 'em again after an appropriate separation period. Case in point: Nick revisiting the Prince Of Darkness just the other day after we've ignored him for a while.

So I'm surprising myself writing about a Walter Becker album for the second time this week (don't worry, there's no more forthcoming, as we'll have his discography completely covered after this). In this case, covering Becker's debut solo album 11 Tracks Of Whack makes sense to provide more perspective to his brand-new Circus Money CD. It's probably safe to assume that most people who've read that review have never heard the former album and since I broached it, curiosity could possibly set in.

WE'VE MOVED!: Dablog by DaSlob is now ... SOMETHING ELSE. Find the remainder of this review through the new link.

Manu Dibango, "Wakafrika" (1994)

NICK DERISO: Dibango has a perfectly balanced feel for both the lithe American jazz form but also the murkier pleasures of traditional African music.

What's almost criminal is that he couldn't elicit a second glance on your average U.S. sidewalk. That, despite the fact that Dibango, 60 at the time of this recording, scored his first international hit in 1972, the million-selling "Soul Makossa."

WE'VE MOVED!: Dablog by DaSlob is now ... SOMETHING ELSE. Find the remainder of this review through the new link.

Miles Davis, "Sorcerer" (1967)

NICK DERISO: "Sorcerer" would find Miles Davis letting go of the wheel.

That willingness to experiment girded listeners for the coming journey between the more traditional approach Davis was then rapidly abandoning and an aggressive ingenuity which would soon become closely associated with this, his "second great group."

WE'VE MOVED!: Dablog by DaSlob is now ... SOMETHING ELSE. Find the remainder of this review through the new link.

Walter Becker - Circus Money (2008)

by Pico

Steely Dan albums don't come around that often. Donald Fagen records appear even less frequently. Walter Becker CD's are rarer still: he gave us 11 Tracks Of Whack back in 1994, a delightfully campy glimpse into facets of himself he didn't often show as co-founder of Steely Dan. So far, that's been the entire catalog of Walter Becker, solo artist.

Until today, with the official unfurling of Circus Money.

WE'VE MOVED!: Dablog by DaSlob is now ... SOMETHING ELSE. Find the remainder of this review through the new link.

Betty Carter, with Kenny Burrell, "Inside Betty Carter" (1964)

NICK DERISO: Starting her career with a winning performance at a Paradise Theater amateur contest in her native Detroit, Betty Carter first came to a large number of ears as a vocalist with Lionel Hampton's group in the late 1940s. (Hamp, in fact, is the one who gave her the early nickname Betty Bebop.)

Later, she partnered with Ray Charles for a popular series of tunes, including the timeless "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (embedded below).

That made her counting this record (as well as the 1957 LP "Out There," on the Peacock label) as one of her favorites all the more notable.

EWE'VE MOVED!: Dablog by DaSlob is now ... SOMETHING ELSE. Find the remainder of this review through the new link.

Milt Jackson, "The Prophet Speaks" (1994)

NICK DERISO: The second LP by vibesman Milt Jackson on Quincy Jones' Qwest label made his late-career reemergence complete.

Where the earlier "Reverence and Compassion" featured small-group offerings coupled with lush, orchestral pieces, "The Prophet Speaks" -- issued just five years before Jackson's passing -- was far bluesier and much more substantial.

WE'VE MOVED!: Dablog by DaSlob is now ... SOMETHING ELSE. Find the remainder of this review through the new link.

Quickies: Albuquerque/Amirom/Barata, Brian Blade Fellowship, Paolo Nutini

by Pico

Here we are nearly a week into June and I'm still stuck on some May releases. Time to clear the docket a little bit so we can push ahead with some newer stuff. Enter the ever-handy vehicle for expressing briefer thoughts, Quickies.

True to the tagline at the end, I also inserted a "new to me" selection; one that's been out there stateside for almost a year and a half now, but a good friend sent to me just recently. It's a CD by a young guy from Scotland whose last name I still can't pronounce, but I've had a hard time keeping his music out of my rotation for the last month or so.

WE'VE MOVED!: Dablog by DaSlob is now ... SOMETHING ELSE. Find the remainder of this review through the new link.