This is a video blog. In memory of the Unforgettable Dawn Hampton, who left us one year ago. We love you, Dawn. “Swinging at the Cat Club (The Swing Society Song)” Words and Music By Dawn Hampton Performed by: Catherine Russell – vocals; Ron Sunshine – vocals and harmonica; Kenny Ascher – piano; Jim Greene – bass; Curtis Nowosad – drums; Matt Hong – Clarinet. The session was produced by...
Read MoreI believe I met Paul Tillotson at Tramps, the classic, beloved NYC nightclub that was on 21st Street, just east of 6th Avenue, where I had a regular Friday evening gig for many years. This must have been around 1991 or ’92. I have no idea who introduced us. But I do know that as soon as I heard him play, it was like a door opened for me musically that had never been open before. Here was a guy who was a great jazz piano player,...
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Bobby Hebb popped into my mind just now. I wanted to hear his voice, and voila, thanks to YouTube, here he is singing his best-known song, “Sunny.” I love everything about this video, from the song itself, to the tempo change, to his tasty guitar playing, to the raw emotion in his voice, to that awesome ElectroVoice RE-15 he’s singing into. Never hurts to have Ron Carter playing electric bass! Definitely one of the...
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I don’t know what got me thinking about summer jobs. When I was in my early 20s I had a pretty memorable one in the lake region of northern Michigan, near Traverse City. I was pretty much staying with my girlfriend in New York at the time, had a cheap apartment in Philly where my stuff resided at the whopping rate of $150 a month, and was supposed to have been commuting to New York on weekends to a shitty job selling oriental...
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First of all, nothing is like great sex. Let’s just get that out of the way right now. But sometimes, for me at least, music can come close. It can also feel like bad, awkward sex. That’s another story for another day. Let’s concentrate on the good experiences. I know my perspective as a musician is different from that of the non-musician listener. But I think we all share a sort of elemental, primitive relationship...
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I woke up today to various Happy Fourth of July greetings on social media, from all over the world, and it starting me thinking. 2015! How did we get here? My mind started scrolling back through previous July 4 holidays. It was by far my favorite holiday as a kid, due to my extreme pyromania and obsession with fireworks. Later in life my band worked just about every 4th of July. Especially memorable were the couple of times we were...
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