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+--- Thread: Born on this day ... (/showthread.php?tid=12773)
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RE: Born on this day ... - Ruby - 10-07-2017
Béla Anton Leoš Fleck was born on this day in 1958, in New York City, USA. He’s named after Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, Austrian composer Anton Webern, and Czech composer Leoš Janáček – no pressure there then!!
He is a virtuoso (progressive, no less) banjo player having been initially drawn to that instrument by Earl Scruggs. Have to say, there must not be many banjo players who can lay claim to having recorded with luminaries such as Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Chick Corea and Jean-Luc Ponty, among others. The aforementioned number but a few on the list of his associations and he’s made 12 solo albums, as well as, of particular further note, with Abigail Washburn, his wife and fellow banjoist, and with his very funky and irrepressible band, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.
This, from Wiki … “Béla Fleck is widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players. His work spans many styles and genres, including jazz, bluegrass, classical, R&B, avant garde, and "world music", and he has produced a substantial discography and videography. He works extensively in both acoustic and electric media. Fleck has been nominated for Grammy Awards in more categories than any other artist, and has received 13 as of 2015.”
I like this … from the first Flecktones album …
RE: Born on this day ... - Ruby - 18-07-2017
Happy Birthday to Ricky Skaggs who was born on this day in 1954 in Cordell, Kentucky, USA. I’m not even going to attempt to paraphrase his illustrious career, nor his awards which are way too numerous to mention! Suffice to say the man is a leading light in country music and bluegrass, and has earned a great deal of respect in the biz, particularly within these genres.
He’s lauded for his playing of the mandolin (which he’s been handling since the age of 5, appearing on stage with Bill Monroe at the age of 6 – goodness!) as well as banjo, guitar and fiddle; he sings too, of course.
I have zero by way of an even remotely authoritative voice when it comes to country music, I’m sorry to say, but there is something in bluegrass (and ‘progressive bluegrass’ – apologies to purists) that I like a lot, so I’ve picked some tracks (mostly collaborative) that to my ill-educated ears reflect this aspect of his catalogue …
From Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder’s Ancient Tones – Walls of Time … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlrqY7wVe6E
The lovely “Wayfaring Stranger” from Emmylou’s Roses in the Snow – he sings harmony as well as playing guitar and violin … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ0BQhv0_00
“Soldier’s Son” with Barry Gibb (written by Gibb & Sons) from Music to My Ears …. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoAL9TG_XT4
And finally – this version of Bruce Hornsby’s “Mandolin Rain” from the album Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby, and which I do declare gives the original a sweet run for its money! Well, that’s my not very humble opinion, at any rate …
RE: Born on this day ... - Ruby - 19-07-2017
Bernie Leadon was born on this day in 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, and oddly enough, is another banjo/mandolin/guitar player and vocalist following hot on the heels of the one above! I’m beginning to suspect mandolins and banjos may be a Cancerian thing, not that anyone’s interested ‘cos nobody’s reading this stuff, but anyhow … back to business, lol!
Mr Leadon was a member of The Flying Burrito Brothers and an original member of the Eagles and is credited with shaping their country/rock sound with his harmonising skills and the instruments he played with the band, i.e. dobro, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, banjo B-Bender and acoustic and electric guitars. He’s on their first four albums and during that time was famously/infamously involved with Ronald and Nancy Reagan’s daughter Patti Davis, who as a result of this association was temporarily disowned by her parents for living in sin, and who is credited for co-writing a song with Bernie from One of These Nights (ironically enough the final track) which the rest of ‘em all disliked intensely. It IS kinda tame by comparison … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVoOk68T1SI .
He was with the Eagles up until after the recording of One of These Nights, at which point, purportedly, being unhappy with the band’s AOR leanings, and tired of rampant substance abuse in addition to the heavy touring schedule, he dumped the contents of a bottle of beer over Glenn Frey’s head and quit. He went his own way after that, making the odd collaborative album here and there, and doing session work with a host of diverse musos as well as producing. He has reunited with the Eagles for live performances and the like, occasionally, and much further down the line. He also made one solo album which I believe is better left unheard.
He appears on Gram Parson’s Grievous Angel … “In My Hour of Darkness” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbGdvpWgJVo
Wrote and sang this one for the Eagles, about his former Burrito Brothers bandmate … from “One of These Nights” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw4OeyRpMLU
Wrote the instrumental “Journey of the Sorcerer” from the same album … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbhAf62wfgE
And this is his too … “Bitter Creek” … from Desperado – fab song, IMNVHO …
RE: Born on this day ... - Ruby - 21-07-2017
Happy Birthday to the youngest of Robert Nesta Marley’s myriad progeny, Damian ‘Junior Gong’ Marley. Damian is the son of Miss World 1976, Cindy Breakspeare, and the late great Bob (who went by the nickname Tuff Gong). Damian got a double dose when the musical smarties were handed out - his beauty queen mama is also a jazz musician.
Mr Marley most junior has been performing since the age of 13 and has earned himself some respect as well as a few accolades for his personal brand of reggae/fusion … from Wiki “At the 2006 Grammy Awards, he won Best Reggae Album and Best Urban/Alternative Performance for Welcome to Jamrock. He is the only Jamaican reggae artist in history to win two Grammy Awards on the same night. He is also the only reggae artist to win in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category at the Grammy Awards.”
He also got involved with Mick Jagger, A R Rahman, Joss Stone and Dave Stewart in a one-off group they called SuperHeavy, releasing a single eponymously titled album in 2011 – a crazy cultural and stylistic melting pot that miraculously seems to have worked quite well … the title track …. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y99p4ev0oME
He’s just released a new album (09 July) - Stony Hill – this is from that … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO7zkLlBzDc
And this is from his aforementioned Grammy award winning album, Welcome to Jamrock ... my preference, but not representative of the album really, as it's the most chilled track on it - the rest of them pack a bit more punch ...
RE: Born on this day ... - Ruby - 22-07-2017
Al Di Meola was born on this day in 1954, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA – his heritage is Italian and he embraces jazz/fusion Latin and world music. He’s fairly unusual, I think, in that the reason he is so proficient is his absolutely dogged, entirely self-driven pursuit of excellence. He is self-taught, from what I can gather, and already having mastered basic ‘rock’ style guitar from listening to Elvis, the Beatles and their ilk in his early teens, (he practised between 8 to 10 hours a day, obviously when not at school) went on to develop a love of jazz/fusion just a few years later; not a path many teenagers would follow, in my experience!
He got his first big gig at the age of 19 with Chick Corea and Return to Forever. There really could not have been more auspicious a launch-pad for what has proven an exceedingly successful career - and he earned it, no question.
I’ve listened to a couple of his solo releases but am more familiar with his collaborative work with Paco de Lucia and John McLaughlin, and also with Stanley Clarke and Jean-Luc Ponty. One simply does/did not get to hang out on an equal footing with those guys without having some seriously impressive musical weight. He primarily plays acoustic guitars, preferring the sound which has less impact on his tinnitus, I believe, however on his most recent release, Elysium, he does go electric as well. For some bizarre reason, he found it necessary to remove his shirt for the album cover which is somewhat disconcerting, but fortunately, the sounds make up for any, errr, indiscretion. For goodness’s sake – who’s styling him?? Never mind – at least it’s not as bad as Kiss My Axe … oh Al!! Anyway – slightly sleazy album covers aside, it’s all good …
I know I’ve trotted this out on several occasions, but so what – it’s brilliant – from Friday Night in San Francisco – “Mediterranean Sundance” … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADwfyxpriAM
Ditto for this, from Passion, Grace & Fire – “Orient Blue Suite” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os67CB5Suls
From the aforementioned Kiss My Axe (sigh) …. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFIVXkIwZVo
From The Rite of Strings, with Stanley Clarke and Jean-Luc Ponty (could also have been named The Riot of Strings, IMHO) … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqwONKbLKyU
And finally, from Al, Put Your Shirt On … oh wait, sorry – Elysium …
, lol!!RE: Born on this day ... - Ruby - 23-07-2017
Andy Mackay was born on this day in 1946, in Lostwithiel, Cornwall, England. I doubt Roxy Music would have sounded even remotely like they did without his woodwinds (sax included in that category), and in addition, it was he who co-wrote their breakthrough single with Bryan Ferry … “Love is the Drug”. In fact, he was the melody maker on that particular track, whilst Ferry came up the lyrics; I think that happened on more than one occasion.
He’s made a couple of solo albums and has played for an eclectic assortment of artists, ranging from Duran Duran, Grace Jones, Brian Eno (with whom he goes back a long way), Paul McCartney and John Cougar/Mellencamp to Pavlov’s Dog and a few more inbetween! He was also responsible for the soundtrack to a 1970’s TV show name Rock Follies – however, I’m not going there.
From At the Sound of the Bell, Pavlov’s Dog – “Valkyrie” … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7RtIQLWchQ
From his solo album Resolving Contradictions, which from what I’ve managed to listen to so far, sounds quite fab … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIggV-ALpI0
And from Avalon, because the entire album is a simply sumptuous thing, IMHO – “While My Heart Is Still Beating” – written by Andy and BF, and preceded by this perfectly lovely little interlude - “India” … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDXkGLRBn1g …
RE: Born on this day ... - Jerome - 23-07-2017
Many moons ago I happened to end up in a situation where a friend of mine's girlfriend came over to stay. She brought a female friend with her. She could not stay with them because they were doing the nasty. So she ended up with me, much to her disgust, and to try smooth the waters I put 'Avalon' on the turntable. It didn't work. I want my money back......
RE: Born on this day ... - Ruby - 23-07-2017
^Lol! You had a lucky escape then as she obviously had very poor taste.
RE: Born on this day ... - Jerome - 23-07-2017
Oh well - shit happens. Maybe she liked Donna Summer - who knows???
RE: Born on this day ... - Ruby - 25-07-2017
Mark Clarke was born on this day in 1950, in Liverpool, England. Seems to me he’s one of those unsung musicians who’ve actually been stalwarts behind the scenes. He’s a bass player and vocalist and has worked with prog jazz outfit Colosseum, Ken Hensley on some of his solo albums as well as with Uriah Heep, Natural Gas (a one off with Joey Molland of Badfinger, Jerry Shirley of Humble Pie and others), Mountain, Billy Squier, Ian Hunter and Torque.
He invaded the USA sometime in the 70’s and still lives there; that move provided him with the opportunity to tour with any number of bands and he did some sessions with Meatloaf, Mink Deville, Cher and Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow.
Clarke has recorded one solo album, Moving to the Moon, together with guitarist Ray DeTone which as far as listening goes, seems to be nowhere to be found.
Coincidentally, “Nowhere to be Found” (which is also nowhere to be found – in video format at any rate) is a wonderful track from Colosseum’s most recent album, 2014’s Time On Our Side (not sure I’d agree with that sentiment but they obviously think it is!).
Clarke sounds fantastic on this - the only track he sings on the release, and which I listened to on Deezer. Spotify would have it, I’m sure, but Spotify doesn’t work at the southernmost tip of Africa. https://www.deezer.com/album/8696355. I like the album cover art too … even if they did do a Donald …
![[Image: R-6313611-1416235119-8656.jpeg.jpg]](https://img.discogs.com/8zBFOs1j1PvKSDV4NLmyuGmxfTM=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-6313611-1416235119-8656.jpeg.jpg)
Here’s a track from Colosseum’s Daughter of Time (sensing a horological theme with this lot) – Jack Bruce’s “Theme for an Imaginary Western” being belted out by veteran soul and blues singer, Chris Farlowe … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS4Px5u082M
The unfortunate, late, philandering Felix Pappalardi (who came to a sticky end at the hand of his enraged wife) produced the Natural Gas album and sang backing vocals on this … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Neen1ASatok
And the lead track from Uriah Heep’s Demons and Wizards, which Mr Clarke both co-wrote and sings on with Ken Hensley; “The Wizard” …