MOG - giantsteps's Posts

The Half of It

giantsteps — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:53:14 GMT

The Half of It’s newly released self-titled CD has recently found its way into my CD collection. This Philadelphia based quartet’s brand of jazz fusion makes you sit up and take notice.

I’m a writer and I usually listen to music while writing. Some music is good for that. This CD isn’t and that’s a good thing. When I’m listening to The Half of It, I want to pay attention to what’s going on in the music. It doesn’t fade into the background. There is so much going on musically and I want to hear every bit of it.

This CD is full of original tunes. The rhythm section is tight and has a really good feel. My favorite track is D’faij. It’s really funky and has inspired some of my best chair dancing (dancing whilst remaining seated) to date.

Check out their website here and their MySpace page here. http://www.myspace.com/thehalfofit The CD is available for sale at CD Baby. http://cdbaby.com/cd/halfofit2

Patrick Bettison "Walkin' All Around"

giantsteps — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:31:42 GMT

Patrick Bettison’s Walkin’ All Around is a unique blend of jazz improvisation and world beats. I might be a bit biased, but I think it’s a great CD. Patrick Bettison is my husband, and he recorded Walkin’ All Around in our small two bedroom apartment. I’d hunker down in the bedroom while he recorded himself beating on a TV table in the living room. The living-room floor was constantly strewn with cables. He was always looking for new objects to shake or beat for percussion–boxes of couscous, vitamin bottles. Sometimes I’d timidly stick my head through the door and ask if I could get a drink of water.

Now that the recording, mixing and mastering of the CD is done, you’d think I’d never want to hear it again, but I still want to listen to it. I slip it into the CD player on my commute to work. It’s one of my favorite CD’s.

The tracks on the CD range from silly to sad. Some have a New Age feel and some sound like traditional jazz. My favorite tracks are Boxing the Clown, Walkin’ All Around, and Missed Friend. Check out his MySpace page. http://www.myspace.com/patrickbettison

Soul Cycle "Urban Organics"

giantsteps — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 22:19:28 GMT

I recently got a new CD and was playing it while writing one of my blogs. “What’s this?” my husband asked when he came into the room. “This is good. What is it?” he asked again.

I didn’t want to tell him. It is rare that I find music that he can’t identify, but thinks is good. After letting him ask a few more times I finally came clean and told him.

Soul Cycle is a New York based group that blows my mind. I’ve been listening to Urban Organics constantly for several days. Once I find a CD I like I listen to it over and over again for a month straight.

The funky rhythms make me want to get up and dance. When I’m driving they make me go a little too fast. I guess I can’t hold the band responsible for my speeding tickets, can I?

I’m partial to the saxophone, so the first thing that I noticed about the CD was that the sax playing is great. When my father heard the CD–he’s a jazz pianist–he kept saying, “Who’s that piano player? I really like what he’s doing.”

Usually, I write about my favorite tracks on a CD, but I like all of them on this one. I just went through all of the tracks again to find a favorite and I really can’t choose a favorite.

You can check out the band on their MySpace page. http://www.myspace.com/soulcycle

Coltrane Interview

giantsteps — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 00:42:43 GMT

This is a rare interview with John Coltrane from 1960.

Patrick Bettison "Boxing the Clown"

giantsteps — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 03:19:27 GMT

I love the melody of this song. I like the way the harmonica emerges from all of the other noise. Sometimes I play this track over and over in my car. Check out some of his music at his My Space page. http://myspace.com/patrickbettison

John Coltrane "Dear Old Stockholm"

giantsteps — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:52:06 GMT

I was sixteen when I moved out of my parents house. I started attending school at a small liberal arts college halfway across the country. I remember the day they dropped me off. They helped me unpack. My roommate had already moved in but was nowhere to be seen. She’d already covered the walls with her Ella Fitzgerld posters.

“At least she has good taste in music,” my father’d say.

He’d argue with me about nothing in-particular before they left. I didn’t know it then but that would become a tradition.

When my parents finally left, I put on this record, Dear Old Stockholm. Then I sat in the middle of the floor, closed my eyes and listened. This was my new home–one large open room with two beds, two dressers, and two desks. My roommate’s things hung on the walls and all of mine were tucked neatly into drawers.