Among my favorite albums released this year is Peter Cincotti's " East Of Angel Town ". I've been following Cincotti's music since he first emerged on the scene showcasing jazz-pop standards. "East of Angel Town" released earlier this year marks a sharp departure as they're all Cincotti penned originals, and I believe it's the most creative thing he's released in his string of winning albums. Every song on this album hits a powerful chord and calls upon a wide variety of styles from jazz to funk to classical,. I think this album deserves a grammy. If you haven't heard it yet, please checkout this album. Cincotti's one hell of a keyboard artist and now, a terrific songwriter. Highly recommended. In fact, I'm planning to add a few songs from this album (including " Goodbye Philadephia " to my performance repetoire now.

Ok, I'm really curious to dicover what current songs, recording artists, and/or albums other people on SZ are enjoying and recommend checking out.

Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 04-29-2008).]

If you are into pop jazz, you might take a look at Jamie Cullum. To be honest, I'll take him (and especially his arrangements) over Bublé, Connick Jr., all those guys...

Some very hip covers, some seriously cool originals...

Another favorite is Jon Cleary... Has his own original outfit (Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, out of New Orleans), and also plays keys for Bonnie Raitt, and writes a few tunes for her, also... VERY funky!

Enjoy...

Diki: Yeah on Jamie Cullum. Saw him at a small club here in SF. This little guy's an awesome keyboard player with a lot of talented energy. I love the way he turns jazz standards into something fresh and funky. He , like Cincotti, took a turn penning some real nice originals fusing pop & funk with Jazz on Twenty Something & Catching Tales . I concur that Cullum's music, as well as Cincotti's, satisfies me far beyond Buble's, yet, though not unexpected, it's Buble that's attracting the publicity, hype, and drawing the biggest crowds, bringing in the big CD/concert sales, and packing the stadiums , and not Cullum or Cincotti. Goes to show that ticket sales aren't necessarily an accurate of indicator of musicianship & artistic talent.

Scott

Thanks for introducing me to Cleary's New Orlean's influenced style blues. Interestingly enough, he actually hails from England originally.

Scott

Scott I really enjoy Patrizio Buanne. He has taken the music world by storm & his covers really bring back memories in two languages. Trying to get tickets to see him very soon at the Casinos here.
http://www.myspace.com/patrizioofficial
http://www.google.com/musica?aid=zWQw8u4ZGyF&sa=X&oi=music&ct=result



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 04-30-2008).]

Hi Donny, I know you're going appreciate Buanne's show. I saw him when he showcased his US debut tour here in the Bay Area. Great showman. Interestingly though he's of Italian origin born in Italy, grew up in Vienna, Austria. I think his passion for Italian music stems from a desire to connect with his roots. When you attend his show be forwarned that there's going to be lots of middle aged woman swooning over him. He definitely delivers what the ladies and (and gentleman) appreciate . . . music sung with great passion & sincerity. Looking forward to hearing your review after you've had a chance to experience his show.

Scott

Interesting how my posting thread merely requesting a midi file for the "Electric Slide" so quickly turned into a hijacked pissing contest of 51 replies and subsequently LOCKED, yet this thread (posted around the same time) has only 2 repliers so far. Come on people, isn't there anyone else here who listens to contemporary artists out there?

As much as I love playing classic older pop standards, I also believe there are a lot of new artists and songs well worth listening to and adding to our repetoire & performances as well.

Interestingly enough, over the last couple of years I've befriended a some pro arranger kb buddies around my age (late 30's- 40's) who reside in the UK and have discovered from them some UK artists who are far more popular there than here. One artist in particular who 's music I really like is Robbie Williams. He not only records some great pop hits but also released an album of american classic pop standards entitled: " Swing When You're Winning ". One of his contemporary hit ballds which I've since added to my repetoire is " Angels ", of which was merely a minor hit here, but a smash #1 hit in the UK.

Meeting musicians in other parts of the Country and around the World has given me the opportunity to discover new artists and music and broaden and expand my performance repetoire.

In an attempt to focus this forum back to music and not just the same tired 'pissing contests', I sure would love to hear from more members here about what new (or newly discovered) music/artists you've recently discovered and what new tunes you've added to your repetoire as a result of this. If you guys instead prefer participating in 'pissing contests' threads, I'll opt to bow out (yet again). Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 04-30-2008).]

Want a girl with originality and some piano chops (in a different way)?

Try Regina Spektor, from Russia, via New York City...

Some quite original stuff, quirky arrangements.

Scott sad as it may seem.....may people do not consider any music of today worth diddly squat compared to years ago (Pre Computer age)when you had to really play an instrument versus today's computer driven electronic tunes. Just watch the Grammy's or AMA shows & you'll see what I mean. Many people have totally ZONED out into their own slice of music without even considering what else is out there now that they are so turned off by. The days of a majority of people listening to mostly the same type of music is far gone. Lets face it Regina Specktor & alike will never be as popular to the masses as the "Electric Slide".. sad but true. The most said statement today in music conversations are "THAT'S NOT MUSIC!" when referring to today's songs or So called "Artists". Newer doesn't always mean better. The great older standards & music of the 40/50/60 & 70'S will always be amongst the most popular Music listened to until we're gone & beyond. Lets face it with so many other ways of making music out there competition versus the Pre Computer Age......people have found easier ways & many alternative ways to produce LIVE music instead of taking lessons & being taught by others before them to learn how to play. here lies the BIG problem & this is why we are becoming dinosaurs.



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-01-2008).]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dnj:
[B]Scott sad as it may seem.....may people do not consider any music of today worth diddly squat compared to years ago (Pre Computer age)when you had to really play an instrument versus today's computer driven electronic tunes.

yep, good example would be one of my favourite singer "Michael Franks' I rather listen to "The Art of tea' with Joe Sample on Rhodes and Larry Carlton with a small band format than some of his recent stuff with Jeff Lober(a very talented Keyboard Player) any time.

My favorite Michael Franks album is "Dragonfly Summer".

Favorite tune on it..."I love Lucy"

Ian

Must be good, he's always surround him self with great musician. some of my favorite would be "Mr Blue", "St Elmo's fire", Tiger in the rain and "The lady wants to know"

Who on earth says you have to listen to what is 'popular' at the time...?

I hate to say it, but many of you have probably forgotten what a pile of whaledreck surrounded the little music that we remember as our favorites from ANY period.

You had to wade through some awful rubbish back then to find the nuggets, and you have to do the same now... But maybe now you haven't the patience, or the inquisitiveness, or the sheer DRIVE to try and find the best of what is around any more...

And that is a sad loss...

The internet has made it easier than it has EVER been to find artists that challenge you, music that surprises you, a new path through the same old changes. But you have to USE IT...

Rather than sit around and woolgather, and reminisce about the 'good old days' that never WERE that good!

Pale...You have mail...hey, that rhymes.

Diki....maybe for you in your opinion they weren't the "good old days" .....but to millions including myself feel the VERY opposite. Now Im only 52 & have my era of music I love Doo Wop 50's/60's, & can only listen to and dream of how great it must have been to see the Big Bands & Singers like Sinatra, Connie Haines (who I recently saw at the Tropicana Casino in her 80's perform she was the girl singer for Tommy Dorsey) & dance to them, and watch some of the greatest live musicians on the planet do their thing. Buddy Rich, Gene Kruppa, Lionell Hampton, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington & the list goes on & on & so does their music. I'm glad I have the choice to listen to my favorites.
http://www.nfo.net/usa/index.html
http://nfo.net/usa/voc.html
http://nfo.net/usa/voc1AL.html


Now wheres my headphones?.....

Ian, thanks so much. nice song

what's wrong with "good old days" btw, when you mentioned a terrific piece"A remak you've made" when Zawinul passed away, wasn't that a good old day as well......

So who's the authority to say what's good and what's "'good old days' that never WERE that good!" you?


Who on earth says you have to listen to "challenging, or new discovery" all the time? People listen to what they like, past, present anything sounds good.

Donny, all I was saying that, for every one of your favorites that you remember from that era (you are too young to have actually been around during the big band and doo-wop heyday, I'm the same age as you!), there were a dozen that were not as good, hackneyed and bland, with poorer material, etc., etc..

In fact, the very music that you prefer had ALREADY gone through the filtering process of time, before you even got into it! The good remains and the bad gets forgotten. But if you listen to CONTEMPORARY music, that filter has not yet been applied.

But good and interesting current music DOES exist. Unfortunately, no-one has done the filtering, yet, so you have to wade through the slime to get to the good stuff. If that's too much to have to do, you may have to wait ten or twenty years to find out what was good in the early 21st century!

Me, I can't wait that long...

Read the damn post before you get worked up, Shade...

No-one said you need to listen to anything new "ALL THE TIME". You quote me, don't ADD things to what I say and then get mad about what you added!

And for every tune from ANY period you like, I guarantee I can find something popular FROM THAT TIME that you hate. The 'good old days' were not without their really bad artists, songs and styles, just like today...

Feel free to change what I just wrote, and get mad about that, too...

Diki, very well put. Twenty years seems about the cycle it takes to discover which songs have stood the test of time to become standards. 80's and early 90's pop hits are suddenly back in demand (high school/college reunion parties etc) and I'm getting quite a few requests for this era now. Here are just a few of the ones I do :

Red Red Wine (UB40)
I Swear (All4One / John Michael Montgomery)
Dance The Night Away (Mavericks)
Kokomo (Beachboys)
You Can't Hurry Love/Groovy Kind Of Love (Phil Collins)
Fields Of Gold (Sting)
Right Here Waitin For You (Richard Marx)
Every Breath I Take (the Police)
Stuck In The Middle With You (Stealers Wheel)
Tear In Heaven/ Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton)
Come Dancing (the Kinks)
If You Don't Know Me By Now (Simply Red)
Good Thing (Fine Young Cannibals)

Scott

Me neither. Having the fortitude to weed thru the all crap of contemporary tunes to find that song(s) of which I think I'm able to adapt my vocal & kb playing style garners broader younger audience appeal and enhances the act. For example: I'm now working on my rendition of James Blunt's 2007 hit: "You're Beautiful", of which I am guessing will eventually become a classic hit of this 2K decade. I'm not going to wait 20 years to find out. Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 05-01-2008).]

yes, I've read the damn post, I don't get mad, just amusing.......I actually don't care to have an approval to what I like or listen to......you have your opinion, guess what,. other people have theirs as well

and just because I mentioned some old stuff, it didn't mean I don't listen to new ace, I listen to "Pete Levin" on B3, and Russell Malone as much as I listen to Jimmy Smith, and Kenny Burrell.......to me the "old stuff" still sounds good, so I listen to it. Interesting, some of the new rock/pop stuff that I like(The Wall Flowers, Maroon 5 for example) sound like formular from late 60 or 70's to me.

I've never heard of these guys, but I don't think I'd like any one alive more than I like Steve Tyrell. He' been doing music for movies and producing for others for years but he himself has just become more famous doing vocals in the last decade I think.

Love all Steve Tyrell's stuff, I like his voice, he gave new rendition to old stuff, his rendition of "The nearness of you" is awesome.BTW, from DNJ's post I went to listen to Patrizio ?'s version of "you're my world" pretty boy can sing, so thanks for that.

I agree with Donny, I love Patricio and the music he has brought back. And in my opinion, there is nothing better than Sinatra, who I saw on many occasions from 1974 on, Tony Bennett, whom I've seen many times and been photographed with, and the Do Wop era, I played for the Terry Johnson Flamingoes and Bobby Cook Platters during the 70's. This is music that IMO can't be beat. I will love it till the day I die.

On with the music!

Joe

------------------
Songman55
Joe Ayala

Sorry I almost forgot the beginning of this thread. Scott, I saw Peter Cincotti a couple of years ago at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore. His show was great and he was really cool. When he was sitting down to the piano for a couple of songs, a cell phone in the audience went off and without missing a beat he said, "If it's for me I'm not here." Later that evening we met him and bought him a drink. He is a really nice and very talented young man.

Ciao,

Joe

------------------
Songman55
Joe Ayala

For every "Stairway to Heaven' there was a 'Yummy Yummy Yummy, I've got Love in my Tummy'

For every Duke Ellington, there was a Paul Whiteman...

The 'good old days' were no more all 'good' than today is all 'bad'.

Sorry if that upsets a few of you that would prefer to pretend that EVERYTHING was good, back then...

And the whole point of listening to the best of today's music (if you can be bothered to find it! ), is NOT to replace the music you already love, it is to ADD to it...

That's the beauty of music. You don't have to STOP loving one kind of music, just to be able to like another.

Perhaps some of us can remember our attitudes towards the previous generation, whether our parents or grandparents, or much older musicians, that simply could NOT get into 'modern music', and decried it as 'utter rubbish'. Perhaps it was the Beatles being mocked. or Sinatra (remember, he was widely criticized for his crooning by the previous generation), but you probably remember the scorn you heaped on these 'unhip' 'Squaresville' 'fuddy-duddies'.

It's our turn now... do we try to be BETTER than those we scorned, or do we join them? Do we become the very thing we hated as youngsters? Closed-minded relics incapable of recognizing talent when we heard it? Unwilling to give anything new an even break?

Or do keep an open mind, and a sense of inquisitiveness that our predecessors somehow lost?

It's OUR turn, now...

Upset a few? are you kidding? the songs you dont like made millions for the groups that made them & to do that millions of people bought them and enjoyed them Like Yummy Yummy, Shut Upaa You Face, They're coming to take me away ha ha etc, etc,
the same with todays Rap/Hip hop where millions are buying these CDs & enjoying them. That doesnt mean there isnt room for the gazillions of people who love 40/50/60/70's.... look at people's Ipod lists and you'll see inside their souls.
But for me I have no need for todays so called Music except for a few well done covers of my beloved 40/50/60/70's songs

Long Live the 40/50/60/70's forever


[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 05-02-2008).]

Hi Joe, sounds like quite a memorable concert experience to cherish. I saw Cincotti at a small club here in SF when the general public hadn't even heard of him yet. Most of the audience was under 45. Like you pointed out, he's very approachable, unassuming and friendly. Interestingly to learn that his Mom was his piano teacher.

I especially like Cincotti's fresh updated arrangements of the standards: "I Love Paris" and "Bali Hai". I was honestly surprised to discover what a terrific songwriter he is as well and love how he successfully merges classical instruments (harpsichord) on "Witches Brew" and adds Bach like melodic riffs on "Make It Out of Life". Every song on "East Of Angel Town" tells a powerfully different story. Other favs of mine on that album and which I find particularly moving are: "December Boys" and the "Country Life" . . . hell , I love the ENTIRE album, and can't recommend it enough. Really interested to find out what other people's opinion here is after hearing it.

This said, I believe there's still a lot of terrific new music being produced out there today. All you need to do is keep your ears open. - Scott

So, at least one vote for becoming what we hated (back then, in the 'good old days')...

Just curious, Donny, but, back then, how DID you feel about those that cast scorn, and had no time or patience, for the Vanilla Fudge, or the James Gang, the Beatles, The Stones, Led Zeppelin because it was new and different...?

Diki....I dont recall much scorn....pretty much the whole world listened to much of the same thing.It's a very much different scenario in today's music scene. Today everyone has their own slice of musical tastes, there is way too many choices vs years ago, computers have taken care of that & the censors have dropped the rules way down compared to years ago not only here in the USA but in countries that weren't allowed to even play music due to Communism or whatever type Govn't rules were in affect, Allowing almost anything to be aired on radio & TV these days. Plus after the early 70's more music was being produced electronically vs acoustically. Mind set is different, people are different, the whole world is different. Nothing wrong with so called new music ....99% it just ain't for my tastes.

Actually, I agree with you there, Donny... Most of it isn't for me, either.

But I do try to 'force' myself to listen, and keep up with the trends, some for the studio work (nothing worse than being asked to make something sound JUST like a band you've never heard of!), and some just for the joy of occasionally finding something that I might have had to wait a long time to discover through the usual channels...