Category Archives: Jazz
Album Review: Daniel Bennett Group at All About Jazz
My review of the Daniel Bennett Group’s 2015 album The Mystery at Clown Castle is available at All About Jazz. It’s another outstanding example of the endless creative possibilities of modern jazz, and is highly recommended
Best of 2014
Happy Holidays! Here’s a list of the top 5 blog posts from 2014. Here they are, in case you missed them! 5. Freight Train Fingerstyle Guitar Lesson This is my intermediate fingerstyle guitar lesson for the Elizabeth Cotten classic “Freight … Continue reading
Posted in Ethnomusicology, India, Jazz, Music Lessons, Reviews
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What’s Happened to MikeOpMusic!?
Hey everyone, I do need to apologize for going off the grid there for a while. I’ve been involved in a number of big projects and this site got put on the backburner for too long. The good news is, … Continue reading
Posted in Jazz, Products, Reviews
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Record Label Profile – Pi Recordings
New York City’s jazz record label Pi Recordings, run by co-owners Seth Rosner and Yulun Wang, is a major player in the contemporary music scene. Releasing music by legendary artists like Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell, as well as younger … Continue reading
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Album Review: Chuck Anderson – Freefall
Freefall, by The Chuck Anderson Trio, 2010. Dreambox Media, DMJ-1121. Freefall is guitarist/composer Chuck Anderson’s first release after an extended hiatus from performance due to ill health. However, it is a triumphant and welcome return to the contemporary straight-ahead jazz scene for … Continue reading
Album Review: Kosi – One More Cup of Coffee
One More Cup of Coffee, by Kosi, 2013. Self Produced. Akosua Gyebi Sorensen, or Kosi, as she identifies herself on the 2013 album One More Cup of Coffee, is a New York-based singer, songwriter and composer forging her own sound. … Continue reading
Pi Recordings Profile for All About Jazz
I’m well into an All About Jazz profile on the NY jazz label Pi Recordings. Already interviewed executive producers Seth Rosner and Yulun Wang, now I’m started on a series of capsule reviews of artists including Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman, … Continue reading
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Dreambox Media Record Label Profile
I had the pleasure of speaking with drummer Jim Miller about his local Philadelphia label, Dreambox Media. A major player on the contemporary jazz scene Miller shared his insights and thoughts on jazz, the role of record labels, and how … Continue reading
Review: Coursera Introduction to Improvisation – Final Thoughts
Having completed the 5-week Introduction to Improvisation course on Coursera, I do have a few thoughts to share for those considering trying the same course. First, though it is marketed as an introductory course, it does assume facility with one’s … Continue reading
Posted in Jazz, Pedagogy, Reviews
Tagged Coursera Reviews, Jazz, Music lessons, Pedagogy, Reviews
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Review: Coursera Introduction to Improvisation
The concluding week of Gary Burton’s Introduction to Improvisation course dealt primarily with thematic development. Throughout the course, Burton emphasized the role of the improviser as a storyteller, considering the solo as a logical narrative. To assist in realizing this … Continue reading
