By Kathy Edwards McFarland
Marshall Smith‘s all-brass quintet Brazz plays a beautiful repertoire of sunny Sunday afternoon favorites on the Greenhouse Restaurant & Bar, 600 N Locust St., patio beginning at 2 pm.
Visit https://www.facebook.com/GreenHouseDenton/videos/1537741772993268/ to view Brazz playing on the patio!
By Kathy Edwards McFarland
Back in the day … well, 2012, I started Denton Jazz Chronicles, a blog with a mission – telling North Texas and the world about Live Jazz (and other notable music information) here in Denton, Texas.
One of the first stories centered on the Sweetwater Jazz Quartet, house band at Sweetwater Grill & Tavern, 115 S. Elm St.
Now that Sweetwater is being revived by the Meredith’s, Stephanie and Ron Reinke and Joey Hawkins (think Jupiter House, Royals Bagels), I dug up one of the first youtube videos of the original and soon to be reintroduced Sweetwater Jazz Quartet with Jim Riggs (sax), Neil Slater (keyboard), Ron Fink (drums), and Jeffry Eckels (double bass) … Oh, look out, now!
Posted February 3, 2010
By Kathy Edwards McFarland
Sometime back in August, a familiar banner unfurles on my Facebook homepage … Sweetwater Grill & Tavern is coming back! I had to check it out.
My guy, Steve and I drove down to the familiar corner of Hickory and Walnut to find Agua Dulce closed … and the layout for a new rattlesnake on the Walnut Street side wall. Yay! Facebook, for all it’s “fake” news shared accurate information.
“The partnership bringing back the restaurant consists of Jimmy and Karen Meredith, the original founders and owners; Stephanie Reinke, Karen’s daughter; and her husband, Ron Reinke; and Joey Hawkins, a local restaurant owner,” according to the Denton Record-Chronicle article by Staff Writer Je
Eric Vellekamp of the Dallas Restaurant Group is the new General Manager. He’ll run the restaurant and is working on new menu items and cocktails.
Live jazz will once again be a staple at the restaurant on Tuesday and Thursday nights, with the original Sweetwater Jazz Quartet (Jim Riggs, Neil Slater, Ron Fink, and Lou Carfa) playing monthly.
“We want to give them a home back here, and they’re ready,” Karen Meredith said. “We have such a wealth of jazz musicians in this town, so they’re excited and we are, too. That was kind of me and Jimmy’s social life, coming to listen to jazz.”
The full newspaper article can be read at –
Jimmy and Karen Meredith stand outside their soon-to-open restaurant, Sweetwater Grill & Tavern, located at 115 S. Elm St., in Denton. Photo by Jake King
I so very happy, dear Readers, to bring you such wonderful tidings.
By Kathy Edwards McFarland
Heavy hearts around the globe are memorializing and listening to the recordings of one of the most powerful, talented musicians we’ve seen in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul died on the 16th of this month after struggling with cancer.
For her official biography, visit http://www.arethafranklin.net/biography/.
Wow … she sculpted our culture during her decades-long career … from Gospel to Rhythm and Blues, Soul to Jazz, Opera to cameo roles in iconic films like the Blues Brothers (Think.)
Many outstanding performances come to mind as I have read and listened to the news, visited with friends on Facebook, and in my company relate their Aretha tales. I find encapsulating her amazing life and songbook is near impossible.
Tributes, biographies and anthologies can barely touch her truly strong, musical talent and 76-year life. I can share some of my favorite performances with you, dear Readers. I know you have collected your own.
“One of the most popular cover songs of all time, Carole King and Gerry Goffin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” has been sung by many talented artists, but none can belt it quite like Franklin herself. The singer gave one of her most memorable performances of the tune three years ago at the 2015 Kennedy Center honors, bringing audience members like Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and Viola Davis to their feet before she’d even finished singing — and showed some trademark sass by throwing her fur coat onto the stage floor.” Variety, Christi Carras
Aretha’s legacy will remain in our lives for a very long time, and for future generations … but like many of the iconic voices of our age, such as Tom Petty, David Bowie, Joe Cocker, and Glenn Frey, she left way too soon.
By Kathy Edwards McFarland
After a dizzying five years writing this blog, dear Readers, I took a break and 
regrouped. Once again, with you live, I am glad to announce my topics have expanded; and am looking forward to bring you new features, such as City of Denton, and County of Denton insights and happenings, Jazz History, Local and Regional events, Out of Bounds music genre news, Copy Editing notes (you may want to check this out), Live Music Venues, and, of course, Texas Woman’s University and University of North Texas music news.
From the heart of Downtown Denton – the Historic Denton County Courthouse Square, to the open-air, off-the-wall beer hauses (Harvest House, Oak St. Draft House, etc.) … from the Murchison Performing Arts Center at University of North Texas College of Music – http://thempac.music.unt.edu/, to the brand-new Denton Convention Center adjacent to Embassy Suites – Rayzor Ranch Town Center – https://www.discoverdenton.com/denton-convention-center/, Denton Jazz Chronicles will keep you up to speed and in the know!
While the pages and posts for DJC get needed updates and style changes, you can still access older posts and pages. The final look and new content may take some time to fine tune.
Feel free to contact me about any musician or band news, new Live Music Venues or other events via kathyedwards57@verizon.net.
LINKS YOU SHOULD VISIT:
- Denton County – https://dentoncounty.com/Departments/History-and-Culture/Office-of-History-and-Culture/VISIT.aspx
- Discover Denton – https://www.discoverdenton.com/discover-denton/welcome-center/
- Discover Denton Events Calendar – https://www.discoverdenton.com/calendar/
- Denton Record-Chronicle – https://www.dentonrc.com/
By Kathy Edwards McFarland
Ted Gioia (Photo by Dave Shafer)
Mr. Ted Gioia, http://tedgioia.com/TedGioiaBio.html, just released his Top 100 recordings for 2017.
This may not be a big deal for some of you, Dear Readers, but his compilation, to me, is not only impressive, but boldly inspiring.
His journey through more than 1,000 albums during this past year, culling his top picks and testifying against the lack of accessible information about the lush, wide range of quality music in all its vibrant genres and forms is priceless.
I enjoy sharing my favorite music with others. But in the last few years, a different
motivation has spurred me. I believe that the system of music discovery is broken in the current day. There is more music recorded than ever before, but it is almost impossible for listeners to find the best new recordings.The most creative work in music is increasingly found on self-produced projects and releases from small indie labels— to an extent hardly conceivable only a decade ago. Very little of this music ever shows up on the radio, where formats seem to get narrower and narrower with each passing year.
Music fans once heard good new music at indie record stores, but most of them have closed. Or they could read reviews in the newspaper, but both the newspapers and the music reviews are shrinking or disappearing.
And the big record labels are the worst culprits of all, picking acts for their looks or their potential appeal to fourteen-year-olds, or some other egregious reason, and in general jumping on the most trivial passing fads.
On the other hand, the Internet presents an almost infinite amount of music and music commentary—yet where do fans even begin to separate the good from the bad and ugly?
My personal solution to this dilemma has been to listen to lots and lots of music, and try to identify recordings of quality and distinction.
This year, Gioia relinquished his numerical ranking, instead, alphabetizing the best recordings, “because each of these albums deserves recognition and the sequential ranking tended to focus too much attention on just a few recordings.
The full list appears soon enough. My take on Gioia’s epic undertaking is one of shear admiration. His work as a musician and writer has set him above most critics and music writers. With passion and attention to fairness and detail, he once again has offered a beauteous musical mix: Pointillistic Anti-Jazz (huh?) to Contemporary Music for Youth Chorus, Illegal Ethiopian Dance Music to Anonymous 16th Century Polyphony for Nuns … Yes, Jazz of all stripes is in there – tip of my hat to the Bernstein piano pieces, Miles Davis’ works, and a new album by Ahmad Jamal. I am also glad to find one of my personal favorites, Americana artist Rhiannon Giddens, on the list.
For the complete blog post and and the 100 Honorable Mention roster, visit http://tedgioia.com/bestalbumsof2017.html
Here’s my list of the 100 best albums of 2017 (in alphabetical order this year). They are drawn from all styles and all genres. Happy listening!
- John Luther Adams
Canticles of the Holy Wind
Contemporary Choral Music
- Teddy Afro
Ethiopia
Illegal Ethiopian Dance Music
- Arca
Arca
Fragile, Ultra-Slow Latin Electropop
- Daymé Arocena
Cubafonía
Contemporary Afro-Cuban Music
- Sam Baker
Land of Doubt
Raw, Self-Produced Singer-Songwriter from the Texas Prairie
- Scott H. Biram
The Bad Testament
Funkish Punkish Country Music
- Björk
Utopia
Groove-Free Techno with Flutes & Birdsong
- Theo Bleckmann
Elegy
Elegaic Jazz
- Stefano Bollani
Mediterraneo: Jazz at the Berlin Philharmonic
Jazz with Classical/Cinematic Ingredients
- Brooklyn Youth Chorus
Black Mountain Songs
Contemporary Music for Youth Chorus
- Betty Buckley
Story Songs
Cabaret/Broadway
- Sarah Cahill
Eighty Trips Around the Sun: Music by and for Terry Riley
Piano Music Composed (or Inspired) by Terry Riley
- Celestial Sirens/Musica Secreta
Lucrezia Borgia’s Daughter
Anonymous 16th Century Polyphony for Nuns
- Bill Charlap
Uptown Downtown
Jazz Piano Trio
- Billy Childs
Rebirth
Jazz
- Clann An Drumma
Order of the Stag
Tribal Drumming with Scottish Bagpipes
- Gary Clark, Jr.
Live in North America 2016
Electric Blues
- Anat Cohen Tentet
Happy Song
Semi-Big-Band Jazz
- Jessi Colter
The Psalms
Gospel/Country/Folk
- The Como Mamas
Move Upstairs
Gospel
- Andrew Cooperstock
Leonard Bernstein: Complete Solo Works for Piano
Modern Classical Music
- Danish String Quartet
Last Leaf
Nordic Folk Music/Chamber Music
- DeJohnette/Grenadier/Medeski/Scofield
Hudson
Old Rock in New Jazzy Guises
- Del Sol Quartet & Gyan Riley
Terry Riley: Dark Queen Mantra
Music for String Quartet and Electric Guitar
- Ani DiFranco
Binary
Singer-Songwriter
- Emerson String Quartet
Chaconnes and Fantasias: Music of Britten and Purcell
Chamber Music
- Emika
Melanfonie
Czech Orchestral Art Pop
- Brian Eno
Reflection
Ambient Music
- Heloísa Fernandes
Faces
Brazilian Music/Jazz
- Fink
Fink’s Sunday Night Blues Club, Vol. 1
British Blues for Moderns
- Champian Fulton
Speechless
Jazz Piano
- Galley Beggar
Heathen Hymns
British Folk-Rock With a Touch of Metal
- Molly Gebrian & Danny Holt
Trios for Two
New Music for Viola, Piano and Percussion
- Rhiannon Giddens
Factory Girl
Americana
- Stanley Grill
At the Center of Things
Contemporary Chamber Music Inspired by Early Music
- Erik Griswold
Ecstatic Descent
New Music for Prepared Piano
- Jo Harman
People We Become
Moody British Singer-Songwriter Comes to Nashville
- Stephen Hartke
The Ascent of the Equestrian in a Balloon
Contemporary Classical Music
- Fred Hersch
Open Book
Solo Jazz Piano
- Jennifer Higdon
All Things Majestic
Ecology-Inspired Contemporary Classical Music
- Ifriqiyya Électrique
Rûwâhîne
Sufi Trance Music from Tunisia with a Post-Punk Twist
- The Infamous Stringdusters
Laws of Gravity
Bluegrass
- Vijay Iyer
Far From Over
Jazz
- Ahmad Jamal
Marseille
Jazz
- Jasper String Quartet
Unbound
Contemporary Chamber Music
- Jlin
Black Origami
Percussion-Driven Multicultural Dance Music
- John Joubert
Jane Eyre
Contemporary Opera
- Mari Kimura
Voyage Apollonian
Music for Violin & Interactive Computer
- The Kraken Quartet
Separate / Migrate
Dance & Trance Music for Percussion and Electronics
- Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge
Mount Royal
Folk/Americana
Nguyên Lê & Ngô Hồng Quang
Há Nôi Duo
Vietnamese Music/Jazz
- Charles Lloyd
Passin’ Thru
Jazz
- The Magnetic Fields
50 Song Memoir
Pop-Rock Art Songs
- Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Indo-Pak Coalition
Agrima
Jazz/South Asian Music
- Laura Marling
Semper Femina
Singer-Songwriter
- Hayes McMullan
Everyday Seem Like Murder Here
Previously Unreleased Country Blues Recorded in 1960s
- Björn Meyer
Provenance
Ritualistic Music for Solo Bass Guitar (Six-String Electric and Acoustic)
- Father John Misty
Pure Comedy
Faux Ecclesiastical Singer-Songwriter
- Stanton Moore
With You In Mind: The Songs of Allen Toussaint
New Orleans Funk
- Randy Newman
Dark Matter
Mordant Singer-Songwriter
- North Mississippi Allstars
Prayer for Peace
Roots & Blues
- Víkingur Ólafsson
Philip Glass: Piano Works
Minimalist Piano Music
- Ed Palermo Big Band
The Great Un-American Songbook, Vol 1& 2
Irreverent Rock Repertory Big Band Music
- Aaron Parks
Find the Way
Jazz
- Maurizio Pollini
Chopin: Late Works
Classical Piano Music
- Billy Porter (with Guests)
The Soul of Richard Rodgers
Flamboyant Updatings of Broadway Tunes
- Chris Potter
The Dreamer is the Dream
Jazz
- Awa Poulo
Poulo Warali
Peulh Music from Mali
- Quercus
Nightfall
Folk/Jazz
- Jason Ricci & The Bad Kind
Approved by Snakes
Dirty Harmonica Blues
- Pepe Romero/Vicente Coves
Federico Moreno Torroba: Guitar Concertos 2
20th Classical Music for Guitar
- Ryuichi Sakamoto
async
Soundtrack Without a Film
- Cécile McLorin Salvant
Dreams and Daggers
Jazz Vocals
- András Schiff
Encores After Beethoven
Classical Piano Music
- Adam Schoenberg
American Symphony/Finding Rothko/Picture Studies
Neo-Romanticist Contemporary Orchestral Music
- Raymond Scott
Three Willow Park: Electronic Music from Inner Space 1961-1971
Previously Unreleased Electronic and AI Music from 1960s
- SFJAZZ Collective
Music of Miles Davis & Original Compositions
Jazz
- Peter Silberman
Impermanence
Singer-Songwriter
- Songhoy Blues
Résistance
West African Desert Rock as Political Protest
- Tyshawn Sorey
Verisimilitude
Pointillistic Anti-Jazz
- Wesley Stace
Wesley Stace’s John Wesley Harding
Singer-Songwriter
- Colin Stetson
All This I Do For Glory
Experimental Saxophone Trance Music
- Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly and James McAlister
Planetarium
Introverted Pop for Star-Gazing
- Quinn Sullivan
Midnight Highway
Bluesy Rock-Pop
- Systema Solar
Rumbo A Tierra
Cumbia/EDM/Hip-Hop
Tale of Us
Endless
Tech-Noir Chillout Music from Deutsche Grammophon
- The Tangent
The Slow Rust of Forgotten Machinery
Neo Prog Rock
- Otis Taylor
Fantasizing About Being Black
Trance Blues
- Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau
Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau
Jazz/Folk Hybrid
- Thundercat
Drunk
R&B/Hip-Hop
- Tinariwen
Elwan
African Desert Blues
- Tohpati Ethnomission
Mata Hati
Indonesian Jazz-Rock
- Ralph Towner
My Foolish Heart
Jazz Guitar
- Tribalistas
Tribalistas
Contemporary Brazilian Popular Music
- The Unthanks
Diversions, Vol. 4: The Songs and Poems of Molly Drake
Brooding Songs by Nick Drake’s Mother Molly Drake (1915-1993)
- Kamasi Washington
Harmony of Difference
Jazz with a Tinge of Soul/R&B
- Dale Watson and Ray Benson
Dale & Ray
Roadhouse Country
- Willie Watson
Folksinger, Vol. 2.
Folk Music
- The xx
I See You
Dream Pop
- Miguel Zenón
Típico
Jazz
A new book by Punker-turned-Folkie musician, Billy Bragg: He writes a ” thorough, compelling survey of a transitional genre that burned briefly but brightly in the UK in the latter ’50s.”
Roots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World
Billy Bragg. Faber & Faber, $29.95 (464p) ISBN 978-0-571-32774-4
In his first book, musician, left-wing activist, and sonic archivist Bragg has crafted a remarkable history of skiffle, a particularly British music genre. Initiated by amateur players obsessed with the blues, jazz, and folk, skiffle lured teenagers obsessed with all things American and eager to dance away post-WWII conformity and deprivation.
Lonnie Donegan recorded Leadbelly’s “Rock Island Line” in 1954, ushering in the skiffle element in British post-WW II music.
Bragg has dedicated his volume not to Donnie Lonegan – the king of skiffle, but to “every kid who ever picked up a guitar after hearing Donnie Lonegan.”
With a DIY ethos and three-chord tunes, skiffle inspired a generation of British lads to pick up guitars, including among them Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page, Van Morrison, Rod Stewart and a young extraterrestrial who would later take the name “David Bowie.”
Roughly a cross between folk and R&B, skiffle quickly succumbed to the other two genres and faded from the charts, even as its former disciples led the British Invasion. Bragg impresses throughout with engaging prose and painstaking research.
He further enlivens the text with personal insights and witty asides that give the material a unique cast few professional writers would dare. The introduction of dozens of new figures in the last third of the book diffuses the narrative but that’s a minor demerit to an accomplished work. Ending with a flourish, Bragg convincingly argues for the emotional connection between skiffle and punk rock, something Bragg would know about better than most.
- https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-571-32774-4
- Contributions – Chris Klimek, Special Contributor to Dallas Morning-News
Music news: Ripping and reading
By Kathy Edwards McFarland
Back in newspaper’s day, when TV/radio news reporters simply read the print stories for their programs, it was called, “Rip and Read.”
So, as editor of my blog, I call it as I do it …
By JON PARELES
New York Times
Ray Phiri, the South African guitarist who reached an international audience backing Paul Simon on the albums “Graceland” and “The Rhythm of the Saints” and who founded Stimela, a widely acclaimed, long-running band that confronted apartheid, died on Wednesday at a clinic in Nelspruit, South Africa. He was 70.
Ray Phiri performing with Stimela in Johannesburg in 2007. Credit Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
A family friend and spokesman, Paul Nkanyane, announced the death and said that the cause was lung cancer.
The African National Congress, now South Africa’s ruling party, said in a statement: “Phiri was a voice for the voiceless and a legend of our time. An immensely gifted composer, vocalist and guitarist, he breathed consciousness and agitated thoughts of freedom through his music.”
Mr. Phiri’s guitar playing held echoes of African traditions, full of percussive subtleties and springy rhythms, which he merged with a fluent understanding of soul and funk and delivered with a warm, rounded tone. He sang in English and in South African languages with an earnest sense of urgency, while his lyrics recognized adversity and called for love, determination, honesty and unity.
Raymond Chikapa Enock Phiri was born on March 23, 1947, in what was then called the Eastern Transvaal of South Africa. He grew up near Nelspruit, an agricultural area in what is now the province of Mpumalanga.
His stepfather, who was from Malawi, played guitar but gave it up after losing three fingers in an accident. Mr. Phiri took that guitar and largely taught himself to play.
He moved to Johannesburg in 1967 to work as a musician.
Stimela grew out of a soul band Mr. Phiri founded in the 1970s, the Cannibals, which had a string of hit singles in South Africa. He and members of the Cannibals formed Stimela (the name means “steam train”) in the early ’80s. Mr. Phiri led the group, wrote songs, played guitar and often sang lead vocals.
Stimela merged the flexibility of jazz and the sleekness of R&B with the buoyant rhythms of South African styles like mbaqanga; its songs also recognized the tensions of living under apartheid. Its three-decade career as a top South African band began with its debut album, “Fire, Passion, Ecstasy,” released in 1984.
In the ’80s and early ’90s, Stimela’s music came up at times against the limits of what could be publicly expressed under apartheid. Some of its songs were banned from broadcast on the state-controlled radio station, SABC, notably “Whispers in the Deep,” which urged, “Speak your mind / Don’t be afraid.”
Despite the radio ban, the 1986 album containing that song, “Look, Listen and Decide,” became a best seller.
Where Did We Go Wrong,” a 1984 duet with a white singer, Katie Pennington, was also refused radio play.
From left, Joseph Shabalala, Miriam Makeba, Paul Simon and Ray Phiri during a concert in Zimbabwe in 1987. Credit Associated Press
Mr. Simon recorded “Graceland” in 1985 and 1986, working on most of its songs with African musicians in Johannesburg and New York City. Mr. Phiri and two other members of Stimela backed Mr. Simon on the album track “Crazy Love, Vol. II,” and Mr. Phiri was part of a South African rhythm section that Mr. Simon brought to New York for further recording.
Elsewhere on the album he played guitar on the title track and on “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes,” and was credited as both guitarist and co-arranger on “You Can Call Me Al,” “Under African Skies” and “Crazy Love, Vol. II.”
Mr. Simon paid tribute to Mr. Phiri on his website: “He was a beautiful, masterful guitarist and an inventive musician. He will be remembered as a patriot who used his music to fight apartheid and brought that message to the world.”
After the release of “Graceland,” in 1986, Mr. Phiri joined Mr. Simon’s touring band to perform songs from the album worldwide. “Graceland,” which introduced much of the outside world to the sound of South African music, has sold more than five million copies in the United States alone and won the Grammy Award for album of the year in 1988.
“It was an opportunity to sensitize the world about the apartheid regime,” Mr. Phiri said about “Graceland” in a 2013 interview with The Financial Gazette, a Zimbabwean publication. “We managed to bring the world’s attention to the apartheid monster.”
Mr. Phiri also appeared on Mr. Simon’s 1990 album, “The Rhythm of the Saints,” and toured with him into 1992. He rejoined Mr. Simon for a 25th-anniversary tour with the Graceland band, documented on the album and DVD “The Concert in Hyde Park,” released this year.
But Mr. Phiri’s career in South Africa was far more extensive. He had gold and platinum albums there with Stimela, which has continued to tour and record. Stimela’s 2010 album, “A Lifetime,” was named best adult contemporary album at the 2011 South African Music Awards, the country’s equivalent of the Grammys.
Mr. Phiri also had solo side projects, and produced and wrote songs for other acts. He was a longtime member of South Africa’s National Arts Council. He received a lifetime achievement award at the South African Music Awards in 2012. There was no immediate information about survivors.
In 2011, Jacob Zuma, the president of South Africa, awarded Mr. Phiri the Order of Ikhamanga, a national honor, citing “the successful use of arts as an instrument of social transformation.” In a statement on Wednesday, Mr. Zuma called Mr. Phiri “a musical giant.”
“For me, music is the closest thing to religion,” Mr. Phiri said in “Under African Skies,” a 2011 documentary about the making of “Graceland.” “And if it’s utilized in the right way, it can inform and bring people closer, and they can find solutions to their problems.”
By Kathy Edwards McFarland
Tonight: Jimi Tunnell (Steps Ahead)with legendary percussionist Jose Rossy (Weather Report & Patti LaBelle), Mario Cruz (saxes, EWI), Jeff Plant (basses) and Dennis Durick (drums) at Dan’s Silverleaf, 103 Industrial, Denton. 8 pm. Tickets – $10.
Jimi Tunnell, is a fantastic performer, a recording producer, but first and foremost – an amazing guitarist. A very integral part of his music is his custom-made “Strat” – a singular instrument that has helped craft his signature sound for almost 30 years.
FMI: http://www.buffalosound.com/bio.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmcjULWbal0
A few years ago, Jimi realized his irreplaceable model was becoming fragile, and at risk from the airline travels he put it through. A new, traveling model was needed.
Not an ordinary instrument, Jimi needed to work with a guitar-smith who could construct an instrument to coax the nuanced phrasing and precision modulation required for his phenomenal fusion Jazz.
“I wanted the resonant body – porous, dense – a headless model with the bridge I wanted – a tremolo arm that had precision for incredibly subtle phrasing,” Jimi said. “I got in touch with Allan Holdsworth*, and Tim Miller – http://www.timmillermusic.com/, who had guitars made by Rick Canton.”
He found Rick was “was really into that.”
* Allan Holdsworth, a spellbinding guitarist who influenced generations of jazz and rock musicians with his innovative sound, has died unexpectedly at age 70 – April 15, 2017. FMI: http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/04/17/524332013/allan-holdsworth-revered-fusion-guitarist-dies-at-70
Rick Canton – http://cantoncustominstruments.com/, based in the high desert of New Mexico, has been designing and building guitars professionally for the better part of a decade. He creates guitars with a focus on ergonomic design, an artist’s sensibility and a musician’s ear.
The Jimi Tunnell model (in progress) by Rick Canton.
“Jimi sent me his design specifications and we have been working on his model over the past two years or so,” Canton said.
Canton chambered the alder wood body for the more resonant quality Jimi required, and having tried a bridge that wasn’t to their liking, finally found the exact element.
The bridge Jimi wanted “had not been designed yet,” but Geofferey McCabe, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/csl-sophia-tremolos-globalstop-tuners-geoffrey-mccabe, finally offered a bridge design with a locking tremolo – one that could augment string settings with a wheel.
It’s not just the guitar, Jimi added, it’s the guitar and the amplifier.
“I’m using the new guitar a lot more,especially for traveling, but if I’m in town (Denton), my other model is on stage with me as a back-up.”
Jimi said he is tweaking stuff with his new guitar all the time.
“I consider this the Beta model,” Jimi said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iVm1GWMp_4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vTckR-OBak
The Jimi Tunnell Model
Jimi needed to find a replacement for the guitar he had been using for 25 years. He approached Rick with the design he wanted and worked with Rick to ensure the new guitar would replicate the tonal characteristics and playability of his previous guitar while expanding on its dynamic and ergonomic qualities. – http://cantoncustominstruments.com/
Two festival goers brave the muddy mess that was Quakertown Park. Though the weather was rough last weekend, it didn’t stop Dentonites and visitors from breaking attendance records. From the 2015 North Texas Daily story, http://ntdaily.com/with-mud-and-rain-jazzy-weekend-plays-on/.
By Kathy Edwards McFarland
Well Dear Readers, the time has come to raise the tents and have some fun … the 2017 Denton Arts & Jazz Fest is this weekend: Fri, April 28, 3pm – 11pm;
Sat, April 29, 10am – 11pm; and Sun, April 30, 11am – 9pm.
Unfortunately for the past couple of years, my scooter, that I rely on for long distances, is not made for off-track, muddy conditions, and I found the difficult truth is I had to use the sidewalk around the park perimeter to not only get to the Jazz Stage, but I had to remain on the concrete for the performances. Anyone else using canes, walkers, those with babies and their strollers, etc., be forewarned. (High-heels are so not for this event!)
Please understand, I do enjoy Quakertown Park, 321 East McKinney (Corner of McKinney and Bell), and the Jazz Fest, but Texas weather does not always cooperate.
I have pulled up the DAJF Denton Accuweather forecast – Severe thunderstorms predicted for Friday afternoon, strong thunderstorms Saturday and cool, partly cloudy conditions Sunday. (http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/denton-tx/76201/april-weather/331112)
So, I’m calling for full-on Woodstock conditions. The main Jazz Stage central area gets really muddy and soft. Trails do not accommodate scooters and strollers …
This year, the three-day, FREE event, with more than 3,000 musicians, artists and performers attract over 225,000 annually to enjoy the culturally diverse music and art, offers many reasons to brave the wet, Spring conditions:
Festival goers peruse the art on sale in the Denton Civic Center during the Denton Arts & Jazz Fest. Discover Denton. Original. Independent.
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Friday night
Jack DeJohnette, Ravi Coltrane & Matt Garrison – (Friday, 9:00 pm – Jazz Stage)
In a career that spans five decades and includes collaborations with some of the most iconic figures in modern jazz, NEA and Grammy winner Jack DeJohnette has established an unchallenged reputation as one of the greatest drummers in the history of the genre.
He is one of the most consistently inventive jazz percussionists in history, having emerged in the 1960’s playing with John Coltrane, Charles Lloyd, Thelonius Monk, Keith Jarrett and many others. Considered one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th Century, DeJohnette incorporates elements of jazz, free jazz, world music and R & B, making him one of the most highly regarded and in-demand drummers. FMI: Visit http://jackdejohnette.com/
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Saturday night
Aaron Neville – (Saturday, 9:00 pm – Jazz Stage)
Although Aaron Neville is often compared to singer Sam Cooke in terms of sheer vocal refinement, he has a voice and style uniquely his own. He is well known as part of the New Orleans sound of The Neville Brothers. Musically, of course, you know Aaron as a lover, not a fighter. The strange trajectory of his recording career began in 1960 when he recorded a single with producer/writer Allen Toussaint. FMI: Visit http://aaronneville.com/.
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Sunday night
Brave Combo – (Sunday, 7:00 pm – Jazz Stage)
Trying to describe Brave Combo‘s music requires a pretty extensive vocabulary- at least when it comes to musical styles. For the past three decades the Denton-based quintet has perfected a world mix music that includes salsa, meringue, rock, cumbia, conjunto, polka, zydeco, classical, cha-cha, the blues and more. They are America’s premier dance band and a rollicking, rocking, rhythmic global journey offering what one critic recently wrote: “Even if you come for the party, you’ll leave with something of a musical education.”
The band is comprised of founder Carl Finch who was recently inducted into the Polka Hall of Fame, Finch sings vocals and plays guitar, keyboard and accordion. He is joined by Danny O’Brien on trumpet, Alan Emert of drums, Little Jack Melody on bass guitar and Robert Hokamp on guitar. FMI: Visit https://bravecombo.com/.
*The Denton Festival Foundation, Inc. produces the event with the generous support of sponsors such as the City of Denton, the City of Denton Parks and Recreation Department, the Dallas/Fort Worth American Federation of Musicians Local 72-147 and many individual corporate and individual sponsors. It is because of these generous sponsors that the event remains free to the public.
