in which case an even more tenuous link. The band Ash. A great little group. Girl from Mars was one of my favorites.
So, which musicians do I share my birthday with?, well there aren't many from history, but there are a couple of contemporary female Singer/Songwriters and a guy who had a big hit in the 80s. Firstly Happy 39th Birthday to Alison Mosshart of Indie Rockers, The Kills and Alternative Rock Supergroup, The Dead Weather (with Jack White, Jack Lawrence and Dean Fertita) who was born on this day in Vero Beach, Florida in 1978...
Then of course there is the mighty Miley Cyrus!, she is 25 today, having been born Destiny Hope Cyrus in Franklin, Tennessee on this day in 1992. This is the title track from her current album, Younger Now....
And finally Happy 63rd Birthday to Singer, Keyboardist and Songwriter, Bruce Hornsby who was born on this day in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1954. I've always loved his piano playing on this song...
mmmmmm, guilty pleasure. I quite like this and a couple of her other recent tracks like Malibu. Once something is on social media, is there any way of deleting it?
One of the few keyboard players who have managed to survive playing with the Grateful Dead! And Happy Birthday to you @Saints_Alive!
George Avakian, who has been described as the architect of American music, has died at the age of 98. He produced works by, among many others, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Dave Brubeck. He also managed Keith Jarrett. RIP George Avakian 1919 - 2017
He must have been brace managing Keith Jarrett! I didn't know that. I don't believe that the Columbia record label has any jazz musicians on it's roster these days. The last group was The Bad Plus but they were ditched back in the mid 2000's I believe. It is amazing how many great jazz albums were issued by this label during Avakian's tenure including some of Duke Ellington's best work and arguably all of Miles Davis'.
Harry I saw Jacob Collier at Vienne in 2016. There is no doubt he is extremely clever and very talented but hearing him perform live you start to sense that this is as much about the technology as the musician. For example, the keyboard has been adapted so that he can sing and produce a fully harmonised line with his voice "singing" across a wide range as if it was a choir. There is a lot of sampling and looping going on the performance and once you start to "get the trick", the music quickly wares off. I believe his mother is a classical musician so he comes from a background steeped in a high level of training. He initially posted his material on YouTube and got "discovered" by Quincy Jones who them ensured his career was fast-tracked. Still, I think he is inly in his early twenties. It is clever and maybe just on the borders of what you might accept as jazz but my interest is where he goes from here. It is a bit like Pay Metheny's "Orchestron" project from a view years ago where the technology is perhaps more interesting than the music. I am glad that Pat is back working with real musicians!
