NICK COLIONNE

http://www.nickcolionne.com
http://www.myspace.com/nickcolionne



I love Nick Colionne's style. It's jazzy, it's sexy, it's smooth. He was professional touring at the age of 15. He's hosting a jazz cruise I'm going on and I can't wait to see him in person. If you click the links above his picture and the clip below you can easily see why I enjoy listening to him strum that guitar.



Edited 01/31/08 - Back from the cruise so I'm adding a couple of pictures I took and a video clip. If I thought I liked Nick Colionned before, I love him now!

MILES "DEWEY" DAVIS III

(May 24, 1926 - September 28, 1991)

http://www.milesdavis.com
Wikepedia



Of all of the musicians I've looked up so far, Mile Davis has the longest bio in Wikipedia. When one thinks of jazz and the horn there are only three names that come to my mind that everyone will or should know - Louis Armstrong, Dizzie Gillespie and Miles Davis. I'm not one for getting into biographies. Though I enjoy reading them, I'll just leave a link and leave it up to you to read one if you like. Check out the Wikepedia or miledavis.com link for a good bio.

Personally, I could never quite get into Miles Davis. Every time I saw him he seemed odd and even looking for a clip, in each of the more recent clips he always had his head down, seemed into his own little world. Maybe it was that he was sometimes struggling with drug addictions, maybe he was just so close to musical genius he was odd that way. I do know that people who like Miles Davis LOVE Miles Davis.

You can judge for yourself on this one. I'll give you an old clip and a more recent one.

STEVE OLIVER

http://www.steveolivermusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/steveolivermusic



To be perfectly honest, I'd never heard of Steve Oliver until I went on this jazz cruise. Well, that's not entirely true. He did play something one night and I thought,"Oh! That's him!" I really like his unique style. You'll have to listen to a short clip of one of his performances on the jazz cruise to hear for yourself.

Norman Brown called him the human beat-box. His latest CD is called Radiance and it's one I bought on the cruise. You can also sample more of his music on the link to his MySpace page.

LARRY CARLTON

http://www.larrycarlton.net



I've heard of Larry Carlton before but I supposed I never really paid attention until I saw him perform on the Smooth Jazz Cruise that I just recently went on. If you are a fan of Steely Dan you may recognize his name from being in that group.

The picture above is one I took while he was performing. I had a video clip and accidentally deleted it. I'm still boo-hooing about it so I had to go in search of one. This is a nice one of one of his tunes that is one of my favorite Steely Dan numbers.

SMOOTH JAZZ CRUISE - Part 2

Here is a slide show, one of my quickest ways of showing just some of the artists that performed the first two days of the jazz cruise. Larry Carlton, Chieli Minucci, Althea Renee, Paul Taylor, Nick Colionne, Niles, Acoustic Alchemy and Michael Paulo. What a great first two days!

SMOOTH JAZZ CRUISE 2008 - Part I

I just came back from my first jazz cruise, the All-Star Smooth Jazz Cruise, and I should be in bed trying to catch up on some sleep but I had to post a little something or I'll burst. I had such a great time and I am determined to do it all again when the opportunity presents itself. Imagine, five days of jazz, midnight jam sessions, autograph sessions, interview sessions AND still got in some cruise time and trips into Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas.

Let me start you off with the line-up: Norman Brown, Nick Colionne, Marion Meadows, Steve Oliver, Larry Carlton, Shiltz, Paul Taylor, Acoustic Alchemy, Althea Renee, Boney James, Chieli Menucci and other artists that weren't on the advertised line-up.

The shows were hosted by Norman Brown and the Late Night Jams were hosted by Nick Colionne. Here is just one video clip of Nick Colionne from his solo performance on Wednesday night.



That's just a sample of what I've got to share so make sure you come back to see my pics and video clips.

MILT JACKSON

Wikipedia
http://hardbop.tripod.com/milt.html
(January 1, 1923 - October 9, 1999)



Milt Jackson was nicknames "Bags" because he carried his collapsable vibraphone in a bag on his back. He was also know to stay up late (hence, bags under the eyes - smile). He was probably most known being in the Modern Jazz Quartet though for a short time prior to that the band had been called the Milt Jackson Quartet. They performed together for some 20 years, broke up and then got back together several years later.

ROY AYERS

http://www.royayers.com
http://www.myspace.com/royayersubiquity



Roy Ayers is a jazz musician who also does a cross-over into funk and hip hop. I just know that no matter what style it is, the minute he starts playing that vibraphone it sounds like jazz to me. The man does plays a mean vibraphone, or vibes, which is like a xylophone. The difference between the two is that a vibraphone's bars are aluminum and a xylophone's keys are wood.

I've knowing Roy Ayers from way back when and by I mean musically, not personally. I bought his album You Send Me. Looking back now I know that what I liked was the smooth jazz sound of the vibraphone that it added to the music.

Because he crosses over into both I have to give you a sample of both. The vist video is more R&B and one of the old songs I know, Can't You See Me.

The clip below is a must see. It's a "vibe battle" between Roy Ayers and a member of his band, Dwight Gassoway (don't know if I spelled his name correctly). These guys can play and it's worth the few minutes to watch and listen. And I'll leave you with this link which is to a purely jazz song. This video is just a picture with music playing but it's very nice.

RAMSEY LEWIS

http://www.ramseylewis.com
http://www.ramseylewis.com/foundation



Pianist Ramsey Lewis is a jazz legend and he's still a big voice in jazz as you can see if you check out the biography on his website. He's recorded over 80 albums and has five gold records. I'm equally impressed by The Ramsey Lewis Foundation which "offers youth a hand through music".

The first video clip is "The In Crowd".

Ramsey Lewis - The Blues
Uploaded by Funkadelika

LES McCANN

http://www.lesmccann-officialwebsite.com
Wikipedia



Les McCaan is a well know name in jazz and has played with most of jazz's best. This jazz pianist and vocalist IS one of jazz's best. His song "Compared to What" went platinum in the late 60's and isn't amazing that I remember that song so well as a pre-teen.

Les McCaan is also a painter working in water colors. Talk about talented. A collection of his work can be found on his web site along with a great biography.

LES McCAAN TRIO

Les McCann Trio
Uploaded by boberwig

MARCUS MILLER

http://www.marcusmiller.com
http://www.myspace.com/marcusmillerband



I just recently found out about Marcus Miller and as far as I'm concerned, this man is awesome. Marcus plays the bass guitar but I've learned he also plays the bass clarinet. Apparently I'm not the only one who loves this man because he's got more videos clips out there than most of the jazz musicians I've looked up on the internet. Sometimes I think his style is more funk than jazz but who cares!! LOL!

This is one of my favorite video clips from Ramsey Lewis' Legends of Jazz performed with Lee Ritenour and George Duke. Watch this man's hands move!

KENNY BURRELL

http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/kennyburrell
Wikipedia


Image from http://www.gibson.com/whatsnew/pressrelease/2001/august22a.html

Kenny Burrell has been around for a long time and has played with some of the best. His style has been described as bebop jazz and blues and he has been the director of jazz studies at UCLA. If you click on the link below his picture, there is a nice interview with Kenny