E. Doctor Smith's Blog

Audiences around the world have come to know the ambidextrous talent that is British percussionist Simon Phillips. Not unlike the great Billy Cobham before him, Phillips also sports a monster, 12-piece, left-handed drum set, deftly struck with flams and paradiddles aplenty. The group "PSP" developed when Phillips and bassist Pino Palladino recently joined forces on keyboadist Philippe Saisse’s CD “At World’s Edge. It was that collaboration, which sparked the idea of incarnating the trio into a full-fledged working unit. PSP arrived at Yoshi's in Oakland last night and concludes their fiery set tonight. “I’ve always had such tremendous respect and admiration for Simon and Pino as musicians, so playing with them in this trio is a dream come true for me,” admitted Saisse. “We discovered that we have an incredible synergy, and really compliment each other as live musicians,” added Phillips.

The trio will also continue to pursue their solo endeavors as well. Phil...

I am still mesmerized by the fantastic 2008 release of the multi-talented musician Kit Watkins entitled, "The Works". This Data/DVD is an incredible collection that spans nearly thirty years of this prolific artist. Watkins first came to my attention on the campus of Georgetown University, during his tenure as founding member of the group, "Happy the Man". Sponsored by the university's then forward thinking radio station, WGTB, Watkins and his group produced a show that is now the stuff of legend and heralded the age of prog-rock and new age music of the late '70's and '80s. There are 27 albums and 12 bonus tracks in mp3 format on the DVD, (including my personal favorite, "Over the Andes" with Coco Rousell), making this a must have collection of a true musical genius. Another reviewer once wrote of Watkins, "Kit Watkins first came to prominence as part of legendary progressive band, Happy the Man. Despite disbanding years ...

I first saw the enigmatic keyboardist George Duke, back in the '70's with violinist Jean Luc Ponty and the incredible Frank Zappa and his stellar line up of the Mothers of Invention, featuring Ruth Underwood, Tom Fowler, Chester Thompson and Napoleon Murphy Brock. Soon he would team up with now legendary jazz icons Stanley Clarke and Billy Cobham. His subsequent solo albums with Flora Purim, Airto Moriera, Ndugu Chancler and Alphonso Johnson were equally unforgettable. In the ensuing years, Duke has become an in demand record producer winning grammys and working with many of the most popular artists on the scene today. For his return at Yoshi's Oakland, Duke comes in leading a quartet which will cover his hits from the past and new material too. Tonight will be the last of a two-night stand which began on Thursday, so catch him while you can. Duke's biography from his website, paints a fascinating history of a truly stellar musician. "George was born in San Rafael,...

Bay Area quintet Fortune Smiles was formed by guitarist Ted Nirgiotis in 2007 to explore beyond traditional straight-ahead jazz by blending the creative improvisation of modern jazz with rhythms and harmonies from popular music styles such as Latin, Brazilian, funk, fusion and the blues. He has been fortunate to be able to recruit four experienced musicians to join him for this project all of whom have both a deep knowledge of jazz, as well as familiarity with a wide variety of other types of music. The group has been building up a large repertoire of lesser known standards by masters such as Wayne Shorter and David Samuels, and is currently focusing on incorporating more original songs. They released their first, eponymous CD this fall, and will be playing music from it at the upcoming Yoshi’s show. Several new original compositions will also be premiered. The liner notes from the group's new CD provides a glimpse of this fine album, "Featuring Ted Nirgiotis on g...