E. Doctor Smith's Blog

Nicolas Bearde performs for the "Concerts at the Cadillac", series this Friday, August 24th, at the Cadillac Hotel, 380 Eddy Street, SF, between 12:30 and 1:30 PM.  Even Bobby McFarrin says Nicolas Bearde has "a deeply soulful voice", and is "a uniquely versatile entertainer".  Mr. Bearde will be accompanied by the fabulous Tammy Hall on piano and Tony Saunders on bass. Internationally acclaimed jazz recording artist, songwriter and educator, Nicolas Bearde , blends genres of jazz, soul and blues as he takes you on a musical journey. An original and current member of Bobby McFerrin's renowned vocal ensemble, "Voicestra" for over two decades, Nicolas has also carved out a remarkable solo career, and made a notable contribution to the music world with his soulful style of jazz, known as the "Nicolas Bearde Jazz Experience". A seasoned and highly respected showman on stage, Bearde's personality and sense of humor, manifest themselv...

Subject To Change Without Notice is the second solo album from American guitar hero Jimmy Herring which features mostly all original tunes as well as highlights such as amazing covers of the Mahavishnu Orchestra's Hope, George Harrison's Within You Without You and Jimmy McGriff's Miss Poopie. Joining Jimmy on lead guitar are such top notch musicians as Neal Fountain and Etienne Mbappe on the bass, Jeff Sipe and Tyler Greenwell on drums, Matt Slocum on piano and keyboards. Making special guest appearances on the album are Bela Fleck on banjo, Bill Evans on saxophones, and Nicky Sanders on the violin and Carter Herring on the cello. Herring's website rightly notes that he is "a peerless musician, possessing formidable technical resources, ample imagination, and improvisational grace, Jimmy Herring has thrived alongside some of the most demanding and iconic figures in contemporary music. From his ongoing role as lead guitarist in Widespread Panic to his stints with th...

Back in 1987, I was blown away by Bill Bruford's first Earthworks group, Kazumi Watanabe's trio with Jeff Berlin and of course, David Torn's "Cloud about Mercury" band with Mark Isham and Tony Levin, featuring Bruford's post Patrick Moraz/King Crimson era Simmons SDS7 electronic drum kit. I was so enamored of this new technology and music, that I soon embarked on creating my own version. Thanks to a basic 5 piece, Simmons SDS 9 kit given to me by my good friend Stephen Bray, I was off and running. The addition of 5 more Simmons pads, (courtesy of my chums at Guitar Center), Roland's newest MIDI drum brain, the PM-16, the Roland TR-505 drum module, and a Yamaha TX-7 synth, I was able to duplicate many of the sounds and patterns played by Bruford on his Yamaha DX21, Simmons SDS 7 and MTM modules. The advent of the more affordable Roland, Yamaha, Akai and Alesis drum brains, soon led to the demise of the overpriced and unreliable Simmons. When Bruford debuted...

After extensively touring the country, one of the Bay Area's best musical talents is off to NYC at the end of August. I once had the pleasure of having Garrin join bassist Edo Castro and me for a truly fun-filled performance at Duboce Park several years ago. About his final Bay Area shows, Garrin writes, "I've got a few more gigs in San Francisco before I once again relocate to New York City. My next show in San Francisco will be at Dolores Park Cafe on Friday, August 10! What can I say about this homey venue that has hosted so many memorable nights over the years? Please come out and say see you later before Jason and I take off!" If you haven't seen Garrin before, tonight is your chance. One fine example of Benfield's work, is a video shown below, "Walking Time Blues" and is among my favorites. Garrin's website sums up his latest efforts: “The Wave Organ Song is Benfield’s fifth full length CD of original songs. He gained notice in 2000 with hi...

Kevin Coelho is the sort of teenage phenom that the Hammond B3 organ hasn’t seen in decades. It’s a measure of his gifts that the 16-year-old Californian’s debut album, “Funkengruven – The Joy of Driving a B3,” was produced by a renowned master of the B3: Tony Monaco, whose Chicken Coup Records imprint is released “Funkengruven” last month via Summit Records. “Kevin is a fascinating and brilliant young musician,” says Monaco, who not only helmed the sessions but also lent Coelho the players from his hot touring trio: guitarist Derek DiCenzo and drummer Reggie Jackson. “In a lot of ways, Kevin reminds me of the young me! He has already studied an enormous amount and has a great grasp of what and how he wants to play. He really knows how to play that left-hand bass, which is the key to driving the music. Producing the record for Kevin was a wonderful experience for me, a real gift.” Coelho comes to the San Jose Jazz Festival August 12th. Classically trained in piano, Coelho fell in love ...