E. Doctor Smith's Blog

If you didn't get a chance to see the Grammy nominated guitarist, singer and songwriter Bill Kirchen at the last Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, fear not. Kirchen returns for several shows this weekend at the Throckmorton in Mill Valley tonight, and the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley this Sunday. Kirchen's website states that he "is one of the fortunate few who can step onto any stage, play those trademark licks that drove his seminal Commander Cody classic Hot Rod Lincoln into the Top Ten, and elicit instant recognition for a career that has spanned over 40 years and includes guitar work with Nick Lowe, Emmylou Harris, Doug Sahm, Elvis Costello and many more. Named “A Titan of the Telecaster” by Guitar Player Magazine, he celebrates an American musical tradition where rock 'n' roll and country music draws upon its origins in blues and bluegrass, Western swing from Texas and California honky-tonk. His current CD Word To The Wise on Proper American features due...

I once had the privilege of working with the great saxophonist David S. Ware back in 2000, when he came to Virginia's State Theater for a jazz festival, and touring to support his latest album on Columbia Records, "Surrendered". With his brightly colored clothes flowing about him, Ware launched into a sonic performance that I will never forget. Last night, at the age of 62 . Ware, a leading free jazz player during the last 20 years, passed away. A statement from Patricia Parker, wife of Ware’s long-time collaborator bassist William Parker, was shared on the  jazzcorner.com’s bulletin board: "Tonight, a giant has fallen. David S. Ware, the great saxophonist, died tonight, October 18, 2012. What an incredible loss! What a great musician and spirit! His tremendous sound, his spirit, his music, is irreplaceable… Music holds Us… when there is more information we will let you know... -Patricia" The Ottawa Citizen's Peter Hum wrote, "Ware was 62. When he was 6...

Sylvia Cuenca is an active young drummer on the New York jazz scene who is contributing outstanding performances in a variety of situations. Recently, she has been performing extensively with trumpet legend Clark Terry as part of his quintet. This group performs annually at the Village Vanguard and the Blue Note in New York City, on the Royal Caribbean and the S.S. Norway jazz cruises as well as many clubs, concerts and jazz festivals. In addition to working with Clark Terry, Ms. Cuenca has performed with artists such as trombonist Al Grey, saxophonists Red Halloway, Jimmy Heath and Frank Wess, to name a few. Next Tuesday night, Ms. Cuena brings her Organ Trio to Yoshi's in San Francisco, featuring Paul Bollenback on guitar and Jared Gold on organ. This trio exudes a strong personal sound rich with interplay and hard driving swing: soulful guitar, bluesy organ and funky drum grooves. Originally from San Jose, California, Cuenca attended San Jose City College where she performed an...

If a certain presidential candidate had his way, Big Bird would be fired from one of the most educational programs for children in the history of television. Sesame Street is an institution, and anyone that threatens its existence, and the rest of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, (aka PBS), is in for a fight. The very thought of wiping out PBS got me thinking about the decades of television we have all but taken for granted. Growing up in DC, I happily dined on a steady diet of great programming on WETA, Howard University's WHUR and WMPT, Maryland's Public Television out of Annapolis. I've got a personal, top ten list of some of the programs that inspired my generation, and my hope that many more like them will continue to positively influence generations to come. 10. The 1972 World Chess Championship Match We were riveted when chess masters Shelby Lyman and Jimmy Sherwin brought us those live updates of the Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky World Chess Champ...