E. Doctor Smith's Blog

The legendary Pete Seeger left us this week, leaving behind an amazing legacy of music and activism. " Dubbed "America's tuning fork" by poet Carl Sandburg, the banjo-player left behind folk classics like "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," "If I Had a Hammer," "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "We Shall Overcome." Many will associate him with the 1960s, a decade of profound social and political change, when young Americans took to the streets to condemn the Vietnam war and demand civil rights for all races…" I was fortunate to work with him once, for a performance for WETA in Virginia back in 2000, when Seeger was a mere 81 years old. For this performance, Seeger was joined by his grandson Tao Rodriguez-Seeger; a very popular duo in those days. Seeger entered the theater early afternoon, perhaps a little slower and older, yet remarkably energetic. I offered him a beer, a tour of the theater; and he gladly accepted. I reminded him th...

One of the greatest bass players on the planet, the Liberian/German expatriate Kai Eckhardt, has made his home in Berkeley, after thrilling audiences around the world. His resume features a veritable who's who of the fantastic jazz and world musicians; guitarist John McLaughlin, drummer Billy Cobham, percussionist Trilok Gurtu, Stanley Clarke, Wayne Shorter, Patrice Rushen, Dewey Redman, Donald Byrd, Bela Fleck, Victor Wooten and his band Garaj Mahal, to name but a few. Eckhardt's latest album "Zeitgeist", is jazzy blend of funk, Indian ragas and straight-up, butt-kicking electric jazz. Eckhardt's band in fact released his new album at Yoshi's in Oakland a few weeks ago. For that performance, Eckhardt enlisted Baltimore's Dana Hawkins on drums, Australia's Chris Robinson on electric guitar and the North African keyboardist, Osam Ezzeldin. If you missed it, you can download it via his website . Early fans of Eckhardt's will no doubt recall his...

Lately, I've been enjoying a variety of guitar, bass and drum trios, and one of my favorites is bassist Hansford Rowe's "HR3". This is a tasty trio based in Montreal, featuring two younger players, (guitarist Julien Sandiford and Max Lazich), who seem a little wise beyond their years. With HR3, Rowe has a gentle, yet wonderfully wicked sound; 'Scooby Goes to School", and the energetic "Voix Aciennes" are among my personal favorites. HR3's website describes the group as "A wounded road warrior meets two young bucks. Together they confront the beast…." You can’t create without destroying – that doesn’t mean scorched earth is HR3’s method. They kill you softly. They take you under slowly giving you time to visit musical subtleties along the way that require a moment. Bassist Hansford Rowe has scorched with quite a variety of characters along the rocky road; guitarists for example - Allan Holdsworth, Biréli Lagrène, Mike Oldfield, David Fi...