E. Doctor Smith's Blog

Readers of BeyondChron may recall my columns about the young bluesman and songsmith Cas Lucas, and his work with the incredible Palm Wine Boys that first brought him to my attention. Since then, I've delved deeper into his music and his repertoire. His freshman outing, "Giving it Back" in 2006, put him squarely on a path trod by other up-and-coming acoustic guitarists before him; a bit of Dave Mathews, a dash of John Prine's wit and sobering reflection, a touch of the great Michael Hedges, and one of my favorites; Washington, D.C.'s Ben Andrews. Andrews studied and performed the works of Blind Willie Jefferson, Leadbelly, Taj Mahal, and Hound Dog Taylor, and through them, he ultimately found his own voice. "Roads", Cas Lucas' new CD shows a similar maturity, one borne of his travels, tours, trepidations, and tenacity. Lucas will be bringing his blend of acoustic guitar and band to Cafe Du Nord on Friday, March 30th. "Roads" is...

Ever wondered where to find classic DVDs of British rock, blues, or the progessive works of Pink Floyd, Yes, or Tangerine Dream? Look no further than Voiceprint UK, home to an ever growing and an incredible array of vintage music from the British Isles. One of the best and most revered music documentaries of the 1960's enjoys it's long awaited release in this spring. "All My Loving" was filmed and produced in the late sixties and was one of the early directorial films from celebrated director Tony Palmer. The film features rare footage of the Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Who, Cream, Frank Zappa and Jimi Hendrix. Considered a landmark release at the time, (1968), this film is shortly to be available on DVD. There are so many near forgotten greats of the sixties and seventies, that it's amazing so much of that footage has even survived and been digitally remastered by Voiceprint. Fans can visit their website, http://www.voiceprint.co.uk. One needn't worr...

My first memory of the late, great saxophonist Michael Brecker, was at Catholic University's McDonough Arena in 1975, during his stint with the incredible drummer Billy Cobham. After an opening set by the soon-to-be-famous Hall and Oates, Cobham and his group, featuring trumpeter and brother Randy Brecker, guitarist John Abercrombie, trombonist Glenn Ferris, bassist Alex Blake and pianist Milcho Leviev took the stage. Needless to say, I was completely blown away. Cobham's albums with that line-up, "Crosswinds," "Total Eclipse," and "Shabazz," were some of the greatest jazz albums of it's time, and Michael Brecker's solo on Crosswind's "Heather" was such a moving performance, that it remains etched in my mind to this day. His fame increased along side his brother's in their "Brecker Brothers" groups of the '80, with Frank Zappa, and later with Steps Ahead. With Brecker's passing, the jazz wor...

This weekend, I'll find myself at New York City's Iridium Jazz Club, to see Britain's famed jazz drummer, Bill Bruford. Since the events of 9/11, it has become increasingly difficult to see many of Europe's finest musicians. Visa restrictions and mounting costs have limited many to performing only as far as New York City. Last year at the Iridium, Bruford and his most recent collaborator, saxophonist Tim Garland dealt with that dilemma by hiring several of New York's top jazz musicians to perform, and released the live CD entitled, "The Earthworks Underground Orchestra". Joining Bruford and Garland for this tour however, are Earthworks' newest members, bassist Laurence Cottle, and pianist Gwilym Simcock. Bill Bruford's career is like his drumming sound — inimitable. Known for his ringing metal snare drum, crisp cymbal work, and knack for complex time signatures, a young Bruford came to prominence in the late '60s with Yes. The drum...

Many years ago, I had the pleasure of seeing the Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabakin big band, and this weekend, you too will have a chance to see this legendary musician in the most intimate of settings. This Saturday afternoon’s SFJAZZ Members-only concert provides just that, presenting a solo recital of renowned big band arranger and pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi at the exquisite Florence Gould Theatre. Akiyoshi’s history as a jazz pianist dates back to the late ‘40s in Japan. The postwar era in full swing, young Akiyoshi had no trouble finding piano gigs at the many nightclubs catering to American soldiers. A chance encounter with Oscar Peterson, touring Japan with the famed Jazz at the Philharmonic band, garnered her a record date with Verve Records impresario Norman Granz. Soon after she enrolled as the first-ever Japanese student to study jazz at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, where she pursued her nascent interest in composition. Her first marriage to alto saxophonist ...

One of the true immortals of 20th-century jazz, the legendary “Saxophone Colossus,” Sonny Rollins, continues to amaze fans and critics alike in jazz’s second century. In the words of critic Gary Giddins: “Rollins looms as an invincible presence after fifty years: one of the most cunning, surprising, and original of jazz visionaries and one of the very few musicians whose (infrequent) concert appearances and recordings generate intense expectations and heated postmortems.” Rollins returns to the SF Jazz Festival on the heels of his first studio CD in five years, "Sonny, Please". Jazz reviewer Jim McElroy wrote of Rollin's latest effort, "Rollins has a new label and a new recording and those of us who love to listen to jazz can now rejoice for in all the world there is but one Sonny Rollins, and on Sonny, Please, he proves he is still at the top of his game. From the very first song, the title track "Sonny, Please", Rollins and his group are off ...

One of my all-time favorite jazz keyboardists, the truly legendary Joe Zawinul, comes to the Palace of Fine Arts on November 2nd. I've seen Zawinul many, many times, mostly with his co-leader and Miles Davis alum, saxophonist Wayne Shorter in Weather Report. Zawinul is a true visionary, who once compared jazz to boxing (“the footwork, the jab, the constant setting up and reacting to your opponent), and now at the tender age of 73, continues the good fight of plumbing the intersection of jazz, rock, and world music with his always-fresh Zawinul Syndicate. Austrian born, Joe Zawinul emigrated to the US in 1959 where he played with Maynard Ferguson and the great Dinah Washington before joining alto saxophonist great Cannonball Adderley in 1961 for nine years. With Adderley, Zawinul wrote several important songs, primarily the slow and funky Hit "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" which reached the top on the Billboard magazine Pop Charts in 1967. Zawinul then moved on to a br...