E. Doctor Smith's Blog

Judge Dredd is a fictional character whose comic strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running, having been featured there since its second issue in 1977. Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner. Dredd and his fellow Judges are empowered to arrest, sentence, and even execute criminals on the spot. The character was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, and Pat Mills. Dredd returns Friday in an all new reboot in 3D. Dredd is amongst the UK's best known home-grown comic characters. So great is the character's name recognition that his name is sometimes invoked over similar issues to those explored by the comic series, such as the police state, authoritarianism, and the rule of law. Dredd was named the Seventh Greatest Comic Character by the British magazine Empire. In 2011, IGN ranked him 35th in t...

This Friday's "Concerts at the Cadillac" series sees the return of pianist Jeffrey Chin and his trio, with bassist Myron Dove and drummer Billy Johnson. Joining Chin and his trio is the renown vocalist Margo LeDuc. This concert also marks the passing of the Cadillac's founder Leroy Looper a year ago, and where Chin gave one of his most memorable performances. Chin has been playing piano since the age of six, when he began his formal musical training in classical piano under the tutlelage of Julia McCaslin and Samuel Rodetsky. During that time, he won numerous scholarships and awards, performing regularly in many open competitions and recitals. After eight years of private lessons, his interests began to blossom; he branched out and taught himself to play many other styles and types of music, including what would eventually turn out to be his passion...jazz. Chin currently owns and runs his own recording studio, production company, music publishing company...

If you haven't had a chance to catch drummer Jack DeJohnette's incredible trio, featuring virtuoso pianist Chick Corea and bassist Stanley Clarke, you'll have to settle for the 10:00 pm shows Friday and Saturday night at Yoshi's on Fillmore. All of the 8:00 pm shows have been sold out, and rightly so. Born in Chicago in 1942, DeJohnette is widely regarded as one of jazz music's greatest drummers. Part of a four night "birthday celebration", the 70 year old DeJohnette has been delighting audiences on this tour and has shown no signs of slowing down. Jack DeJohnette has collaborated with most major figures in jazz history.  Some of the great talents he has worked with are John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Sun Ra, Jackie McLean, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Keith Jarrett, Chet Baker, George Benson, Stanley Turrentine, Ron Carter, Lee Morgan, Charles Lloyd, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Abbey...

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...