Andy Blackman Hurwitz

i’m not a hardcore jazz phd, i just like the music ya know? one guy that helped me find my back in the day was freddie “hub” hubbard.  his two 1970 recordings for cti- red clay and straight life - got me hooked. freddie’s recent passing got me looking back and forward and back and forward. i’ll miss you freddie, and my musical flag hangs at half mast while i play the national windjammer.

“The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as night and his affections dark as Erebus: Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music.“  William Shakespeare from “The Merchant of Venice“

i’ve come full circle with the allman brothers. they were my first all time favorite band growing up as i smoked my first joint to the sounds of “eat a peach” and saw god somewhere deep into the “mountain jam”. then i got into jazz and became too cool for school, dismissing greg and duane as copycats feeding off the sweat of the black man. when i finally grew up (for the second time), i realized that (1) duanne was really the god i saw in the mountain jam; (2) greg’s voice IS the blues; and (3) the annual abb run at the beacon is a testament to the bands importance and staying power. 10 new dates for the oh-nine just announced. get ‘em here, dig some clips of days past here.

a university professor who is an expert in sound and a part-time dj believes stonehedge was created as a dance arena for listening to “trance-style” music. dig.

as a longtime mmw junkie, i’ve been a fan (and friend) of chris wood forever.   but since he got together with his brother oliver to form the wood brothers, my passion has reached a new level.  file it under alt- acoustic -rock,  but really they’re just great storytellers.  their latest release, loaded has been on the best of 2008 list since it came out – and has officially moved onto my desert island list as well.  stream ‘em on myspace. dig into audio some visuals here.