Below is a video of a gig I was on made by the saxophonist Tony Heath along with his wife, vocalist Kate Scott at the Spotlight Cafe (part III of III) in Jan 1994. The bassist is my pal Ed Fuqua and drummer Joe Smith.The film is both an homage to Tony Heath’s Mom and a little slice of life in the NYC clubs as well as our playing at the time. This former folk cafe became Caliban and then folded by 1996 I believe.

One of the things that I consider a personal privilege is to have been able to see and hear my father, Jimmy Raney live. He always had this ability to hook you in – it’s a difficult talent to describe – where you are hanging on every note waiting for something great to happen. It’s something that only can be shared now via the few videos available I have posted and segmented on my YouTube channel. There are tons of dedication YouTube videos out there where free album tracks are posted under the gray area of “fair” or “educational” use of both Dad and Doug. (As if Spotify artist thousandth…

It’s been a few weeks since Jim’s death and I was shocked when I heard about this. I wanted to write about it sooner but honestly was looking for just the right thing to say. But I think I do now.

As happens often, I’m usually away on vacation on Doug’s Birthday, Aug 29th. Just back from New Orleans. So another belated one. Be that as it may, let’s celebrate my brother’s return to jazz scene. He’s playing better than ever despite the wear and tear he’s been thru the last few years. He’s featured on a new record out under bassist’s Jesper Lungaard name, celebrating the music of Horace Parlan, with whom he’s recorded several albums (Horace can no longer play due to illness). See my sidebar for details. For those of you who may only be familiar with Jimmy Raney, Doug is one of the smoothest most natural swinging…

August 20th is Jimmy Raney’s birthday. Although I’ve largely given up on how and why Jimmy’s true stature has been largely minimized in the jazz community, I can’t help but be reminded of this around his birthday. Where is his radio retrospective on NYC jazz radio stations? Or a couple of tracks at least? For my part I would have to admit that being Jimmy Raney’s chief spokesman here is proving more and more challenging for me because of changes in my personal/business life but I will try to do a better job of it since it is important to keep the flag flying in the Raney Camp given the…

Following up on my previous blog about my BJ’s passing on June 2nd. I’ve written a special song for him and it is featured in a new video presentation that has great pictures and videos of his life, including a puppy video at around 10-11 weeks old. I think you will enjoy them. Best, Jon

Those of you that are not pet owners may not fully grasp my feelings in this post, which is about my beloved dog, BJ who is now with the angels after almost 12 years with us. But I'm sure most of you can appreciate the feeling of loss of a loved one.

Following up from my previous post, Bill Evans Explained, I’d like to continue with my next subsection: Personality/Identity For me one simple measure of artistic personality is quick recognition without prior knowledge of the artist or recording being listened to. Use Ben Webster as a reference point. There’s no mistaking him. The piano is a more difficult instrument to establish an identity than a saxophone in part because of the nature of the instrument. There is less direct contact and control of the means of sound production. So if you can establish pianistic identity, it’s an important measure of achievement. Even great pianists can sometimes only be deduced rather than…

Following up on my previous post, The Bill Evans Question, I will discuss the aspects of Bill’s playing that raises him above nearly all of his contemporaries. I will also discuss some of the criticisms leveled against him.