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.

A while back I had written about Ronnie Singer. For those of you who don’t know, he is sort of a gap in the jazz continuum that might’ve altered how jazz guitar developed had he lived. Because his sound is similar (he is using the same guitar as Jimmy, the Gibson ES 150 and he uses similar slurring techniques), you might at first mistake him for Jimmy when you listen to him. But his approach is a bit more direct and active and, unlike almost any other jazz guitarists at the time (save Jimmy), much more fluent in the “real deal” vocabulary of bebop and its proper execution. For example,…

My brother Doug was born Aug 29, 1956. I was on a bus tour of Canada this week and was unable to make the entry on Wednesday. But let us take today to appreciate my brother’s contribution to the art of jazz guitar. He is still one of the finest that have ever played, displaying the hallmarks of any great jazz artist – timing, feel, sound and authentic jazz feeling. These are somewhat rare commodities these days. We should also be celebrating his recent comeback to the jazz scene and the great reviews he has been receiving. Long overdue. Welcome back, Doug! At left is a picture of Doug when…

Today Aug 20, 2012 Jimmy would’ve been 85. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 17 years since his passing. Every year I have to pinch myself that I was so lucky to have someone so brilliant in my life, whose work has touched and inspired not only me and my brother Doug but many, many musicians both young and old. I continue to marvel at his genius and hope that more and more people begin to appreciate this under-appreciated, soft-spoken man who just was able to cut through all the bullshit and deliver the truth, whether from his words or his guitar. Those of you who know me and…