It’s Over Sleeping

BBC: Johnny Hodges had several nicknames, of which the best-known were Rabbit and Jeep, the latter commemorated by Ellington in two pieces that contrasted the altoist’s main skills – his mastery of slow tempos on Jeep’s Blues, and the jaunty swinging Jeep Is Jumping.

The Harry James Orchestra : During the golden era of the big bands, Harry recorded a number of hits, including “I’ve Heard That Song Before,” from the motion picture Youth on Parade (1942), “You Made Me Love You” (1941), the number-one instrumental hit “Sleepy Lagoon” (1942), “I Had the Craziest Dream” (1943), “You’ll Never Know” and his theme song, “Ciribiribin.” His band helped launch the careers of many pop music stars of the World War II era, including Frank Sinatra and Helen Forrest.

Roger Eno : Rather resistant to pigeonholes, Roger then collaborated with labelmate Kate St John before they formed Channel Light Vessel, an alternative “supergroup”. In more recent years, Roger has produced further interesting collaborations with Peter Hamill, Lol Hammond and Remote partner Miro. He has also guested on albums by Tim Bowness, No-Man and Laraaji among others.

Swanky’s Blather : Henri Rene is one of my favorites. He has a subtlety that the more popular Space Age artists lack. His music rewards the attentive and perceptive listener. It’s genius

Club Des Belugas : Between June & September 2007 the Club des Belugas Quartet has performed 89 gigs in China. They released a special China Edition CD called “Best of Club des Belugas” in cooperation with the “Shangrila Hotels”, “Moet & Chandon” and “La Perla” .

cdThe Roots : The Mancuso Brothers crossed over apparently incompatible worlds in the last twenty years, trough the Sutera’s ( their village) lost paths of their native Sicily to the remote suburbs of London. They learned the language of the rimembrance, like the castaway learns swimming, avoiding any distractions . They began singing professionally without actually realizing it and they are still doing it even when, left the London mists, they came back to Italy, following an ideal, essential song, crucial like a first need.

Aziza Mustafa Zadeh : “I was born into the world of jazz, and more specifically into the world of “mugam,” a form of traditional, improvisational music in Azerbaijan. It seems quite natural that I became a jazz performer with such a background. My father, Vagif Mustafa Zadeh, was legendary for his jazz improvisation. “

Freddy Cole : Cole doesn’t apologize for sounding like his brother, Nat “King” Cole. There are certain unmistakable similarities. He plays piano and sings and performs live with guitar and upright bass, just like Nat. Yet his voice is raspier, smokier, jazzier even. But he has emerged from the awesome shadow cast by his elder brother. In truth, his phrasing is far closer to that of Frank Sinatra or Billie Holiday than that of his brother and his timing swings a little more.

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