Eilen Jewell's music lives in a middle ground between vintage country and the blues, and her plain-spoken but artful songs serve as an apt reminder that there's more the two styles share than there is that keeps them apart. Jewell's sixth album, 2011's Queen of the Minor Key, is her first release since her tribute to the songs of Loretta Lynn, Butcher Holler, and while Jewell wrote all 14 songs on this set, one might guess she was thinking Patsy Cline during these sessions after previously contemplating Cline's friend Loretta….
Eilen Jewell's music lives in a middle ground between vintage country and the blues, and her plain-spoken but artful songs serve as an apt reminder that there's more the two styles share than there is that keeps them apart. Jewell's sixth album, 2011's Queen of the Minor Key, is her first release since her tribute to the songs of Loretta Lynn, Butcher Holler, and while Jewell wrote all 14 songs on this set, one might guess she was thinking Patsy Cline during these sessions after previously contemplating Cline's friend Loretta.
"The Key", the debut album of the Mauritian pianist now resident in France, Jerry Leonide, is the key to a whole world; to the music and joie de vivre of an island paradise 1,700 km from the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. Leonide translates the irresistible, bouncingly danceable, clearly African influenced grooves and light and breezy crystal-clear melodies of his homeland into the vocabulary of jazz. He himself says of his debut: "For me 'The Key' is the revelation of Mauritian music before the eyes of the world." His global piano playing enthralled the jury of the "Solo Piano Competition 2013" at the Montreux Jazz Festival so much that they awarded him first prize.
Songs in the Key of Life was Stevie Wonder's longest, most ambitious collection of songs, a two-LP (plus accompanying EP) set that – just as the title promised – touched on nearly every issue under the sun, and did it all with ambitious (even for him), wide-ranging arrangements and some of the best performances of Wonder's career…
While known as a crack Nashville songwriter, Beth Nielson Chapman works inside the pop realm on You Hold the Key, her second effort for Reprise. But pop for Chapman isn't all easy-to-digest nuggets. A talented songwriter, she moves in fluid motion between hearty pop, heart-tugging piano balladry, and burnished adult contemporary groove. S
Hawaiian slack-key guitar began evolving in the 1830s, when Spanish and Mexican cowboys brought guitars to the cattle ranches of the Big Island. It became a recognizable style around the turn of the century. The term refers to the practice of slacking some strings from standard tunings to create open tunings; the thumb provides the bass line while the other fingers play melody and improvise. It might thus remind some listeners of the fingerpicking of a country master like Doc Watson, but the style has a wind-blown, wide-open quality all its own. Traditionally an accompanying instrument in a group setting, slack key has recently moved out front, and this all-instrumentals CD shows why. From the light touch of Moses Kahumoku or Leonard Kwan to the bluesiness of George Keo or Ray Kane to the pop feel of Keola Beamer, it offers the best possible introduction to the music.
First album from the band formed by Billy Greer (KANSAS/STREETS) and Mike Slamer (STEELHOUSE LANE/STREETS), featuring current DEEP PURPLE guitar player Steve Morse and several other KANSAS members.
TESLA guitarist Dave Rude delivers the goods with his latest hard rock offering, "The Key". Due on June 4 via Rat Pak Records, this 10-song, riff-laden extravaganza captures the true spirit and essence of American rock and roll music!Produced by Marc Kapetan, "The Key" showcases both Dave's solid guitar playing skills and unique songwriting ability. Along with bassist Marco Guzman, drummer Josh Schmidt and Dave's signature guitar style, this release offers up a straight-forward mix of hard-rockin' cuts that will satisfy any and all fans of the genre.