Devil is Fine

The Rolling Stones’ 1981 tour was the biggest rock and roll event of the year. The size of the production, the length and the pubulicity surrounding it were unprecedented. They played in the biggest arenas, sometimes for multiple nights, and orchestrated a media blitz which saw them appear on television somewhere in the world at least once a week on local stations, syndicated shows like Rona Barrett’s new news program “Inside & Out” and on cable television with several appearances on the brand new channel MTV. The big tour finale was the pay-per-view broadcast by satellite on the final night…

ZEAL & ARDOR might well be the very definition of eclectic. Feeling like the musical equivalent of Jack Skellington‘s Christmas ‘what’s this?’ experiment, Manuel Gagneux has toiled away over test tubes and vials to bubble and boil away yet another potent concoction of intelligent and unique ideas. Their eponymous full-length is now imminent, and frankly it highlights the band as some of the most prolific and exciting musicians on planet earth…

This 1956 recording was Bob Dorough's debut, an introduction to one of the most unusual talents in jazz. He's a gifted songwriter and a fine pianist, but most of all, he's a unique lyricist and singer, rattling off hyperkinetic vocalese in an almost chirping, high-pitched voice that somehow retains hints of an Arkansas drawl and a conversational intimacy. He's as distinctive on Hoagy Carmichael's beautiful "Baltimore Oriole" as he is on the bop fanfares like Dizzy Gillespie's "Ow!" and Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite," with his own memorable lyrics. His boppish piano playing–with all the virtues of crisp articulation and an acute sense of time–is an oddly conventional complement to the vocals, and there are good contributions by Warren Fitzgerald on trumpet and Jack Hitchcock on vibes. Devil May Care's title tune has recently received fine covers by more conventional singers like Diana Krall and Claire Martin, but it's much more distinctive here. While Dorough has influenced generations of jazz singers, from Mose Allison to Kurt Elling, there's nothing quite like the original.

After Tinsley Ellis released the fine Ice Cream in Hell in 2020, he hit the road for a 60-date tour. Six weeks in, the global COVID-19 pandemic made him cancel. He drove the 2,400 miles from Reno, Nevada to Atlanta, Georgia. At home he entered his basement studio and pulled out loads of gear – including every guitar he owned. He also set up a turntable and began dragging vinyl off the shelves. He explored studio and obscure live recordings from some of his musical heroes, including the Allman Brothers, Freddie and B.B. King, Michael Bloomfield, and many more. He was captivated and began writing with a white-hot intensity, determined to grow as a songwriter. By April he was posting tracks to his website. In 18 months he composed 200 new songs. He contacted longtime friend, keyboardist and producer Kevin McKendree and booked time at his Franklin, Tennessee studio, then culled his massive song list down to ten tunes. On Devil May Care, Ellis is joined by McKendree on piano and organ, bassist Steve Mackey, and drummer Lynn Williams.

From Australia & introduced to Europe by blues master Dave Hole in 1994, Rob Tognoni delivers a 100% powerfully charged experience with every performance. There is simply no compromise, which is strongly evident in his music. After 20 years his explosive guitar playing and unique songs are now being compared with the greats of his genre and have firmly established him in the European venues & festivals as well as gaining many fans of hard blues rock worldwide. " Shakin' The Devil's Hand - Live In Europe" captures Tognoni at his emotive best. The title track was originally penned from a hindsight view of the legendary Robert Johnson deal at the Crossroads…but also by shear co-incidence can be attributed to Rob's symbolic roots and by his uncompromising, direct & raw guitar energy…"