Jimmy Winokur
Page 2:
Some More...
Fleetwood Mac & Bob Welch
Romantic & 20th Century Symphonic Composers
Jackson Browne
Bruce Cockburn
Billie Holiday
James Taylor
Ella Fitzgerald
Blue Mitchell
Israeli Favorites" Shlomo Artzi & Arik Einstein
Donald Fagan & Steely Dan
Page 2
...Some More
of
My Favorite
Musicians
and some
personal background
My favorite
Musicians:
Page 1
Page 3
Fleetwood Mac
(~1970-75, during the
Bob Welch &
Danny Kirwan
era,
pre-Buckingham-Nicks )
Not to be confused with the far more famous Lindsay Buckingham & Stevie Nicks version of Fleetwood Mac, this earlier Bob Welch-focused aggregation was the 2nd incarnation of Fleetwood Mac, following the original edition -- a classic blues band fronted by the literally insane Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer in the 60s. Mick Fleetwood (drums) and John McVie ("Mac" -- on bass) then took on, one after another, three musicians who became the group's singer/songwriters: the young Christine Perfect, who married McVie and took his name, Danny Kirwan ,and Bob Welch, around whom the band coalesced after a chaotic time in the late 60s.
Common to both of these first bands, and the current incarnation too, has been the exceptional rhythm section of Fleetwood and McVie -- whose signature lush 'carpet' of relentless, steady rhythm and bass support and enrich every song genre . In concert they -- especially gangly Mick Fleetwood -- are amazing to behold. Of all women pianists I've seen Christine McVie by far commands the keyboard most completely and assuredly -- and is thus by far the sexiest for me. I was sad to see that she has currently left the band for a more relaxing lifestyle.
Welch's persona and
music were compelling , laced with pervasive intimations of a dark,
mystical netherworld of ominous, psychedelic ambiguity. His music's
dark side is and punctuated, though, by
sudden, transcendant rays of sacred light. Great examples, and personal favorites of
mine are songs like Night Watch, Revelation, Mystery to Me, Emerald Eyes and Future Games. Lyrics for these songs are found in the
Song Lyrics section of this website.
Throughout these albums, the hypnotic, Welch tunes are soothed
and balanced by the straightforward,
infectiously tuneful Christine McVie love songs, loaded with melodic hooks
Eventually
Welch's maniacal intensity became increasingly dominant, and by
the mid-70s the band parted ways with him -- and Kirwan, who'd penned numbers like
Sands of Time and
Woman of A Thousand Years.
Bob Welch
Welch recently released
an odd album of
be-bop for rock-style
electric guitar!
Christine McVie's powerful keyboards, husky voice and great writing has continued well into the early 90s, but she has declined to tour with Fleetwood Mac in 2003. The more popular, better known group known widely today is far more confined in its vision and musical concept.
The Buckingham Nicks version of 'the Mac' -- by far the best known band -- is fine by me. Nothing special, though.
Great album-cover art of the 70s!
On the back, an old wise man is staring right back at the ape. A
mystery to me. This favorite
is framed in my home study, a reminder of what we all know, and don't
John McVie, Mick Fleetwood,
Bob Welch, Christine Perfect McVie
Danny
Kirwan
Russian Masters
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Serge Prokofiev
Igor Stravinsky
Alexander Borodin
Nicolai
Rimsky-Korsakov
The British --
Sir Edward Elgar
Ralph Vaughn Williams
Sir William Walton
American Composers
Charles Ives
Howard Hanson
Samuel Barber
Paul Hindemith
Walter Piston
Alan Hovhaness
Other
'nationals':
Carl Nielsen
Bela Bartok
Jean Sibelius
Jackson Browne is often characterized as the quintessential introspective, sensitive singer-songwriter of the 1970s. This sort of musician is seen as an embodiment of the oft-ridiculed, so-called "me generation" -- the supposed fall from the countercultural visions of the '60s.
I have always rejected this undervaluation of the turn toward personal growth in the '70s . Rather than a self-absorbed retreat from social commitment, I see the '70s as a time for regrouping and refueling after a first, frustrated 'assault on the citadel' of mainstream culture; time for a necessary reality check, and reorientation toward social issues -- building inner personal strength from which to exert more thoughtful influence from within mainstream culture. This healthy maturation of our generation is beautifully depicted in the wonderful documentary, Berkeley in the Sixties , in which powerful imagery of that era is interspersed with retrospective commentary by "The Movements' "alumni, speaking from later, prominent leadership roles in mainstream society.
Dramatic social changes, the attributed hallmark sof "the '60s" were really even more fully manifest in the 70s : "all you need is love" & "flower power", unbounded sexual expression, popular use of marijuana and other psychedelics, erosion of governmental authority and lionizing of the news media (most obvious in Watergate )and the cultural cohesion we experienced via "The Music" we all lived by.
Jackson Browne's greatest fame actually came after he changed the focus of his music from "sensitive" introspection to political. agendas. (Only recently has he returned to a more introspective focus, and his more recent music is, again, beautiful in ways promise d by his first recordings)
Because his personal songs nonetheless resonated so universally throughout the counterculture, Jackson Browne sang uniquely for several years -- in my own experience, as almost a 'prophet' of the magical, creative times in which I felt I was coming of age. He epitomized "The Music".
Ella Fitzgerald
Without
doubt, Ella was
always -- through a very, very long career --
The First
Lady of Song.
Her voice is unparalleled in all of jazz and pop, and it was said of her phrasing, "she could be singing the telephone directory, and it would be interesting!" Ella was one of the early singers who popularized 'scat' singing, and I loved her from my first encounters with her in my teens, listening to the five volume Gershwin Songbooks (yes, with the original Bernard Buffet covers).
As huge Ella fans, we
decided we would somehow honor her. We sent back a note to her, saying
she'd been elected (!)
the Phi Sigma Delta
"Sweetheart of the Year"!
To our happy surprise, Ella promptly invited us back for 45 minutes to her dressing room, shared hors d'ouvres while in her dressing gown (but with a giant wig!), called in the club photographer to make a souvenir for us, and then thanked us during the show. 15 years later, when she was touring Denver, I sent her a follow up note, saying one of those guys was in the audience -- and she again dedicated a song to the boys at Phi Sigma Delta !
Having come up as art of Horace Silver's great quintet, Blue Mitchell was somewhat of an obscure mainstream jazz player. But for me, he was the turn of a corner. I'd stopped listening to jazz -- mostly Chet Baker (also noted in these pages)-- early in college, and remained oblivious to this great musical realm for almost 20 years.
When I thought of returning to the exploration of jazz, I had the good fortune to attend a Blue Mitchell concert in support of his Stratosonic Nuances album (also featuring tenor sax player, Harold Land, in a real jazz supper club ...on Leetsdale Ave. in Denver/Glendale, of all places.
From that special night, I recall the tenderloin ,and too much Jack Daniels. But mostly I recall sitting real close up to Blue Mitchell, and reveling in the 'funkadelic' music of "Blues for Thelma" and the like. I was hooked (on the music, not the booze.)
Of Blue Mitchel;ls recordings, Stratosonic Nuances must be the most obsiucre!
Israeli favorites:
<
Shlomo Artzi, Arik Einstein
>
I first encountered these great musicians -- singer-songwriters reminiscent of ours, but with Israeli sensibility -- on my first visit to Israel in 1985. As I share their music here, they are often taken for French artists. Their lyrics express the complex emotional spectrum of Israeli life -- filled with passionate personal and religious themes, always under the specter of terrorism and military aggression by neighboring Arab states.
Bruce Cockburn's music of 1979-80 was specially important to me, serving to accompany and sometimes propel my own spirtual awakening during those wondrous years. See parts of my spiritual journey and Cosmic Revelations: Taos, 1980. The two important albums for me were Dancing in The Dragon's Jaws and Humans -- both combining a spiritual perspective (Wondering Where The Lions Are, Rumors of Glory, What About the Bond, No Footprints) with a gritty sort of urban folk/political sensibility (Fascist Architecture, Humans, Tokyo, Cockburn's spiritual perspective seems to have a base in Christianity, yet his lyrics are not so explicitly Christian to have put me off. Through most of the past few decades, Cockburn's music has become far more heavily political, sometimes bitterly so. Even during these years, there have been some wonderful songs: Pacing the Cage, Southland of the Heart, Coldest Night of the Year
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