The good – Deep musical concepts

The bad – Too complex for some listeners

The ugly – Nothing

Thanks to my parents, radio, and TV, I was exposed to MANY different styles of music when I was a child. This included several types of jazz. But I really didn’t become a fan of jazz (and jazz-fusion) music until 1976, when I bought Al Di Meola’s Land of the Midnight Sun album, and Return To Forever’s The Romantic Warrior album. These two records started my ongoing love of jazz, and subsequent journey backwards to its roots and forward through its modern era.

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The good – Unique talent & sound

The bad – Obscure to most

The ugly – Nothing

I first heard Sonny Landreth in 2005 when my wife surprised me with his Grant Street CD, recorded live in concert. She read a review of the album and thought I’d like his music. She was correct! Grant Street is a great CD. Landreth’s guitar playing simply blew me away. I’ve heard nothing else quite like it before or since. His slide work is awesome.

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The good – Perhaps the best ever

The bad – Wish I knew of him sooner

The ugly – Nothing

My introduction to the great Vladimir Horowitz was when I received two of his CDs on Christmas 1999. I had asked my wife for some classical solo piano music, suggesting something from the CD series “Great Pianists Of The 20th Century,” all double-CD sets. My wife made an excellent choice, giving me the first two (of the three) Vladimir Horowitz titles (Vols. 47 & 48). I have since acquired ALL 100 titles in this series, and these two are my favorites of the bunch.

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The good – A great storyteller

The bad – Unknown to the masses

The ugly – Nothing

My first exposure to Grammy Award winner Dave Alvin was on October 26, 1998, when he was the opening act for a concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, IN. We didn’t even know he was on the bill. We went to see Joni Mitchell, with only a passing interest in the headliner, Bob Dylan. We always arrive early at concerts so I can check out the band’s gear and the PA rig. I’m glad we did on this night, as my exposure to Dave Alvin opened up a whole new world of music to me. He immediately became one of my favorite artists.

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The good – A great musical talent

The bad – Her music is BAD (good)

The ugly – Certainly NOT Imelda

I first saw (and heard) Imelda May on the PBS (TV) special airing of Jeff Beck’s “A Celebration of Les Paul.” It was essentially Jeff Beck playing guitar with Imelda May’s band, doing music associated with Les Paul, and other music of the 1940s, 50s and early 60s era. There were also other special guests who appeared on one (or more) songs. It was a very nice show. Imelda May’s singing really impressed me. She has a great voice, and really nailed the spirit and emotion of those classic songs from yesteryear.

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The good – Fresh, new, enjoyable music

The bad – Nothing that I can think of

The ugly – Certainly NOT Nataly Dawn

You’d have to be living under a rock to not have seen and heard Pomplamoose playing their music on the Hyundai TV commercials that ran this past Christmas season. The ads seemingly aired on every TV channel—over-the-air, cable, and satellite.

For those who don’t know, pamplemousse is a French word meaning grapefruit, and Pomplamoose is a talented American indie music duo consisting of multi-instrumentalists Jack Conte and Natalie Dawn (Knutsen). Their music AND approach to their music career is both fresh and unique.

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The good – A great new discovery for me

The bad – I didn’t discover her sooner

The ugly – Absolutely nothing

I first became aware of Imogen Heap when I read an interesting interview with her in the October 2009 issue of Keyboard magazine. But I’ve read a lot of interesting interviews with musicians whose musical talents or vision didn’t impress or connect with me. So I didn’t give Imogen Heap a second thought.

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Three polls about how you listen to music, and where you get the music you listen to.

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The good – Talent 2nd to none

The bad – Solo album marred by distortion

The ugly – DISTORTION

I first saw and heard Tal Wilkenfeld playing bass in Jeff Beck’s band on the “Crossroads: Eric Clapton Guitar Festival 2007” DVD. What an amazing talent! She looked like a tiny, cute teenager, nearly dwarfed by her bass guitar. But there was nothing tiny or cute about the music coming from her hands, through her instrument, which was BIG, BAD, and BEAUTIFUL.

Much to my surprise, on Christmas day, Nancy (my significant other) gave me Wilkenfeld’s solo CD, “Transformation.” The album features Tal with her jazz fusion band. The music is enjoyable, with good musicianship all around. I really enjoy jazz fusion music, so I was pleased with this CD.

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The good – A deserving artist gets her due

The bad – Wish I had discovered her sooner

The ugly – Absolutely NOTHING

I first learned about classical pianist Ingrid Fliter (pronounced FLEET-er) a couple of months ago, in the November 2008 issue of Keyboard Magazine. Classical solo piano has become my favorite music genre to listen to over the past 10 years. So I was intrigued when Keyboard Magazine proclaimed Fliter as classical music’s “newest rising star.”

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