Blogs

Yat-Kha is a Tuvan band (formed in Russia) led by vocalist/guitarist Albert Kuvezin. Despite the fact that this 2005 LP revolves around covers, the sound is absolutely unique, melding Tuvan-style throat singing with a rock feel. On Re-covers, Yat-Kha pays a distrinctive tribute to many influential musicans and bands, from Led Zeppelin to Joy Division, from Motorhead to Bob Marley. 

KDRT's Album of the Week airs every Thursday evening at 5 p.m. PT on KDRT. This week's host is Jess Goddesse.

Gon' Boogaloo is the third original album from Australian blues artist C.W. Stoneking. Record in only two days, the albums sound hearkens back to the swing and blues music of the 1950s, including artists like Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly. The production is refreshingly straightforward, refusing to complicate itself with fancy or exprimental production techniques, allowing Stoneking's gravelly voice and blues guitar to standout with none of the cluttered and overproduced sound that haunts much of contemporary music. Part of the album's appeal is the refusal to be trendy, instead being unapologetically and uncompromisingly original and old fashioned. Standout tracks on the album include the frantic and energetic "The Jungle Swing" and "Tomorrow Gon' Be Too Late," a relaxed and introspective blues tune. Overall, C.W. Stoneking continues to impress with his blues skill and sensibility, making music that will delight fans of old school blues and roots music.

Talk about a musician’s musician, Adam Block knows his way around a guitar. KDRT is thrilled he will be in the studio this Friday. Adam has played guitar for 20 + years.  After studying history and graduating from UC Davis in 2004, he continued studying guitar with Dave Lynch at Guitar Workshop and then decided to apply to Berklee College of Music in Boston. He earned a Bachelor degree in music and graduated from Berklee College in 2012.  Adam has since studied and performed various styles of music: blues, jazz, rock, R&B, Funk and soul. He has also studied Senegalese music as well as different styles of African guitar playing. He has worked as a sideman in many bands on the East and West coasts, and has also led bands performing his original songs and compositions. Adam has taught guitar students of all ages, young and old and enjoys sharing his knowledge of music and the guitar with his students.

I got into Bad Books after years of listening to Kevin Devine, a Brooklyn indie/punk musician who is one of my favorite songwriters. The group is a side-project featuring Devine and members of the band Manchester Orchestra, whose singer is Andy Hull. This is the second of their two albums, and it's a great listen.

Both Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra have albums I like just as much (and some more) than this one, but Devine and Hull are playing a show together in SF next month, so it feels like a good time for Bad Books. Plus, it’s just a tight 11-song indie record.

Also, unlike others, it’s free of profanity, meaning I won't have to do any on-the-fly lyric censorship during the show. I’ll have my three-year-old son in the booth (it’s take-your-kid-to-work day at UC Davis) and I’m sure he’ll be trying to stir up a ruckus in there, so I’ll need to keep my attention on that.

Jazz from soul and folk tonight. Soul jazz from the early 60’s: Hank Crawford * Gene Ammons * Lou Donaldson. Leadbelly songs by Clifford Jordan and Sandra Douglass. Then some early Pat Metheny, followed by 1990’s work: Eva Cassidy * Winston Walls & Brother Jack McDuff * Abbey Lincoln.

Davis Enterprise film critic Derrick Bang reviews Miles Ahead.

Coming up at 3 pm today, Gary Chew has some Miles on Third Streaming.

Jazz After Dark program featuring Miles Davis re-broadcasts Saturday at 9 pm, and Gary's show rebroadcasts immediately after.

Jazz After Dark archive.  Just click and play!