Steve Beck has been involved with music most of his life, from founding a leading musician portal in the early days of the internet, and speaking at SXSW, to releasing three acclaimed albums with his band Needle, and traveling the globe to speak to musicians on behalf of the U.S. State Department.
Needle blends Beck’s low-fi minimalist arrangements with Julie Cornett’s collection of lullabies and symphonic sagas. The duo's most recent release, The Long View, came during the pandemic. They enlisted Dana Colley (Morphine, Twinemen, Vapors of Morphine) to play saxophone on a few tracks, and Kramer (Low, Galaxy 500, Daniel Johnston) mastered the project. The Noise Room is Steve’s home on the web; he wrote or conducted most of its articles and interviews.
|
Neil Nayyar at 16 years old plays and owns 117 musical instruments from around the world.
Chances are if you love a particular type of music, Neil plays it, and he plays it well. Classical, Bollywood, jazz, rock, and sounds from all over the globe flow from this musician, but this is not the only amazing thing about him.
Neil’s parents credit much of his ability and love of music to Mozart classics he listened to while still in the womb. However, his talent didn’t surface until he was 5, when he took a drum class and wowed everyone. And this was just the beginning.
A lot of Neil’s talent and abilities as a multi-instrumentalist are natural, but he leaves nothing to chance. He practices music six hours each day, and receives training from 25 musical professionals both locally and internationally. |
Telemakus, 22, is an Indian-American composer/pianist/producer/UC Davis student who has worked on numerous projects and recently put out his critically acclaimed album, The New Heritage. Listing Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Butcher Brown as influences, Telemakus aims to delve into the jazz fusion/funk and hip-hop sound. His music is modern, yet pays homage to the past. He grew up listening to jazz and hip-hop, and taught himself to play the piano and make beats.
After honing his craft, he collaborated virtually during the pandemic to finish his album. It was never recorded in a studio, but instead was made through Zoom sessions, with individual parts sent back and forth online. His music, praised on Spotify, Apple Music, BBC 6 Music, Worldwide FM, The New York Times, and more, has amassed more than 2 million streams. |
|
|
Listening Lyrics is proud to present Didar Singh Khalsa. Joining Didar is Jeff Brooks, percussion. Didar has played guitars for 52 years, but started writing, singing and recording songs only six years ago, inspired by six consecutive trips to the guitar/songwriting camp taught by the amazing Richard Thompson. He claims the muse is relentless and not even very intermittent. Let’s test that theory.
|
Eric Jordan grew up in Davis, and while he was in high school he fell in love with the opera. The world ended up being his stage. Performing around the country and the world, he ended up with the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In New York he suffered a massive stroke which eventually ended his career as an opera singer.
While performing in opera productions, he also had an alter ego (as The Opera Cowboy) and performed country music, especially Johnny Cash songs.
In this episode of Listening Lyrics, Eric joins us as we listen to some of his story and music, both in opera and as the Opera Cowboy.
|
Billy Larkin, who lives in Davis, is an award-winning pianist/composer/arranger who has been bringing his individual brand of musical artistry to audiences for over 40 years. He defies easy categorization and helps define true expression through the collaborative process.
From his website: "Following his studies in piano, music theory, and composition at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Billy worked in New York City as music director for cabarets, and wrote and performed music for the modern dance company Cheryl Wallace Dance Works. He went on to co-found Stone Street Foundation for the Arts in Cincinnati, which received numerous grants from the Ohio Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts for large-scale original productions featuring dance and live music. |
Joey Wisgirda (Big Joe Daddy) has been playing trumpet since the age of 9. He has studied jazz theory and composition with jazz legend John Tchicai, and performed throughout California with a diverse range of players that includes Joe Craven and Rick Montgomery (David Grisman Quintet), Fully Fullwood (Peter Tosh), reggae superstar Alton Ellis, Hamsa Lila, and John Tchicai. He has opened for such acts as John Scofield, Galactic, Charlie Hunter, Bassnectar, Kraddy, and Tipper.
For the past decade, Joey has extended his musical efforts into the computer realm, using soft- and hardware synths, and tying it all together with a Morrison Digital Trumpet (MDT) to morph from jazz and funk to breakbeats and dub. His live performances on Ableton and the MDT are cutting edge. |
Today we talk melancholy. For me, melancholy comes on with certain triggers. Let's play music around three of the triggers: trains, hypnagogia and wind.
Sit back and get into this wonderful playlist.
|
Due to his in-depth study of the music of different cultures, Alex Jenkins' playing transcends musical traditions and boundaries. His expression of rhythm is heavily influenced by his study of tabla (a north Indian classical percussion instrument), and he is known for his creative approach to music and for his unique ability to fuse rhythmic ideas from various disciplines into one cohesive sound.
Alex has studied music, drums and percussion at California State University Sacramento, the Ali Akbar Khan School of Music in San Rafael, and Drummers Collective in New York. He spent three months in India studying north Indian music. He performs and records regularly, around California and beyond, playing a variety of music (on both drums and tabla) including jazz, Afro-Cuban, rock, blues, fusion, Indian classical, and just about everything in between.
Alex leads The Alex Jenkins Trio, which keeps a very busy performing schedule. He also teaches workshops and clinics for various schools, including Sacramento State, American River College, Cosumnes River College, California College of the Arts in Oakland, UC Merced, and many more. His extensive private teaching roster has more than 50 students per week. He will appear with the trio on:
- 5/2 @ Luna's Cafe Sacramento, 8 p.m., all ages
- 5/6 @ Drakes (West Sacramento), 6-9 p.m., all ages
- 5/15 @ Jets (Sacramento, Midtown), 7:30-10 p.m., all ages
- 5/21 @ Shady Lady (Sacramento), 8-11 p.m.
- 7/8 @ Morgan's Mill (Woodland), 7-9 p.m., all ages
|
