R.I.P. Drummer Ed Cassidy

Ed Cassidy, the drummer for Spirit, passed away yesterday at the age of 89. He served in the Navy during WWII, He played in many jazz bands and a group with Ry Cooder and Taj Mahel before joining what would be come Spirit.

The band's biggest hit was "Got A Line on You"

Cassidy is the bald one. Below is a profile on the drummer.

In the late 60's Led Zeppelin toured with Spirit as an opening band. It has been said Spirit was influential to Zeppelin and Cassidy's drumming was of some influence on John Bonham.

Here is Spirit performing a song live in 1979,,,

Sad news but atleast he Dave Cassidy lived a long life and his music lives on.

R.I.P. Dave Brubeck

Today Dave Brubeck, the great jazz pianist, would have turned 92 years old Unfortunately his heart stopped yesterday. He was a Kennedy Center Honoree, he had played the White House twice, he has been awarded the National Medal of Arts and a lifetime achievement GRAMMY Award.

Here is a link about his death from the USA Today. He lived a long live and left behind a legacy of jazz standards which will be performed by future jazz musicians. He also left behind his recorded career for jazz fans to listen and appreciate for years to come. In honor of his life I will share a few videos so we can appreciate his music.

I'll start with what some consider to be his Jazz Standards he composed such as "In Your Own Sweet Way"

"The Duke"

Probably his best known piece "Take Five"

In his own words he discusses "Take Five"

The jazz world lost a great one yesterday however Dave Brubeck leaves behind an impressive legacy. I will be back soon with a new post.

Greater than football

My weekly football postwon't happen this week. Yes I wrote about football and I will write plenty more about it this month. However, there are things greater than football. I know it is more than a game, the NFL is an industry, it is big money but still some things are greater.

A human life is more important. It is doubled when two lives are lost. A baby now without parents is more important. Kasandra Perkins did not deserve to die. I know relationships can be tough. Jovan Belcher killed her. He was obviously troubled. Then he killed himself. Now Zoey Belcher has no living parents. I don't offer any excuses, he was seeking help, unfortunatly he did not find the help he needed.

Here is video of the news..

This happened Saturday, the NFL and the team played the game on Sunday. If anyone cares the Cheifs won. However, Zoey lost her parents.

Mid Week Blues

I write about the blues in the washington D.C. area and farther out as well. The area has been a blues Mecca recently with shows by B.B. King, Joe Bonamassa, Bobby "Blue" Bland ad more. This week is no exception Buddy Guy was honored at the Kennedy Center on Sunday. You can read my preview on that along with David Letterman, Led Zeppelin and more here.

However, the bllues continues with the great Robert Cray performing tonight at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia. You can read my preview article here. He has played with greats like John Lee Hooker and Eric Clapton. Here are some videos to help refresh your memory...

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark...

Here he is with Clapton...

Daryl Davis is opening...

The blues don't stop there. On Wednesday night Devon Allman performs at the State Theatre in Falls Church. You can read my preview here. He has great a sound I have seen him twice with Honeytribe once at the Wanee Festivsal and once at the Western Maryland Blues Fest. This will be a bit different since he will be promoting a solo album.

Here he does one of his Dad's songs...

Here he does one of his Honeytribe songs..

Check out the album teaser on the preview article for more fun. I'll be back soon with a new post.

Happy Birthday Ozzy

Today is Ozzy Osbourne's 64th birthday. So today the blog is climbing aboard a crazy train to celebrate..

We can't forget his Black Sabbath days...

He even did duets...here he is with Lita Ford...

well we will wrap it up with this song..

Happy Birthday Ozzy! A good way to rock out your Monday.  Thanks for stopping by I will have a new post up soon...

Saturday Concert

I must admit going to see great concerts is awesome. I get to do it alot as a reviewer. So it is a special treat when I get to a concert and I don't have to review it. No worries about the set list, jotting notes, or taking photos. I simply get to listen and enjoy my company and the music.

Saturday night I was fortunate enough to see a performance of the NAtinal Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. It is kinda filling in the gaps, since I have covered jazz, country, bluegrass, Christian, Burmese pop, rock and blues that I add a classical show. Unlless you count the California Guitar Trio, who have an excellent classical album out, it is not a frequent genre of mine.

It was cool. The musicians were talented. The sound terrefic. The company my wife so that is fantastic. It wasn't holiday musicwhich I will be hearing plenty of soon. So it was just a different night out full with great sounds.

World AIDS Day

It is sad I didn't realize today was World AIDs Day until I read a post on FACEBOOK from HIV survivor and basketball great Magic Johnson. It is almost as if this disease was kind of forgotten about in my world. The majority of the folks I have blogged about in my blog have died from cancer. Cancer is the disease that has effected my family in recent years. It is like cancer has been the elephant in my room and AIDS has been covered up, hidden in a corner.

It shouldn't be hidden! It is not a disease which should be hidden or forgotten about. It is a dangerous disease which needs to be cured. In the main time people should take steps to protect themselves, test themselves, and help prevent the spread of AIDs. It is something that people shouldn't be made fun of for having, it is a medical condition, it is something that should be treated and folks with it should be strong and lifted up with love, prayers, and thought.

In my lifetime we lost a great singer and perhaps the greatest rock frontmen of all time in Freddie Mercury

I cover music, theater, sports and entertainment a world that has had its share of AIDs losses.

Magic Johnson is an example of someone living with HIV and making a difference...

And many have died in the the theater world. I was lucky enough to see Lonely Planet which dealt with the AIDs epidemic earlier this year. You can read that review here. Hopefully AIDs/HIV will be wiped out! One can hope.