Music & More

Christmas came early in New York City last night at Cachaca in the form of a superb set by Vinny Valentino and his band featuring Chrissi Poland on vocals and piano. Vinny is a supremely talented jazz guitarist and composer and his band is similarly endowed with all members soloing well and often. Joel Rosenblatt on drums together with Gilad on percussion formed a one two knockout punch of rhythm that was mindblowingly great as well. Armando Gola played bass, not only providing the bottom, but during his solos played with the finesse of a fine guitar player. Chrissi is one of the most versatile and gifted singers, songwriters, and musicians I've encountered in a very long time. Having seen her a number of times this year, every time out the music has been different but every time she has been amazingly great. Rock, folk, soul, blues, especially slow blues, you name it, she can sing it, she can play it and she will knock your socks off in the process. This night it was Chrissi the j...

Here is another nice Letterman clip posted to youtube by phillyzero. Is there no musical style that Mayer can't do? Enjoy this Thanksgiving treat. John Mayer's myspace . John Mayer's website . Chris Botti's myspace . Chris Botti's website .

Big thanks to Melody for sharing this clip that was recorded live at the Sellersville Theater, 12/13/06, as part of Harry Shearer & friends' Christmas show. Enjoy, and best wishes to all for the holidays. Buy Worrisome Heart at Amazon (still a major steal at $6.99). Melody's myspace . Melody's website . Melody's blog: Chateaux du Gardot .

Listen to "Closer", Live at Rockwood, 11/22/08. I think I've figured out why there is so much love in the room whenever Shayna Zaid plays the Rockwood Music Hall. Rockwood regulars have enjoyed seeing her and her band play many times this year as they write and record the new album that is currently nearing completion. The reason for the Rockwood love fests is that Shayna has a magical way of writing and singing a love song; when you hear her sing songs like "Closer" and "It's You", all of her songs really, it seems like she is singing them directly to you. Combine that with superb arrangements given these songs by her band, especially the highly melodic playing of Yan Izquierdo on violin, producer Joel Dean on guitar, Brendan O'Grady on bass, and drummer Chris Heinz who always has just the right touch at the right time, and well it all adds up to a really special live music experience. The show opened with a debut of a new song called "Mo...

Jenny Lewis made another late night tv appearance in support of Acid Tongue, this time on the David Letterman show, performing the song "Carpetbaggers". Elvis Costello guests on the album version of the song and he appears with her here to do it live. Enjoy, courtesy of phillyzero who nicely posted the clip to youtube. Jenny Lewis website . Jenny Lewis myspace .

Norah Jones, Sasha Dobson, and Catherine Popper played a great sounding set last night at Rockwood, in what seems to be an occasional Norah side project doing a very ear-friendly style of acoustic country-folk. Sounding like a female version of the Little Willies with a nod to the Dixie Chicks, the set was booked as "Dixie Fried" on the Rockwood schedule. Having just seen an excellent set by Heather Christian in the 8pm hour, and hanging later in the second room at Rockwood, the room quieted down for a moment revealing the unmistakable sound of Norah's voice over the sound system. After resolving in the affirmative a quite comical argument in the next room as to whether it was really Norah Jones, I caught the rest of the set and shot a few photos along the way. Sasha Dobson and Cat Popper (both familiar faces at Rockwood and the Living Room) sound great together with Norah. Sasha played acoustic and sang, Cat handled bass & vocals, and Norah sang and played acoustic g...

WXPN's fifth annual 885 countdown begins tomorrow, this time it's the 885 essential XPN songs. For anyone unfamiliar with WXPN, it's a non-commercial radio station and online music service based at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and it is one of the most listenable music stations that you're likely to ever find. If you're not in the Philadelphia area, you can always listen online at XPN.org . As one of the best AAA (Adult Album Alternative) stations in the country, it's easy to sometimes take XPN for granted and nitpick their airplay choices, but over the course of several decades they have helped define the musical landscape in Philadelphia and elsewhere, more recently online. Program Director Bruce Warren describes the concept of the 885 Essential XPN songs as "“These are the tracks that are at the heart of the XPN listening experience. They’re the songs that define the listening experience for our audience. In essence, they define who w...