Giuda – Overdrive
It may be surprising to hear that this song is brand new and came out in April of this year! Formed in Italy just 12 years ago, the band Giuda is combining some of the most popular elements of punk, classic rock, and heavy rock in a very successful way. It’s catchy and has some attitude.
Afro Cuban All-Stars – Amor Verdadero
This may be one the that has traced the deepest lines in memories. It was one of my dads favorite songs and I remember hearing on many occasions. Any party or holiday we had, this would be worked into the queue at some point another. The percussion section is extremely groovin’, there’s a brass melody that’s just awesome, and the bass locks you in the whole time. It was on of my dad’s favorites, and now it’s also one of mine.
The Red Crayola – Nickle Niceness
Okay, first off I’d like to apologize as this will not be the easiest 3 minutes of your life. This experimental music sounds structured but mostly improvised. The quality of the musicianship is pretty average, if I’m being polite. The singing is kind of bad, in my opinion. Then why?! I think when listening to examples of “unsettling” music it’s possible to hear one or two cool ideas that you can use in your own playing, or at least you end up hearing how not to do it.
Muse – Soldier’s Poem
This is a relatively short track that doesn’t seem to get much attention when discussing the album Black Holes and Revalations. It happens to be one of my favorite tracks off the album and really captures a certain magic. There is noticeable inspiration from Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and a little bit of Schubert’s “Ave Maria”.
Andrew Gavin – The Eternal Calm
I had the pleasure of studying alongside Andrew Gavin during my time at Rowan University. Although him and I didn’t interact much, I was aware of his contributions to our music department and projects he was involved in. He was always engaged and eager to learn as much as possible. His latest composition “The Eternal Calm” is a great showcase of his talent and influences. This piece feels like a perfect blend of elements from classical music, film scores, and pop music.
Grant Green – Ease Back
“Ease Back” is a classic jam song. It’s chill, funky, and simple, making it the perfect kind of song to play when noodling around with other musicians. The whole song is the same two ideas back and forth, but each instrument gets ample time to explore and improvise melodies over top. This structure is similar to other Jazz pieces. Listen to how the different instruments approach the same musical idea.
Mamady Keita – Djabara
Of all the styles of music that I listen to, I really enjoy the cultural music from different regions of the world. It’s never played on the radio so it’s refreshing to hear stuff that’s so different. It really excites my imagination to picture the musicians gathered around playing this. These are the sounds of African drums and I hope you find it as groovin’ as I do!
Busta Rhymes – Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See
This track came out on Busta Rhymes’ sophomore album, When Disaster Strikes… , in the year 1997. If you’ve only been keeping up with Busta over the past ten years then you probably know him for his ability to rap fast, but originally his unique flow and personality is what made him stand out.