Artist: Amy Denio
Title: Pandemonium
Label: Spoot Music
Genre: singer songwriter/no genre
Buy and listen here: https://amydenio.bandcamp.com/album/amy-denio-pandemonium
Review by Dawoud Kringle
This episode of MFM Speaks Out will be different from our usual format. Dawoud Kringle will be interviewing his guest; a professional musician and recovering drug addict and alcoholic. Out of respect to our guest and the tradition of Alcoholics Anonymous and other substance abuse recovery programs, we are protecting our guest’s anonymity and referring to him as Dave. Our discussion will center around alcoholism, drug abuse, and substance abuse recovery among musicians.
Topics discussed: How did substance abuse and music enter Dave’s life and how they intersected, the presence of drugs and alcohol, stigma of addiction among musicians, how it affected his life and career, the turning point where he decided he’d had enough, the difficulties of cleaning up and staying clean, and advice to musicians (and all others) who are suffering from drug and alcohol addiction.
Music featured on this episode:
By Dawoud Kringle
This is the second of a series of articles devoted to the women of jazz. It is a small attempt to give props and respect to an inexcusably overlooked segment of the music community (the first installment featured Emily Remler. This installment features Alice Coltrane, because there are few musicians in the history of jazz who successfully embodied the balance between music and spirituality as she did.
Born Alice McLeod in Detroit, MI in 1937 to Solon and Annie McLeod, Alice developed an interest in music in early childhood. By the age of nine, she played organ during services at Mount Olive Baptist church. She pursued music and started to perform in various clubs around Detroit, until moving to Paris in the late 1950s. By 1960, she worked as the intermission pianist at the Blue Note Jazz Club. She studied classical music, and studied jazz with Bud Powell, and also appeared on French television in a performance with Lucky Thompson, Pierre Michelot and Kenny Clarke. In the early 60’s she returned to Detroit and began playing jazz with her own trio and as a duo with vibraphonist Terry Pollard.
In 1963, while playing with Terry Gibbs’ quartet, she met John Coltrane. In 1965 they were married in Juárez, Mexico. John Coltrane became stepfather to Alice Coltrane’s daughter Michelle, and the couple had three children together: John Jr. (b. 1964: bassist who died in a car accident in 1982); Ravi (saxophonist b. 1965); and Oranyan (b. 1967, a DJ who’d played saxophone with Santana).
The Rhythmic and Harmonic History of Brazilian Music from Choro to Bossa Nova
Report by Dawoud Kringle
On Friday, March 26, 2021, MFM presented its 4th Zoom Webinar. MFM Members Richard Miller and Stephen Johnson presented a discussion on the history of Brazilian music.
Guitarist Richard Miller has performed extensively throughout the United States and Latin America in concerts that explore his roots in Brazilian choro, American Jazz, and classical guitar. He has a Ph.D. in music theory from Catholic University of America and a Masters in guitar performance from Manhattan School of Music. He taught music theory and ear training at Columbia University for eight years and has just relocated to Southern California. Lambert Academic Publishing recently published his book The Guitar in the Brazilian Choro.
“Stay true to yourself, and stay true to the game. If you give music your all, and be honest with yourself, you will be rewarded.”
In this episode of MFM Speaks Out, Dawoud Kringle interviews Royal Bayyan. Royal is a Musician, Songwriter, Producer, Music Supervisor, Personal Manager, Executive Brand Consultant. He played with and was a founding member of Kool & the Gang.
The topics of the interview include Royal’s beginnings as an early member of Kool and the Gang, the problems and pitfalls of the music business, the art of record production, Bringing live hip hop concerts to Africa, the evolution of music production, surviving in the music business, an alternative perspective of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the music business, and the spiritual aspects of life as a professional musician and as a Muslim.
