Event #133: Not Your Grandfather's Web Magazine.
 DAY ONE: TODAY: ROD AMIS reports on a Loyal Reader e-mail about The Economist, Black Republicans, and journalism.
 CultureCast: JENNIFER BLUE deconstructs the California governor's race in "The Mechanics."
 Powerssound: Music companies are sending BOB POWERS too many CDs! In this installment he looks at new music from WENDY BUCKLEW, RUBY BRAFF, BREW MOORE, STEFAN GROSSMAN & JOHN RENBORN, DAN McAVINCHEY, BUGS HENDERSON & THE SHUFFLE KINGS, JOHNNY VARRO, and pianist ERNESTO DIAZ-INFANTE. (Is there any room left on this page?)
 FAX NIKITA: Loyal Reader RIC WILLIAMS shares his strange-but-true submission with us.
HOUSE OF CARDS has a new Joke of the Day!  THE AISLE SEAT: BRYAN POWERS reviews "54."
 TABLOID HART: The King of Dish waxes philosophical? Egads!
YOUR VOX POPULI page gets a new update. More e-mails from Loyal Rooters.  HOT LINKS(Not From Louisiana): RADIO RAHEEM expands our Link Partners Program, by welcoming new Partners from around the globe.
 Planetary Madness: JENNIFER BLUE looks at your horoscope for this week.
 THE FIRST TIME: A reader shares his story.
 G21 SPORTS: KO is back with the second of his NFL predictions for this season. This week: THE NFC.
 POWERSBOOKS: BOB POWERS reviews a new tome by EKNATH EASWARAN, GARY WEBB's "Dark Alliance", and "C'mere, Kitty" by ALAN KATZ.
 ON DRUGS: ADAM SMITH challenges the law of the land in "One in Thirty-Five."
 SEA OF DREAMS: We have a winner! The first winner of ZenCyn's Dream Interpretation Contest is featured.
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Take an attitude from Alanis Morisette minus the anguish, combine it with the fervor of a Tracy Chapman, and mix in large helpings of the rowdy side of Melissa Etheridge. That's what you'll get when you listen to Wendy Bucklew's excellent new album, "Asleep in the Swing" (Silverwolf SWCD 1010).
With outstanding songs in her knapsack, Bucklew charges through a whirlwind of a folk-rock set that should win her new fans across the country. This young lady based in Atlanta demonstrates great singing, superb guitar work and captures the truths in a package of skillfully heartfelt material. Her record company calls her the result of what happens when Joni Mitchell meets Janis Joplin in the 90s. She resembles both in her lyricism and her raw edge. There's never a moment's hesitation as Bucklew pours out her heart in song after song.
"Asleep in the Swing" is Bucklew's third recording project. She receives stellar support from her backing band, including Dede Vogt on bass and longtime Bucklew drummer Jason Mogi. Added to the mix for the album are musicians extraordinaire Michelle Malone, Jane Scarpatoni, and Michael Lorant.
Bucklew's overnight success goes back a decade when she arrived in Atlanta from her native California. In that ten-year span, she's won friends and fans by touring the U.S. By her work with her band, she's far beyond her acoustic balladeer days, now firmly entrenched as a member of the adult rock genre. This album, with luck and proper promotion, should cause cash registers to jingle in record shops nationwide. It's a good one.
Ruby's Back in Town
"You Can Depend on Me" (Arbors ARCD 19165) is another superb session from the cornet genius Ruby Braff. In this collection of classic tunes, Braff again shows he's the No. 1 artist on the instrument. As jazz critic Martin Gaylord explains in the liner notes, "From the sunlight uplands of the middle and upper register, he will dip down into a deep hollow of sound, sometimes just for a note, sometimes for a long, long passage. This is an area no one else has explored on cornet or trumpet. Indeed it is a sound unique in music, unique to Ruby Braff -- warm, gentle, intimate, reflective, sometimes melancholy, sometimes delightfully sensuous."
The eight songs include some famous, some obscure. My favorites include the gorgeous rendition of the Gershwins' "The Man I Love," and a delightful reading of "On the Alamo," the old classic by Gus Kahn and Isham Jones.
Braff's group on this set includes Bucky Pizzarelli on guitar, Johnny Varro playing his two-fisted piano, the legendary Bob Haggart on the bass, with Jim Gwin at the drums.
The Legacy of Brew Moore
Memories fade and the name of saxophonist Brew Moore no longer brings recognition from today's jazz aficionados. Active from the 1940s until his premature death at 49 in 1973, Moore worked with the bands of Claude Thornhill, Gerry Mulligan and Kai Winding, besides recording under his own name.
He was quoted that "anyone who doesn't play like Lester (Young) is wrong." The reissue of "The Brew Moore Quintet" (Fantasy 3-222) demonstrates Moore paying homage to the master, utilizing a similar yet distinctive sound on the tenor saxophone. Recorded in 1956, the album contains nine tunes, including three contributions by sidemen on the set, pianist John Marabuto and trumpeter Dickie Mills. The standards include "Them There Eyes," "Tea for Two," and "Fools Rush In."
An argument can be proffered that Moore could play as well as Stan Getz or Zoot Sims. His legacy consists of only a few albums done as leader, his life cut short when he fell down stairs in Copenhagen while drunk. The good folks at Fantasy should be applauded for doing an excellent job in preserving an excellent album. Kirk Felton's remastering is more than adequate.
Short Takes on Recent Releases
"Under the Volcano" (Kicking Mule KMCD 3910-2) is a reissue of a 1979 album by acoustic guitar masters Stefan Grossman and John Renbourn. Recorded in England, the CD contains everything from a Swedish jig to Mississippi blues. Two great musicians complement each other's talents.
"Guitar Haus" (Guitar Nine GNR19602) contains the spectacular rock guitarist Dan McAvinchey, who lives a modest existence in North Carolina. This guy plays the hell out of his variety of guitars and the music, all originals, varies from bluesy thumpers to sizzling hard rock, superbly recorded. This is an outstanding album for guitar buffs. No vocals, just damned good music.
"Have Blues. . . Must Rock" (Burnside BCD-0029-2) proves once again that Bugs Henderson and the Shuffle Kings play some of the most entertaining blues in the world. I'm an admirer of the Bugs man and this is perhaps his best album in a long time. The only downside is that Bugs has a voice too nice for the blues; he needs to be a bit raspier, a bit more down. But his guitar work generally reaches heavenly areas with a devilish attitude giving extra spice. He's fabulous, and this is a fine album with such zingers as "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink," "No One Owns the Blues," and the catchy title song. Bugs, you're really a fun guy. Work on the vocals, though.
"Johnny Varro: Say Yes" (Arbors ARCD 19178) contains 19 songs from such composers as Sammy Cahn, Duke Ellington, Sidney Bechet, Fats Waller, Mitchell Parish, Rodgers & Hart, Django Reinhardt and the Gershwins. Varro's two-handed, ten-fingered style does full justice in jazz arrangements that are mellow, melodic and masterful. Very good.
"Tepeu" (Pax PR90245) contains nearly 70 minutes of the extraordinary piano of Ernesto Diaz-Infante, in an inspired nod to the Mayan god of creation, proportion and order. This is quiet, contemplative music, not necessarily for every ear, but well thought out and played by a talented musician. Diaz-Infante's first album, "Itz'at," also is available. Both CDs may be ordered through CD Baby Online Music Store (www.cdbaby.com) or by phoning 800-448-6369.
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Bob Powers has been writing about music for longer than he cares to admit after determining early on that his talents didn't include performing. Probably the most inept drummer ever to earn money for playing, Powers earned college cash as a member of the Hotshots. Fellow players included Luther Bolen, Bob Herndon, and Cletus Winebrenner, all of whom knew much more about music and proved it every Saturday night at the Eagles Club in Montgomery, W.Va.
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If you want to compliment, condemn, or argue with Bob Powers, his e-mail address is: rpowers@ee.net.
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