The Artist Formerly Known As Michael Caine

And yet again, it's been far too long since an update. However, prepare yourself for an EPIC MULTIMEDIA EXPERIENCE this time. There will be music, film and, if you choose to stand up and dance while either of those are going on, dancing. Wow.

I've been accused many times of being a music purist, and that certainly applies to my feelings about the infamous and cryptozoological-tastic "Musician/Actor," or "Actor/Musician." So imagine my utter confusion when Michael Caine announced on his website that he's releasing not one, not two, but THREE records. And they are no mere mortal records, my friends: they are three records of "Chill" music:

"This is a compilation of Chill music from my vast collection. I have to confess that I am a secret disc jockey and have been making tapes and CDs for myself and my friends for over 40 years. My record “Cained” comes out in September. It was weird the way this record came about, I was having dinner with Elton John at his house in Nice and he had on background music and as we were going through the dinner several of my favourite Chill records were played and I kept naming the tune or the artist much to Elton surprise and he asked me how I knew about this kind of music and I told him and he got me a three record deals. As they say in show business it is not what you know it is who you know. Have a listen I hope you like it."

Bizarre. Almost as bizarre as if my dream of a Steve Martin and Rick Moranis bluegrass album came to pass. *For those of you caught unawares, Rick Moranis released a country album last year, and Steve Martin is an exceptionally talented banjo player (see below, but watch out for Bela Fleck's brain-melting solo with 1:15 left). They made at least 3 movies together -- why not?*



In the spirit of the impending Michael Caine musical revolution (for which he was trained while playing with Prince in the late 80s), this post's download will be from the great -- and greatly forgotten -- Grant Green:

Grant Green - Cantaloupe Woman

Grant Green - The Windjammer

These both come from a 1998 compilation by DJ Smash (your guess is as good as mine) called "Breakbeats." It's a really great introduction to Green, showcasing his ability to avoid the excesses of straight funk and the headiness of straight jazz. Green is, essentially, a sophisticated blues player in a swingin' band -- so sophisticated, in fact, that anyone who wants to make the argument that he's not a blues player at all is probably just as right. His single-line playing and phrasing owes more to bebop horn players than guitarists; notice how few double stops and bent notes there are. Like all my favorite guitarists, Green is a rhythm and phrasing monster, fully aware that how much you play and when you play it is at least an important as what you play. Thankfully, his groove-oriented sound has aged far better than the bloated rock fusion of a John McLaughlin and his ilk (whose work in the same era is probably most responsible for overshadowing Green's sound).

Like what you're hearing? Thinking to yourself, "I do like this very much, Ian, but I feel like it's not doing anything for my torso area, right between my nodding head and tapping toes." Well, have no fear! You can own this lovely Grant Green t-shirt from Ropeadope and Blue Note.

One of the guitarists who was almost certainly an influence on Green was the definitely bluesy T-Bone Walker. Walker is most famous for writing "Stormy Monday Blues," but his impact on the genre reaches much further than that. He was the first to really popularize the electric guitar as an essential blues instrument; he was also the first to play with his teeth, behind his head and underwater (two-thirds of what I just said is true). He was a stickler for hiring only top-notch players -- backing musicians had to be able to read music -- and his talents as a singer and songwriter were easily as serious as his playing (his vocal work on ballads sounds a lot like a menacing Nat King Cole, if that's even possible). Since I'm feeling especially generous, and since T-Bone's playing predates "Chill music" by at least a decade, I'm including one of my favorites below:

T-Bone Walker - Papa Ain't Salty

Having gotten at least one foot in the door of MP3 blogdom, I'd be completely remiss not to point you in the direction of the first (and probably best) MP3 blog I visited. Soul Sides strikes the perfect balance between being clinical and personal and features a huge collection of unknown and/or forgotten soul/blues/jazz/funk, much of it digitized from vinyl. It also features frequent giveaways, and free stuff is basically awesome all the time. Oliver Wang (the blog's founder) and Zealous Records recently released a second album from Soul Side's vaults, "Soul Sides Volume Two: The Covers." Free music and lot of nerdy music history -- check it out regularly and you'll be well on your way to being me.

And I still have a shortlist of things to include in the next post, whenever that may be. I'll make you a deal: it will be much sooner and much more interesting if you include links to this blog in your profile/MySpace/bathroom stall doors at your favorite buffet. The latter is the hardest to click on.