I have loved The Moody Blues since I was 14 years old. I went to many shows throughout my life, although I did not see them with Mike Pinder. I got used to him not being there anymore like everyone else, but it was really a blow when Ray Thomas left. I guess it had to happen sooner or later. The Moody Blues must really love to go on tour, so they got a replacement named Norda Mullen. She’s actually from Mississippi. She fills in all of … Continue reading →
Electric Light Orchestra, also known as ELO, were a rock group from Birmingham, England who released eleven studio albums between 1971–1986 and another album in 2001. ELO (the brainchild of Roy Wood) were formed to accommodate Roy’s burning desire to create pop songs with heavily classical overtones. The band’s direction for most of their existence was by Jeff Lynne who, after the band’s debut record, wrote all of the group’s original compositions and produced every album. For the band’s fourth album, Eldorado, A Symphony, a … Continue reading →
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in Luton, Bedfordshire, in December 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969, after he replaced original guitarist Mick Abrahams. Initially playing blues rock with an experimental flavour, they have also incorporated elements of classical music, folk music, jazz, hard rock and art rock into their … Continue reading →
The Moody Blues are a British rock band originally from Birmingham. Founding members Michael Pinder and Ray Thomas performed an initially rhythm and blues–based sound in Birmingham in 1964 along with Graeme Edge and others, and were later joined by John Lodge and Justin Hayward as they inspired and evolved the progressive rock style. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their seminal 1967 album Days of Future Passed. The band has had numerous hit albums in the UK, U.S., … Continue reading →
Anoushka Shankar, the twenty one year old daughter of sitar virtuoso, Ravi Shankar, has been playing music since she was a small child. She is considered a true prodigy, accomplished on the piano as well as the sitar. Anoushka was born in London and grew up in California. She began studying the sitar with her father and the great masters of Indian music who preceeded her. Since 1995, she performed both with Ravi Shankar and as a solo artist and has received five-star reviews throughout … Continue reading →
The mellotron was probably the most unique instrument ever developed in the history of music. A more exact description of it would be an electromechanical polyphonic keyboard musical instrument. It was originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It was very similar to its ancester called the Chamberlin. It was developed by Harry Chamberlin in 1946. It had a piano- style keyboard. Underneath each key is a small tape deck. Each tape is pre-recorded with various musical instruments or special effects. … Continue reading →
I just got an email from Mike Pinder about a reunion with Ray Thomas ! Click on the picture above to take you to the Photo Gallery Mike and Ray together again. It was a week of reminising and constant laughter. Visit Mike’s website and photo gallery for more great photos of the week together. These two veteran musicians are still the best of friends. Through thick and thin it is a friendship that has stood the test of time. Mike and Tara … Continue reading →
Renaissance were an Englishprogressive rock band, most notable for their 1978 UK top 10 hit “Northern Lights” and progressive rock classics like “Mother Russia” and “Ashes Are Burning”. Annie Haslam (born 8 June 1947, Bolton, Lancashire) is an Englishprogressive rockvocalist and songwriter. Originally a fashion student, she began studying under opera singer Sybil Knight in 1970 and developed her five-octave vocal range. In 1971, she became the lead singer of Renaissance after answering an advertisement in a magazine and auditioning for the band in Surrey. … Continue reading →
Award-winning saxophonist, bandleader, composer, explorer of the world’s musical traditions and founder of Living Music and thePaul Winter Consort, Paul Winter has been motivated for the past thirty years by the vision of a musical-ecological community, and has followed a steady course towards his unique ‘Earth Music’, a vital celebration of the creatures and cultures of the whole earth. Paul’s musical realm has long embraced the traditions of many of the world’s cultures, interweaving widely diverse instruments and elements with the extraordinary voices from what … Continue reading →
I’ll be posting clips from the new East Meets West Music DVD regularly until the Dec 11 release date. Here’s the first installment:
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