Introducing “Rhapsodies in Blue”
Sean MurphyJust in time to properly celebrate National Poetry Month, my second collection, Rhapsodies in Blue, is now available! You can pick up a paperback or Kindle version here. I'd love you to…
Original Poem: Charles Mingus’s Memento
It remains a blessing for this writer to find publications that “get” him –and what I’m attempting with my ongoing project (the first installment, of course, being The Blackened Blues, released…
Gary Rossington: The Man in The Band
And another guitarist who left us with indelible solos from the '70s gone. Gary Rossington cheated death for decades, so we are fortunate he rocked this world as long as…
Why Wayne Shorter Matters
Wayne Shorter is, for my money, possibly the most underrated genius in any genre of music. To be sure, he certainly received plenty of props within jazz circles and the people…
David Lindley: Jackson Browne’s Right Hand Man
One of the more unheralded "guy behind the guy" guys, David Lindley did plenty of amazing stuff, but he shined brightest backing up Jackson Browne on some of the '70s…
I’ll See You on the Dark Side of the Moon: Rock Music’s Apex at 50
It doesn't matter whether Pink Floyd's masterpiece is the best rock album of all time (just as we can agree that there are other worthy contenders for the imaginary throne,…
Original Poem: Imagined Conversations with People I Love about Trauma
van Gogh, Vincent; Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear; The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust); http://www.artuk.org/artworks/self-portrait-with-bandaged-ear-207202 I appreciate that this one got picked up by Humans of the World, as trauma (experiencing…
David Crosby: Born to be That Guy
Not sure if anyone was dedicated to being that guy as long or at the same level as David Crosby: decades being that guy: band killer, friendship ender, high-end harmonizer,…
Original Poem: Pharoah Sanders Donating Blood to Buy Food, 1962
A young Sanders with his mentor and bandmate John Coltrane Huge gratitude to the team at Decolonial Passage for including my work in their "Food, Power, and Powerlessness" issue. (It's…
Jeff Beck: The Guitar Grandmaster
As impossible at it is to believe Jeff Beck has died (aged 78), it’s just as difficult to fathom that he was with us in the first place. If you’re…