The “death of the album” has been declared many times in recent years – but nonetheless, musicians keep making them and are showing no signs of stopping (and thank God for that!). Almost a decade and a half into the twenty-first century, there still exist bands and artists capable of composing immersive, engaging, and fully satisfying collections of songs that stand up to repeated, unshuffled listens. Here are fifteen of them. Read more…
If you’re a regular TMMP reader, jazz is probably not your thing. If that’s the case, don’t switch over to Facebook or porn or whatever other services people use the Internet for – instead, picture a jazz band in your head. Imagine them running through a tune.
If you’re anything like I was before I fell in love with jazz, you’re probably imagining three or four or more po-faced and arrogant musos standing/sitting very still and playing horribly plain and regimented lines of notes punctuated by equally mechanical chords. But the video below is different. Read more…
Interviews are fast becoming my favourite part of the TMMP-maintaining routine. You start off with a list of questions, but from that point it’s impossible to know what will come out. This time around, prog legend and all-round class act Tony Levin discusses his new album with brother Pete (appropriately titled Levin Brothers and reviewed via TMMP here), creativity, and the importance of connection. Read more…
This review could be summed up in a single word: Wow. However, I’m sure you want more detail that that – so here you go: Read more…
After yesterday’s posts about the Levin Brothers and Submotion Orchestra, I’m thinking we need to get some more jazzy stuff going on here. Read more…
It’s been a while since TMMP placed jazz in the digital spotlight – but you need to switch things up now and then to cleanse your palate and avoid stagnation. As palate-cleansers go, this album is set to be perfect, a collection of original cool jazz tunes with a 1950’s vibe and beyond-flawless playing from a pair of master musicians in Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel / King Crimson) and Pete Levin (Miles Davis / Jaco Pastorius). Read more…
UPDATE: TMMP has been reborn! This video has the full story:
Click here to subscribe for free on YouTube!
If I’d recorded my reaction to this album’s opening bars, it’d be viral on YouTube by now. You have to ask: How does this guy do it? Most drummers would struggle with that very first high-speed drum flourish, let alone everything that follows. Let’s get stuck in.
Cheap As Fuck And Awesome As Hell sounds like Jeff Beck at his finest. The guitar is brutally tortured, notes squeezed to within an inch of their lives, there’s a super-cool keyboard line and some immense effects, and it all adds up to a fusion tour-de-force that, you’d assume, was created by a group of virtuosi working in collaborative harmony.
Only…it isn’t. On EEPS, Marco Minnemann plays everything. Everything. Vinnie Colaiuta may well be known as “The Alien”, but maybe it’s time that nickname jumped ship. Read more…
Given his status as one of the world’s top drummers, it’s safe to say that Marco Minnemann is a bit of a legend. Whether drumming for Joe Satriani, recording and performing as one third of The Aristocrats alongside Guthrie Govan and Bryan Beller, or working with the likes of Jordan Rudess, Tony Levin, Alex Machacek, Mike Keneally, Terry Bozzio, Nina Hagen, Necrophagist, Kreator, Buddy Rich Big Band, and Steven Wilson, Marco never fails to bring his A-game to each and every project he throws himself into. While most players would be content to hit one of the above achievements and then rest on their laurels, Marco Minnemann is clearly not.
In addition to his long list of collaborative victories, Marco Minnemann is also an immensely talented solo artist in his own right. On his latest release, EEPS – which drops today, and can be previewed and ordered via the links at the end of this post – Marco wrote and performed every note and lyric and even got involved with the production, alongside Lazy Bones Recordings head honcho Scott Schorr. In an increasingly DIY-oriented industry, Marco Minnemann is showing every up-and-coming solo artist exactly how it’s done.
In our very first Artist Interview, Marco tells TMMP about EEPS, the future, and the importance of good sex. Read more…