If you’re a Spotify subscriber, you’ll have received your 2019 listening summary as well as ones for the whole decade. As part of that summary of 2019, Spotify told me that I discovered 1093 artists. Considering Spotify also says I listened to 5863 songs, that means that I must have listened to about 4 songs from every artist I discovered. That’s completely untrue because I listened to a lot of music from artists that weren’t new to me this year, but they make for interesting looking numbers. In Spotify-land, I can only assume that “discovered artists” means artists I hadn’t listened to on Spotify before. So, Shirley Bassey was one of those 1093; not a particularly new artist, but also not one I’d listened to on Spotify. I’m not a big fan of the way the streaming services do music recommendations, but I have a separate post planned for that. For now, here are a few of the artists that I did discover through Spotify last year and I suggest you check them out.
One of my definite favourites that Spotify has recommended is the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Susan Tedeschi is a very talented singer and guitarist who had her own band(s) who were an opening act for many big-name blues-rockers including the Allman Brothers, B.B. King, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones in the late ’90s and early 2000s. She met Derek Trucks when he was a guitarist for the Allman Brothers. Prior to that, he had his own band called… The Derek Trucks Band. He’s also played with blues artists such as J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh and Stephen Stills. After being married for a number of years they formed their own bands and currently have the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a fantastic conglomeration of talented blues-rock artists. Their albums are all really great, but my two favourites are “Made Up Mind” and “Signs”.
Another recommendation that came to me via Spotify is The Marcus King Band. It’s quite coincidental that over the last 14 months or so, I’ve spent a fair bit of time in the South and there is a definite feel to that part of the world. Sitting in an intimate coffee shop or a small bar in the Georgia, this band is exactly the sound you’d expect. Similar to the Tedeschi Trucks band, this is a blues-rock band but with a lot of soul thrown in. Marcus King’s guitar playing has rock, blues, country and jazz influences making for some really great guitar solos. Did I mention that his band also has a horn section? Oh, and Marcus King is only 23. Here’s a great performance from the Grand Ole Opry. If you want to hear Tedeschi Trucks and Marcus King performing together…
Changing gears a bit, another of my favourites this year is Kristina Train. Kristina is a classically trained violinist and singer/songwriter who easily moves between pop/R&B and Jazz. I first heard her album Dark Black and love the images she invokes with her lyrics and she has a really great, mellow voice. Saturdays are the Greatest is probably my favourite track from that album. Then, surprise, I started reading more about her and discovered that she spent two years touring with Herbie Hancock as the vocalist for his River: Joni Mitchell tour. Other artists with whom she’s collaborated? Wynton Marsalis, Susan Tedeschi, Tony Bennett, Coldplay, and Dr. Dre just to name a few.
The last Spotify-recommended artist I want to highlight is a great jazz bass guitarist and composer by the name of Marcus Miller. If you’re a jazz aficionado, you may have already heard of him as he’s played with Herbie Hancock (note to self; do a post on all of Herbie Hancock’s collaborations), Miles Davis, Bobbi Humphrey, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Eric Clapton, David Sanborn, and the list goes on. He’s also a prolific film score composer and that’s how he was recommended to me; the soundtrack to the movie Marshall. I haven’t seen the movie (yet) but I really like the soundtrack. There are bits of standard movie soundtrack fills, but much of it is really great jazz. There is one other song, Stand Up for Something (written by Common and the Diane Warren), which was nominated for an Academy Award. That song has no relation to Marcus Miller but is another great song on a really good album. If you’re looking for some really great, bass-driven jazz, check out Marcus Miller.
The last recommendation I want to cover in this post is not an artist, but an album. I say it’s not an artist for a couple of reasons; firstly, I already knew the artist, Lang Lang, and have listened to many of his classical piano albums. The second reason is that it isn’t only him featured on the album. The album is New York Rhapsody and is a compilation of songs that, to Lang Lang, evoke images and the spirit of New York. Those of you who know me well, know that New York City is one of my favourites of all time, and when I listen to this album I can definitely feel NYC. It’s not all classical, though there is Gershwin (Rhapsody in Blue with Herbie Hancock playing the second piano. See? He’s everywhere), Copeland, and Bernstein, there’s a great version of New York Minute (written by Don Henley) and performed by Kandace Springs, and Alicia Keys’ Empire State of Mind performed by Andra Day (she also performed the aforementioned Stand Up for Something from the Marshall Soundtrack, FYI). Among others, there is also a very interesting mashup of Somewhere from Westside Story and Dirty Blvd by Lou Reed. Not my favourite song on the album, but I do think it’s a good representation of the mashup that is New York City.
So, there you have it, my interesting discoveries thanks to Spotify recommendations last year. My second post in this series will be for new discoveries from other sources. What were your great musical discoveries this past year?
I Have Things to Say About Music 