Kavus Torabi is a whirling dervish of devilish whimsy.
On a musical map, he has been all over the place, yet usually left of center, exploring creative new directions in bands that have been anything but conventional. If there is anything typical about his pursuits, it is that his musical journeys ...
In street clothes, he hardly conveys the image of invincibility. But then superheroes rarely do.
Pokey Reddick is mild-mannered, quiet and unassuming. He looks more meek than menacing, more demure than defiant. He certainly is not an imposing figure. In fact, you could say he’s diminutive, ...
When Ray Charles was just a little boy growing up in the small Florida town of Greenville, he would run next door to the general store and listen to the boogie-woogie piano of Wylie Pittman, the store owner.
“He’d let me sit on the stool and I’d bang upon the piano, but he never got angry and ...
Tony Bennett, the man who never sings a song the same way twice, thinks there’s a lot to be said for originality.
“It’s in our heritage,” Bennett said. “It’s the individual who excited the world about our country. It was people like Thomas Edison, Fred Astaire, and others who helped bring attention ...
Steven Wilson is relaxing on a couch deep down in the bowels of the Double Door, a wholly non-descript nightclub in the heart of Wicker Park, a neighborhood of Chicago immortalized in the film High Fidelity.
It’s less than an hour before his band, Porcupine Tree, is scheduled to take ...
B.B. King is blue about the blues.
As the best-known practitioner of the musical style, King is concerned that there may be no heir apparent to his crown in a dying art. He decries the fact that, for the most part, the blues remain ignored by the general audience.
“All you have to do ...
Wynton Marsalis is not one to blow his own horn, but he doesn’t hold anything back when he champions the art form of jazz.
The Grammy Award-winning trumpeter is determined to be the standard bearer for the traditional sound.
“I’m not trying to put down other styles of music. People should ...
In his new role as advisor to the Red Wings’ general manager, Niklas Kronwall is helping guide the development of the team’s top prospects.
The student has become the teacher.
Sixteen years ago, Niklas Kronwall was playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins. An AHL ...
After hearing Adrian Belew play guitar, one is never likely to think of the instrument in the same light again.
Belew is the Mel Blanc of the guitar world. His instrument is capable of producing “voices” never before heard in rock music. Whether performing serious works or looney tunes, his ...
Winning a batting title is certainly no minor accomplishment.
For a player to lead his league in hitting, he has to make steady contact with the ball day in and day out. Every plate appearance can make a difference in his batting average. An extended slump can knock a guy out of a batting ...