Home. Home. Home. A drumbeat from the heart urging you back Home for Christmas. For Aaron Neville Home is in Louisiana and he hymns it royally. Wherever the Home that calls to your heart is I hope you make it there for Christmas. Now for some mighty, mighty testifying from The Five Blind Boys of Alabama. Tom Waits, a notable Jukebox favourite, adds his unmistakeable golden tones to add even more piquancy. Go Tell It! W. H. Auden was unquestionably a great Poet who combined enormous technical accomplishment with searching intelligence and wit. When Auden speaks we do well to listen and reflec ..read more

Continuing the Celebration of favourite Jukebox Posts here’s a tribute to an authentically great musician who seems to have gone missing in action. No new record for 7 years and no concerts. Where have you gone Kelly Joe? All over the globe fans like me pine for the shivering sound of your guitar. Where have you gone Kelly Joe? There have always been precious few musicians with, ‘The Touch’. There has always been precious few musicians who know the blues and feel the spirit. Where have you gone Kelly Joe? There have always been precious few musicians who cut their own visionary path. Where hav ..read more

You’ve either got it or you haven’t. Presence. Some things you just can’t buy. Presence. Coaches and Gurus and Snake Oil salesmen will portentously promise to reveal the secret to you. Better save your money and your time and learn the things that can be taught – vocal exercises, relaxation, the whole assembly of skills that adds up to Technique. But Presence? No way. You’ve either got it or you haven’t. The gods or muses dispose as they will. Hard to define but easy to recognise. Greta Garbo. Marlon Brando. Rudolph Nureyev. Maria Callas. Miles Davis. Muhammad Ali. Van Morrison. Intensity. Imp ..read more

Featuring memories of the Summer of 1975 & an all you can eat ‘Hey Baby’ Buffet with : Bruce Channel, Delbert McClinton,  Arthur Alexander, NRBQ, Buckwheat Zydeco, The Holmes Brothers, Juice Newton and Jimmy Vaughan.  (As always if corporate czars block any of the clips appearing here you will be able to find them by a trawl of YouTube). * Last week I had to visit our local civic centre to fill out some official forms. This involved, as encounters with officialdom almost always do, a lot of waiting about in uncomfortable chairs while my details were checked and double checked before eventu ..read more