Musicians making The Palladium their choice for live recordings

Our audiences already know that the Side Door Cabaret is the best listening room in the bay area. Musicians know it too and our downstairs room is quickly becoming THE place to record a live CD. 

Palladium favorite Nate Najar (www.natenajar.com) was the first one in the pool, recording his Live at the Side Door CD, two years ago. This fall, three other CDs are being released. Denise Moore and Then Some (www.denisemoorejazz.com) recorded their History of Jazz show last spring and are releasing the CD with a party in Tampa Saturday night at the old jazz club, 442. We’ll be celebrating the release at the Side Door early in 2011. 

 Guisando Caliente (www.guisandocaliente.com), the great Latin Jazz band, recorded their birthday party show earlier this year at the Side Door. They will be showcasing that album on October 21st when they appear with the Brazilian group O Som Do Jazz  (www.osomdojazz.com) as part of our Latin Jazz Celebration.

And Sandy Atkinson and the True Loves (http://www.sandyatkinson.net/disc.htm), who appeared as part of our Hammond B3 Summer Spectacular, will be releasing a live CD of that show, on Friday, Oct. 15 in the Side Door.

And I recently received a copy of a live DVD recorded last fall at the Side Door featuring the great San Francisco jazz guitarist, Mimi Fox. Check Mimi’s website (www.mimifoxjazzguitar.com) for details on that project. 

Expect the hits to keep on coming. Upstairs, in Hough Hall, we’re installing a new state-of-the-art sound system, complete with Pro Tools recording capability. So expect a lot more Live at the Palladium projects in the coming months and years.

Read Full Post »

Firefall’s Palladium Show Has A Tampa Tie

Back in the mid-1970s the critics dubbed Firefall a “Supergroup,” filled with players with impressive musical resumes. Not all of the groups given that moniker lived up to the title, but Firefall was that and more.

And Jim Mason, now a resident of the Tampa Bay area, was a big part of that success. Mason produced Firefall’s first two albums, which spawned most of the hits that are still played today – Just Remember I Love You, You Are The Woman, and lots more.

Mason is now producing concerts with some of his musical buddies from 1970s and 1980s. Working with partner Al Alvarez, he recently brought Noel Paul Stookey, of Peter, Paul and Mary, to the Palladium. Mason co-wrote one of Peter, Paul and Mary’s hits and produced Stookey’s successful “Wedding Song” album.

That led directly to Firefall. The groups members came from bands like the Byrds, Spirit, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Gram Parson’s band. The band’s sound was in the same ballpark as the hot band of 1975 – The Eagles.

But Firefall was described at the time as reminicent of another group.

“What surprised me most about the success of Firefall was that all of the rock n roll press made comparisons of Firefall to Buffalo Springfield. ”

This acoustic version of Firefall will visit the Palladium on Saturday, April 10. For tickets, visit www.mypalladium.org

Read Full Post »