My music playlist for today (June 5, 2012 edition)

In finally tidying up the amount of exposure I give to my “top five” jazz-fusion artists and groups today, I turn to the French violinist and composer Jean-Luc Ponty.

Jean Luc Ponty en Viña del Mar – 14.10.08 (Photo credit: medioamedio)

Ponty has been a “beast” for quite some time, with music becoming a large part of his life at a very early age. His solo discography dates back to when he was in his early 20s. By the time he recorded “Live At Donte’s” in 1969, he was already an award-winning player. He landed some gigs with some composers who put together very complex music, such as Frank Zappa and John McLaughlin with Mahavishnu Orchestra.

And then Ponty went out on his own again, opening up whole new minds with his own modern compositions.

I remember back to an evening in my old disc jockey days, around the age of 18 or so, up in Idaho. I had just gotten off my afternoon shift on the AM country side of the radio station I was working at, and the excitement that day surrounded the broadcast of a concert by the rock group Rush on the FM rock side, one of those “King Biscuit” recordings.

The DJ on the FM side for that broadcast was wanting something very different musically to help get “psyched up” as a lead-in for the Rush show. I happened to have brought along my perfect audiophile vinyl copy of Ponty’s “Cosmic Messenger” to the studio that day and advised him to play the opening track on the air.

He did. He liked it. The fluid, echoed violin run in the middle of it was mind-blowing to him. When’s the last time anyone else has heard Jean-Luc Ponty music being played on a Top 40 rock station … in Idaho?

I guess I was just a bit on the “cutting edge” side. What can I say? Idaho boys sure can appreciate some darn good fiddlin’.

My music playlist for today (May 22, 2012 edition) (viewfrommiddleclass.wordpress.com)
My music playlist for today (April 24, 2012 edition) (viewfrommiddleclass.wordpress.com)
My music playlist for today (March 18, 2012 edition) (viewfrommiddleclass.wordpress.com)
My music playlist for today (April 3, 2012 edition) (viewfrommiddleclass.wordpress.com)
My music playlist for today (April 17, 2012 edition) (viewfrommiddleclass.wordpress.com)
JEAN-LUC PONTY “Rhythms of hope” (omanxl1.wordpress.com)
Jean-Luc Ponty – The Gardens Of Babylon / Fight For Life (Live) (omanxl1.wordpress.com)

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About A View From The Middle (Class)

Hi, my name's John. I've thought about this blogging stuff for a number of years now. I got into it for real on November 10, 2011, after suddenly losing my job in late October. I've been blogging ever since, and I kept it up over a period of a year and four months of being unemployed or under-employed, to try and paint a picture of what being jobless with a family to support can be like. Finally, on February 28, 2013, I got a better job that puts us back into the "middle class." I won't stop blogging, though. Who knows, maybe I can actually turn this blogging stuff into a way to earn a living someday! If you go to my blog at http://viewfrommiddleclass.wordpress.com/ and click on my About page, it'll tell you a lot about me -- maybe more than you ever wanted to know. I'm just your average, laid-back guy who's GOING TO MAKE IT IN THIS WORLD, despite all the roadblocks thrown in the way. I also launched a "niche" blog on music at http://thecrossovermusicchannel.blogspot.com/ that I'm very excited about because of the popularity of music playlist articles here. Also, check out and "Like" this blog's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/daddysangbassdude2 for instant updates. Look forward to seeing y'all around!

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