John Kelman at AllAboutJazz.com has been busy with Crimson alumni reviews this week. His latest review is of the new Dual Disc CD/DVD A Coat of Many Colors by the World Drummers Ensemble. This new release features percussion masters Bill Bruford, Chad Wackerman, Luis Conte and Doudou N’Diaye Rose improvising in a world music setting.

To read the review, click on the link below.

The fine website AllAboutJazz.com has just reviewed a new Dual Disc by Emerson, Lake & Palmer Live at the Isle of Wight 1970. Further titled The Birth of a Band, this CD/DVD chronicles just the second gig for ELP at the massive outdoor festival.

The CD contains the entire five song set and the DVD side contains a 70 minute documentary with the band including concert footage.

Click on the link below to read the review.

The reviews for Tony Levin’s latest ‘Resonator’ CD are beginning to come in. My local paper the South Florida Sun-Sentinel was quite kind in assessing the new disc as a “richly textured package of tightlly written, challenging music that rewards repeated listenings.” Unfortunately, they did not post the review at their website.

We did, however, find an extensive online review by Malcom Moore on the Ultraviolet Lighthouse site. This extensive and quite favorable review pays particular attention to the lyrical content of the new record. Click on the link below to get a taste.

The latest issue of ‘Guitar One’ magazine offers a brief lesson on some classic King Crimson licks. The May issue has a one page tutorial titled “Robert Fripp: The Musical Obsessions of a Prog Master.” The song excerpts covered include “Fracture”, “Discipline” and “Vrooom”. As an added bonus the magazine comes with a CD-ROM with a video tutorial of the lesson. While it only covers eight bars of music, it is well worth checking out. Although their website does not publish its articles, you can check out ‘Guitar One’ below.

Tony Levin is putting the finishing touches on his new solo album for release on April 4th (U.S.). Look for guest appearances by Crimson alumni including Adrian Belew. A Playback Party and CD signing will take place at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY on April 5th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. Admission is free with a cash bar.

Tony will then commence a tour of the U.S. and Europe with Larry Fast, Jerry Marotta, Jesse Gress and Pete Levin. Confirmed dates include:

April 13 / Philadelphia –Grape Street Pub
April 14 / Lowell, MA. – The Lowell Brewery Exchange
April 15 / Rochester, NY – Milestones
April 19 / W. Springfield, VA – JAXX
April 20 / Asbury Park, NJ – The Saint
April 22 / Schenectady, NY – The Van Dyck
April 28 / Roma – Stazzione Birra
April 30 / Foligno – Theatre Auditorium S.Domenico
May 3 / Torino – Noise Club
May 4 / Milano – Live Club
May 5 / Treviso – Sonny Boy
May 7 / Zurich, Switz. – Scala
May 8 / Aschaffensberg, Germany – Colosaal
May 9 / Zaandem, Netherlands –Kade
May 10 / Zootermeer, Netherlands – Boerderij
May 11 / Verviers, Belgium – Spirit of 66
May 12 / Karlsruhe, Germay – Substage
May 13 / Munich – Backstage Werk
May 14 / Bonn – Bruckenforum
May 16 / Oberhausen – Zentrum Altenberg
May 17 / Hamburg – Fabrik
June 23 / Bethlehem, PA – Progressive Legends Showcase II
June 24 / Woodstock, NY - Bearsville Theater

New dates are constantly being added and the above dates are subject to change so check with the venues before making any travel plans. For the latest “Resonator” tour dates and the Papa Bear’s diary click on the link below.

The Crimson Jazz Trio (aka CJ3) has set up full length streams at MySpace.com of their progressive jazz interpretations of King Crimson classics “Red”, “Ladies of the Road” and “21st Century Schizoid Man” from their debut release “The King Crimson Songbook, Volume One.” The trio features former Crimson drummer Ian Wallace along with bassist Tim Landers and pianist Jody Nardone. For their current club dates, Finnish pianist Mathias Aspelin will be at the keyboard. To listen to these highly charged tracks click on the link below.