Horowitz, Rachmaninoff and Bacchus

Tonight I fired up the turntable and put on Vladimir Horowitz's performance of the Rachmaninoff 3rd piano concerto - a piece of music I have obsessed over since buying the recording at the age of 12. The piece has it all: Russian melodies that seem to contain all the sadness of the world, sweeping orchestration, bravura pianism of the highest level, and a stirring conclusion that even after hundreds of hearings makes my heart leap to my throat and covers me with goosebumps. It is a perfect pairing of composition and player. Many others have played the Rach 3 brilliantly, but to me, it will always be owned by Mr. Horowitz. On this recording - made in 1978 at Carnegie Hall on the 50th anniversary of his American debut - he is an old man, and misses some notes here and there - but the passion in the playing is as if he's playing it not only for himself and the audience, but also for his old friend Sergei Rachmaninoff, for mother Russia, and for the ages. And most importantly: as if he may never play again. Which is how everything should be played. 

Yesterday we put our beloved 15-year-old cat Bacchus to sleep. He had lung cancer and for the last 2 weeks I have been helplessly watching him die. There were times, it seems, that the only thing getting me through it was this piece of music, which I have been listening to repeatedly. Bacchus always sat with me in the office when I listened to music...I wish he were here tonight. I think he liked this one. 

MaloneMemes #4 - I'm Not Fine (Thanks For Asking)

MaloneMemes #3 - Facebook

MaloneMemes #2 - Rock & Roll, in a nutshell.

MaloneMemes #1 - Be Rock. Always.

Scenes From an Italian Truckstop

Notes from the road - Southern Italy, July 13, 2013.

Ah, the glorious clusterfuck that is Italy. The place is not unlike New Orleans in that a mostly carefree populous party among the ruins of their fragrantly crumbling past. When people hear I am coming here to tour, they envision me perhaps sipping a glass of homemade chianti under a lyrical olive tree in the shadows of an ancient roman aqueduct. Merde! It's all sleep deprivation, long drives, crappy hotel rooms, and truck stop dining. Although the food at Italian truck stops is better than the food at most American restaurants. The clock here is, at best, a suggestion. If we're late for soundcheck, then we've likely made it there at exactly the right time. An 8:00 show might go off at 10. Or 11. But don't worry about that, signore. Now we eat! 

New Tunes - New Press!

Hey kids! We've been sequestered away in the studio working on the new Bob Malone record most of this year, and the first three tunes are done, with more to come soon! Click here and have a listen:

http://soundcloud.com/bob-malone/sets/new-bob-malone/

A nice feature article about me is in this month's issue of Berklee Today - that's the alum mag from my old alma mater, Berklee College of Music. Check it out here:

http://bobmalone.com/pdf/review-berklee-today-2013.jpg

And I've also been interviewed for the latest Mix Magazine, here it is:

http://blog.mixonline.com/mixblog/2013/01/18/bob-malone/

All of this stuff, plus new gigs, photos and videos are at bobmalone.com, which has been massively updated - so go have a look! 

See you out there! B