…and Will Kennedy is back in the drum chair! The latest news from Yellowjackets Online finds Marcus Baylor departing the Jackets after an impressive 10 year run, to further pursue his musical career. Marcus began recording with the band on the Mint Jam album, and most recently appeared on the Lifecycle album which featured Mike Stern guesting on guitar. Rudy’s Corner wishes Marcus all the best–he is incredibly talented and has a stellar career in front of him!
Filling the drum seat is none other than Will Kennedy. No stranger to the Jackets, he joined the band back in the 80s, and left to pursue his own career after the Club Nocturne album. Will comes on board as the Jackets depart tomorrow for Mexico for another in a long string of gigs around the world. Welcome back, Will!
It’s been several years since I went on a rant about the Grammy awards, given out by the NARAS. Normally I ignore the annual spectacle and go on with life. But something this year clued me in that there was a painful moment or two, namely, the fact that something (or someone) named Taylor Swift won a Grammy for “Album Of The Year”. And that it had performed live.
![MainHenryMancini[1]](http://temp.rudyscorner.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2009/12/MainHenryMancini1-246x300.jpg "MainHenryMancini[1]")
When I was younger and first studying music, I didn’t dare tell any of my friends or classmates that I listened to Henry Mancini’s music. That was “old fogie” music. And I’d have been branded a square. While my friends were into sex and voilence, I was into sax and violins. Looking back, most of the Mancini albums we owned were soundtracks, and aside from some scattered tracks, we really didn’t have much in the way of Mancini’s jazz recordings. Thanks to a donation from my mother’s aunt, I had a new world open up for me. And I had a whole new outlook on music and, particularly, on jazz.