Southwest Smooth Jazz “Secret”: Fingerprints

I was searching some other blogs and stumbled across “Frugal in Forth Worth,” whose post reminded me of Fingerprints, a great smooth jazz group that gets far too little notice.

The blog is about saving money, hence the mention of Fingerprints’ free concert. I thought it appropriate to guide you to where you can get a whole album free, and more.

Fingerprints has one album available on Emusic. You can download the album “DNA” (11 tracks) and then download 14 more, free, just by signing up for a free trial. Yep, you get 25 free downloads with a free trial, and the best part is, you get to keep them even if you cancel.

If you’ve read many of my posts, you know I’ve been a member of Emusic for a long time and I love that I can get a good number of downloads for my monthly rate. Far more than I could get on sites that sell each track for about a buck.

But the free trail deal is just a no-brainer. So go get some great tasty jazz by Fingerprints. And see what other gems you can discover. The links below will take you to the album “DNA” by Fingerprints, the bio of Fingerprints, and the blog “Frugal in Fort Worth.”

Fingerprints’ Bio
The blog “Frugal in Fort Worth”

Give Tim Brantley a Listen

Well, thanks are due again for Rickard over at his Music Blog for giving me a new (for me) artist to like.

Tim Brantley sings some well crafted and enjoyable songs. The melodies are interesting and the keyboard playing separates him from the pack of guitar-wielding singer/songwriters.

I was reminded of Bob Seger more than once, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone had told me that I had missed hearing about him in the 70′s.

I couldn’t find any free Mp3′s to turn you on to (legal ones, anyway), but his two albums are on Amazon. The earlier one is “Bon Voyage” and goes for only $6.99. Not bad for 12 good tracks, and you can save up for the other one.

Or go ahead and get both. Seventeen bucks for two good albums isn’t bad.

Check out Tim Brantley at Amazon

Not Free, but good Album Deals on Amazon

Ok, these aren’t free, but they are really good deals. Use the link below to go to a page on Amazon where you can get whole albums for less than five bucks.

Over on the right, you’ll see a way to display the albums by popularity, price, etc. If you display by price, low-to-high, you’ll see some even better deals.

Have fun!

Great Deals on Mp3 Albums from Amazon

Calexico from Chris Gaffney Tribute Album

Chris Gaffney had a clear, strong voice and sounded good playing everything from traditional country to zydeco to nortena. He died in April of 2008, and is memorialized in this tribute album. Here’s a track by Calexico that is a nice love song.

Calexico’s version of Frank’s Tavern

Learn about Chris Gaffney

Interesting Indie Site from Nokia

This is an interesting site to hear some indie bands from Malaysia, Philippines, etc. You can download tracks free, if you register, but it looks like you can’t register unless you’re from that area… I tried… you go try and if you figure it out, post a comment.

That being said, it’s still a fun place to prowl around and hear some streaming new sounds. Check it out.

Nokia indie site

School of Seven Bells is free on Amazon

The daily free mp3 download over at Amazon is from School of Seven Bells. This track is kind of a cross between electronic, dance and industrial, and isn’t a bad add to your collection. Hey, it’s free, so why not?

Use the link below to get to right page, then scroll down until you see the download link on the left. I love “free,” don’t you?

Daily Free Mp3 from Amazon

Another Good Site: Rock-Industries.com

You can find all kinds of indie and unsigned bands here. The musical style search is on the left side of the page.

Free downloads at rock-industries.com

More Free Songs From Amazon

Wow! Tons of free songs to download from Amazon. Here are just a few of the artists: The Apples in Stereo, Ziggy Marley, Passion Pit, Better Than Ezra, Jeremy Enigk, Flight Of The Conchords, Death Cab For Cutie, Neko Case, The Church… many more.

The link below will take you to the correct page. They suggest installing their download manager, but you don’t have to. I’ve tried it both ways. Their download manager installs in a blink, and syncs to itunes.

Happy downloading!

Free Song Downloads from Amazon

Free Mp3′s on Amazon

Amazon has some Mp3′s available for free download. There is a “daily download,” plus they run special promotions, too.

Use the link below to get to the correct page. When you get there, scroll down about a third of the way down, and you’ll see the ad for the “Daily Free Mp3.” It’s just past the “genres” on the left.

If you scroll a little farther down, you’ll see a link to a free jazz sampler (as of this post date/time).

Enjoy!

Free Mp3′s on Amazon

Umphrey’s McGee. You owe it to yourself.

Ok, I’m finally getting around to telling you about my all-time favorite band… right now, anyway. I found Umphrey’s McGee by accident on the net and was blown away. I went to their site and found they were playing Austin the next nite! Got tickets, went, got hooked for life.

Get your music stew-pot, and put in Yes, King Crimson, Dixie Dregs, Kansas, Grateful Dead, AC/CD, with little dashes of reggae, funk, and jazz. It’s ok if you don’t believe me… try ‘em and see.

They do THE BEST live show I’ve ever seen. They’re all god’s on their respective instruments, but what really separates them from an already small pack is the variety, ingenuity and creativity of their playing. They are one of the few (only?) bands that you could see on 3 consecutive nights, with the same set list, even, and not be bored for a moment.

I’m giving you a link to them on Emusic, because you can get their stuff for free there, but the 30 second snippets really don’t do most of their songs justice. It’s because almost every song evolves and morphs as it goes. This is especially evident on their live recordings.

Well, I could go on and on. I won’t because you need to get over to Emusic and download some stuff. My favorite songs are on the album “Safety in Numbers,” but any will do. Get a studio album first before you check out the live gigs.

The way it can be free, is that you get 25 free downloads with a free trial to Emusic. Don’t worry, tho… you can always cancel later and still keep the free tracks.

Give me some replies with your take on Umphrey’s. I love ‘em and I’m betting you will too!

Umphrey’s McGee for free, with a trial of Emusic