Jeff Healey Band - Roadhouse Blues (Live In Belgium)

What made Jeff Healey different from other blues-rockers was also what kept some listeners from accepting him as anything other than a novelty -- the fact that the blind guitarist played his Fender Stratocaster on his lap, not standing up. With the guitar in his lap, Healey could make unique bends and hammer-ons, making his licks different and more elastic than most of the competition. Unfortunately, his material leaned toward standard AOR blues-rock, which rarely let him cut loose, but when he did, his instrumental prowess could be shocking.

Healey lost his sight at the age of one, after developing eye cancer. He began playing guitar when he was three years old and began performing with his band Blues Direction at the age of 17. Healey formed the Jeff Healey Band in 1985, featuring bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen. This trio released one single on its own Forte record label, which led to a contract with Arista Records. the Jeff Healey Band released their debut album, See the Light, in 1988 and the guitarist immediately developed a devoted following in blues-rock circles. Featuring the hit single "Angel Eyes," the record went platinum in the U.S. While the Jeff Healey Band's subsequent records were popular, none were as successful as the debut.

As the 21st century dawned, Healey began to change his direction. He taught himself to play the trumpet and began to lean toward the kind of traditional 1920s and '30s jazz that had always fascinated him. He released two classic jazz albums, 2002's Among Friends and 2004's Adventures in Jazzland, on his own HealeyOphonic label, and a third traditional jazz outing with It's Tight Like That, which appeared on Stony Plain in 2006. And while he continued to do shows in his earlier blues-rock style, he increasingly gigged with his jazz combo, the Jazz Wizards. In 2008, a month before the release of his last studio-recorded blues album, Mess of Blues, Healey died from cancer. Songs from the Road, a collection of live blues-rock performances from 2006 and 2007, was released by the Ruf imprint in 2009, nearly 18 months after Healey's death. His final studio jazz album, Last Call, was issued by Stony Plain in April 2010.

Artist Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Fintechs and the financial market future

There are no news that Fintech companies are a real threat to the future of large financial corporations. But how Fintech (Financial Technology) have driven the future of the financial sector and how traditional and established corporations have responded to these threats?

Fintechs are already running the market for a long time. Then, what is special now? To answer this question we need to think a bit in the type of products and services being offered by these companies, which target audience and why it is taking off the sleep of financial institutions.

More than simply develop new systems or upgrade legacy systems for financial institutions, Fintechs began to develop and bring to market their own integrated applications and solutions to compete directly with them. They are mobile payment applications, resource transfer, credit card services and, in some cases, even the opening and maintenance of fully digital checking or saving accounts, which includes services such as P2P loans, mortgages, financing, insurance, etc.). In this model, the client no longer needs any physical interaction with the institutions. And by offering their services and a complete customer service environment through the digital world without physical branches, Fintechs can provide their products and services at a fraction of the cost of traditional banking products, such as Nubank with their no annual fee credit card. In addition, banks have not shown the same ability to quickly adapt to changes in the digital consumer behaviour, something Fintechs can easily do – quickly and very well.

Something that is also forcing banks to rethink their business models are the increasing regulatory demands. In the face of tighter budgets and anxious to meet all major standards and market regulations, these institutions are rather looking for ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Nevertheless, its heavy processes - and even tied - decision-making process and the consequent implementation of new ideas are turned into an arduous and slow task, bringing another challenge for banks. Thus, the agility of Fintechs with its lean mind set and culture of innovation focus can be highlighted, and a strong factor that has counted in favour of its rapid growth.

All that without mentioning the called cryptocurrency, or digital money, which has led to large institutions like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan initiate global projects to increase the efficiency of trading and settlement of assets.

Inside of Brazilian market, the number of users who owns smartphones surpassed the milestone of 76 million in the third quarter of 2015. Most people prefer the speed and convenience of applications available for these devices. Included in this growing number, we have the so-called Generation Z. People who were born and grew up with the World Wide Web (1990) and the explosion and popularization of technological devices by the end of 2010. This demanding and highly digital mass of consumers no longer find themselves satisfied with the traditional model offered by financial institutions, and therefore are more willing to try new products and banking services, from companies that does not yet have a solid brand recognition, as traditional banks have. This generation of digital natives will make the difference and define which companies will still exist in a future that has already begun.

In 2015, some UK Fintechs earned banking licenses under the agreement of the government and market regulators and were allowed to expand its portfolio of mobile products and services, increasing competitiveness in the sector. Given the speed of technological change and financial services, any financial institution, even if well established in the market and in front of their customers, cannot afford to ignore the threats or opportunities that Fintechs represent.

According to a recent report made by PwC, (Blurred Lines: How FinTech is Shaping Financial Services), by 2020, over 20% of the financial services business may be at risk because of emerging FinTechs, so now more than ever, financial institutions need to change their mind set to meet the needs of the digital consumer, integrating the digitization of its processes to its corporate DNA. And according to this same study, the ways to achieve this are: put a FinTech methodology as the centre of its strategy, adopt a mobile-first approach, collaborating with FINTECH companies and understand the background regulatory challenges.

Modern consumers are increasingly comparing the digital banking experience from your bank with companies like Apple, Amazon and Google - who were not famous for their banking services but as well as Fintechs have also taken the sleep of many traditional organizations of financial services. Financial institutions that do not define and start a real digital strategy for the upcoming years will face serious problems to remain profitable in this market.

This article was originally published in Brazilian Portuguese language at Computerworld.com.

Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Ron Wood, Joe Perry, Flea and Metallica - The Train Kept A-Rollin´

During 2009 Rock n Roll Hall of Fame 25th Annivrsary Concert. Amazing!

Insane Jam Session - Let the Good Times Roll

Performing directly from 29th Grammy Awards Ceremony , Los Angeles, February 24, 1987

Willie Dixon
Koko Taylor
Albert King
B.B King
Robert Cray
Ry Cooder
Etta James
Junior Wells
Dr John

Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page - Beck's Bolero and Immigrant Song

Jeff Beck is one of a relative handful of musicians who have been twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – with the Yardbirds and as a solo artist and bandleader.

Below is the performance made by Jeff and Jimmy Page during 2009 induction.

Jeff Healey's Jazz Wizards - Sweet Georgia Brown

What made Jeff Healey different from other blues-rockers was also what kept some listeners from accepting him as anything other than a novelty -- the fact that the blind guitarist played his Fender Stratocaster on his lap, not standing up. With the guitar in his lap, Healey could make unique bends and hammer-ons, making his licks different and more elastic than most of the competition. Unfortunately, his material leaned toward standard AOR blues-rock, which rarely let him cut loose, but when he did, his instrumental prowess could be shocking.

Healey lost his sight at the age of one, after developing eye cancer. He began playing guitar when he was three years old and began performing with his band Blues Direction at the age of 17. Healey formed the Jeff Healey Band in 1985, featuring bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen. This trio released one single on its own Forte record label, which led to a contract with Arista Records. the Jeff Healey Band released their debut album, See the Light, in 1988 and the guitarist immediately developed a devoted following in blues-rock circles. Featuring the hit single "Angel Eyes," the record went platinum in the U.S. While the Jeff Healey Band's subsequent records were popular, none were as successful as the debut.

As the 21st century dawned, Healey began to change his direction. He taught himself to play the trumpet and began to lean toward the kind of traditional 1920s and '30s jazz that had always fascinated him. He released two classic jazz albums, 2002's Among Friends and 2004's Adventures in Jazzland, on his own HealeyOphonic label, and a third traditional jazz outing with It's Tight Like That, which appeared on Stony Plain in 2006. And while he continued to do shows in his earlier blues-rock style, he increasingly gigged with his jazz combo, the Jazz Wizards. In 2008, a month before the release of his last studio-recorded blues album, Mess of Blues, Healey died from cancer. Songs from the Road, a collection of live blues-rock performances from 2006 and 2007, was released by the Ruf imprint in 2009, nearly 18 months after Healey's death. His final studio jazz album, Last Call, was issued by Stony Plain in April 2010.

Artist Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine