Tony Soprano tucked into a booth at a New Jersey diner, one of those old-time places with a selection of jukebox tunes right at the table. He considered, briefly, something by Tony Bennett, then went with Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin,’” and the final, controversial, moments of HBO’s “The Sopranos” —Read More

NICK DERISO: From the trembling strains of the first harpsichord notes here, to the rappy backbeat that follows, to the bubbling funk from later on, to the hard jazz moving through this album after that, it’s clear … Bernie Worrell — the original keyboardist with Parliament-Funkadelic— is crazy. But inRead More

NICK DERISO: The Rockets were an undeniably crisp, hard-working blues band in the early 1980s, respectable if a little nondescript. Darrell Nulish handled vocals and harmonica, fronting a group led by the unusually named, and just as unusually talented, guitarist Anson Funderburgh. The basis for “Blast Off,” a 1992 retrospectiveRead More

My list of the best swan song jazz recordings is in need of an update. Michael Brecker’s posthumously released ‘Pilgrimage’ is a deserving addendum.

I tried but, damnit, I just couldn’t ignore Fear Of A Blank Planet any longer. Whenever someone asks me who among the current crop of prog rock bands they should explore, Porcupine Tree is always on the top of my list. While I enjoy Yes-reincarnated outfits like Spock’s Beard, PTRead More

A few months ago we bemoaned the dearth of talent promoted by record labels while there’s an abundance of it out there unsigned, and put forth Vancouver’s own Heidi McCurdy as an example of overlooked artistry. About three hundred miles south in Portland, Oregon is yet another diamond in theRead More

Funky and tough, the Jazz Messengers were, until the very end, a group best heard blasting away on stage as vital, hard bop pioneers. That made this the definitive late-period release from Art Blakey. “Art Collection” features two celebrated tracks with Wynton and Branford Marsalis, as well as one withRead More

NICK DERISO: This anthology — perfectly subtitled, “How the Time Does Fly” — was a great place to sit for spell and ruminate on the distant twangy past. Flying Fish included 18 tracks culled from nine of Hartford’s brilliant, throwback banjo records. His brand of riverboat bluegrass stayed interesting —Read More

Sometimes, people listen to music with too much of their brain. I’m just suggesting you give your skull some attention. –zingzing As someone who’s guilty of taking more than a few strolls down the cerebral sidewalk of music, even I’d have to admit you have to keep your cranium happyRead More

NICK DERISO: Charmaine Neville – yes, she’s one of those Nevilles – didn’t want to be a singer. She wanted to tell jokes. Convinced to go another way, Neville initially split the difference. She sang funny songs. “When I was a kid, when ‘The Flintstones’ would come on TV, IRead More