Archive for June 16th, 2011

Vinyl

Something Else! sneak peek: Ry Cooder, "No Banker Left Behind" (2011)

Tough times call for angry protest records, for political records, for records that produce rueful smiles. Ry Cooder has done that and more with “No Banker Left Behind,” a tart treatise on the recent financial meltdown You May Also Like: Ry Cooder’s ‘The UFO Has Landed’ Finally Put His AmazingRead More

Vinyl

Half Notes: Mike LeDonne – The Groover (2010)

by Mark Saleski From swing (“Bopsolete”) to smokey blues (and what self-respecting organ ensemble would sidestep the blues? Check out “Deep Blue,” killer guitar solo by Peter Bernstein on this one), this group knows how to have a good time. The title track gets in that groove and burns. AndRead More

Adrian Belew on songs from King Crimson, his Power Trio and the Bears: Gimme Five

Adrian Belew on songs from King Crimson, his Power Trio and the Bears: Gimme Five

Discover why Adrian Belew likes working with younger musicians, and how he’d like to push Crimson’s double-trio format even further out

Vinyl

Half Notes: Farmers By Nature – Out Of This World Distortions (2011)

Three of the most gifted improvisers in free jazz today released this week a studio follow-up from their well-received 2009 live debut. As fellow giants of the NYC downtown scene, William Parker, Craig Taborn and Gerald Cleaver know each well musically and personally (as noted before, Cleaver and Taborn goRead More

Vinyl

Half Notes: Ziggy Marley – Dragonfly (2003)

by Tom Johnson Bob Marley’s son did this one without the Melody Makers to make an album less about being reggae and more about music. Ziggy seems to find some influence in the Dave Matthews Band, as many songs feature passages that could easily have been played by the DMBRead More