by Fred Phillips Over the past few months, Shooter Jennings has released two free compilations for his unfortunately named XXX movement, which are both still available for free download

You’re forgiven for forgetting that Chris Connor, one of the premier cool-jazz vocalists, took a quick detour into popular music in the mid-1960s.

by Tom Johnson Three years into Battles’ existence, it had only issued a single and two EPs — until this, their long-awaited debut album. The wait was more than worth it. Where the EPs hinted at what was to come, they suffered a bit from a band struggling to define themselves. Mirrored proved that Battles had discovered who they are: [...]

Kate Bush didn’t make much of a stateside splash, despite achieving fame 25 years ago in Britain. So remakes like this one from Johanna and the Dusty Floor, brilliant though they may be, likely resonate with most listeners as if they were brand new.

German pianist Christian Pabst is still studying (at the European Jazz Master’s Programme at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam), but his new CD with his longtime trio shows that he’s already learned a lot. Maybe it only seems that way because of the rapport he’s developed over the years with drummer Andreas Klein and bassist David Andres, or maybe because Pabst [...]