Photo by Jimmy Katz by Mark Saleski You might wonder, if you’re the curious/skeptical sort, why the late 1800’s concept of the orchestrion needs a modern update. Aren’t we headed toward the inevitable, all-digital future? What’s with all of these “new” instruments with their pesky & outdated moving parts? ToRead More

by Mark Saleski Over at A Blog Supreme, they’re tossing around an interesting question: What’s The First Coltrane Album You Fell In Love With? That’s an easy one for me: it was Interstellar Space. It sort of confused me (OK, it confused the heck out of me!) but I totallyRead More

This remains – often like Pat Metheny himself – more subtle than overpowering, an album that continues to reveal its quiet, darkly emotional secrets.

By Mark Saleski Have you ever been minding your own business when an old experience, one you hadn’t thought about in years, just pops into your mind? That happened to me the other night, and I have no idea why. I had been up late reading, had just returned fromRead More

Things could be looking up for Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. by Pico It’s been a whole three months since we last discussed a batch of sparkling new releases that are targeted for wider audiences. That’s such a long span that a few of the half dozen records yakked aboutRead More

The hottest band in the land just might be the Drive-By Truckers by S. Victor Aaron Funny how it seems I have plenty of time to listen to new music and precious little to write about. There’s about 9GBs of albums in my iPod rotation and I’m familiar with aRead More

by Nick DeRiso Perhaps best remembered in jazz circles for his melodic work on the fretless (notably as a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1977-80), bassist Mark Egan’s earliest influences couldn’t have been more far afield. A former student of Jaco Pastorius at the University of Miami, EganRead More

Photo by Maria Camillo by S. Victor Aaron Sometimes it takes a fantastic cover of a song to make you realize how good the original has always been. This One Track Mind is about one of those times. When I think of the eponymous Pat Metheny Group album from wayRead More

by Pico One of the more amazing things about Pat Metheny has long been his ability to play music at it’s highest potential and, when the mood strikes him, make it entirely accessible at the same time. In that sense, he’s a modern day version of Louis Armstrong, who wasRead More

by S. Victor Aaron It’s been the season for fusion superstar comebacks lately. Last year the classic lineup of Return To Forever got back together and toured, culminating into the 2-CD live souvenir Returns. Later in the year, Corea hooked up with fellow Miles sideman John McLaughlin to headline aRead More