For many years, any mention of Ravi Shankar would bring me all the way back to sixth grade. This was the year of a great discovery: the records that my sister left behind.

Everybody has their own definition of a “chill” record. But if ever there was a time when one was desperately needed, it would likely be when you are stranded on a faraway island — with nothing but a volleyball to keep you company.

Music serves all sorts of different functions for people, so it’s not surprising that for every Einstein On The Beach enthusiast — count me as one — there are 10 who will just have to leave the room

It used to be that when we used the term “punk jazz,” we were referring to Jaco Pastorius. Let’s face it, the man was a jazz bass revolutionary.

Photo: Julieta Cervantes by Mark Saleski Not long after receiving Etudes 4 Violin & Electronix, I got up one morning before the alarm went off, and settled myself down to some coffee. The idea was to catch up on the reading material that had stacked up over the past few months. What ended up happening over the next 10 minutes [...]

by Nick DeRiso: Composed in the spring of 1992, and based on the classic David Bowie collaboration with Brian Eno from 1977, Philip Glass’ orchestral interpretation is that oddity that makes sense. Originally an experimental recording of startling depth and complexity, it follows that “Low” would transfer well into the next iteration. Glass — a three-time Academy Award-nominated classical-music composer [...]