Archive for September, 2008

Vinyl

Richard Wright (1943-2008): An Appreciation

Remembering Pink Floyd’s often-overlooked co-founding keyboardist Richard Wright.

John Campbell (1952-1993): An Appreciation

John Campbell (1952-1993): An Appreciation

In the end, too-soon-gone Louisiana bluesman John Campbell boasted a short, stormy, and now storied career.

Vinyl

One Track Mind: Brian Wilson, "Midnight's Another Day" (2008)

Lodged toward the end of a nostalgic song cycle that attempts (with varying degrees of success) to recreate the soaring pop music of his California youth, Brian Wilson offers a moment of naked, welcome honesty. On “Midnight’s Another Day,” away from the florid orchestrations and dense backing vocals associated withRead More

Vinyl

The Wee Trio – Capitol Diner Vol. 1 (2008)

“The best post-punk jazz trio with vibraphone ever.” That’s the bold declaration you’ll find when you click on the link at the bottom of this article to purchase their CD. It’s also very hard to argue with that statement. James Westfall (vibes), Dan Loomis (acoustic bass) and Jared Schonig (drums)Read More

Vinyl

Garaj Mahal – w00t (2008)

Photo: Susan J. WeiandWith jazz fusion having been around for some forty years, now, it’s not so easy to be distinctive in that field anymore. Garaj Mahal manages to stick out, mainly due to massive chops by all four group members and a dizzying array of influences each group memberRead More

Aaron Parks - 'Invisible Cinema' (2008)

Aaron Parks – ‘Invisible Cinema’ (2008)

The sky’s the limit for Aaron Parks and he’s already several miles off the ground.

Vinyl

One Track Mind: Jerry Reed, "Amos Moses" (1970)

Earlier this week, Atlanta, Georgia’s own Jerry Reed passed away at 71 years old. To a lot of folks, Reed was a fixture in Burt Reynolds movies from the mid-seventies to the early eighties. But my strongest recollections of Reed go back a little further, when he was still knownRead More

Vinyl

Torben Waldorff – Afterburn (2008)

Used to be that whenever the term “Scandinavian jazz” would come up, one could summarize it by pointing to the sterile, pristine folk-jazz popularized by Jan Garbarek and the ECM label from the seventies on. In recent times, it’s come to mean such a variety of styles and tendencies thatRead More

Vinyl

Something Else! Featured Artist: Soul singer Shirley Brown

NICK DERISO: One of Shirley Brown’s early hits was called “Love is Built on a Strong Foundation,” produced by Oliver Sain for the Abet label. Same with her career. Born in West Memphis, Ark., Brown started like so many great sizzling soul singers do – in church. Not until herRead More