by Mark Saleski A variant of the “I remember exactly where I was when I first heard this” thing is the phenomenon of incomplete Déjà Vu. This occurs when you hear a piece of music and it seems totally familiar … except … hmmm … what was it? The musicRead More

by Nick DeRiso I always chuckle when I pull out this Columbia-Legacy compilation, a CD of pre-war tracks that boasts one of those blocky black PARENTAL ADVISORY stickers for explicit lyrics. It’s an album of steadfastly dirty blues songs — though innuendo replaces the jarring language of today’s brazen newRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Cello virtuoso Erik Friedlander must have found a second wind at 50 years old because yesterday he released his second album of all new material as many months. The album, incidentally, is called Fifty: 50 Miniatures For Improvising Quintet and in Friedlander’s typically atypical fashion, itRead More

photo: Jason Quigley by S. Victor Aaron Although we don’t really cover indie rock on our little corner of the blogzine world, I’m often intrigued by musicians who approach jazz from the indie angle. They don’t swing and they usually don’t try to dazzle with labored technique. Most times theRead More

by Mark Saleski In our society, it seems like there’s a constant battle between idealism and cynicism. A person will take a stand on a particular issue, and no matter how quietly they do it, there is always an opposing force with the can of hot tar at the ready.Read More

by S. Victor Aaron Two years is not a long time between albums, and Charles Lloyd has maintained a steady output of an album every couple of years and sometimes every year since hooking up with ECM Records in the late 80s. It’s impressive when keeping in mind that LloydRead More

by Mark SaleskiOver the years, there have been a lot of musical hybrids that have surprised our ears by revealing hidden commonalities in melded musical genres. For instance, I’m fairly certain that my only exposure to hip-hop back before the mid-1980’s was with Sugar Hill’s “Rapper’s Delight,” and Blondie’s “Rapture.”Read More

by Mark Saleski Often when something is unexpected, it ends up being that much more rewarding. You know: surprises! I remember back in 1994 when Brandford Marsalis put together his jazz/funk/hip-hop group Buckshot LeFonque. The debut album was a giant pile of unexpected. So much so that some folks didn’tRead More

When we last visited the music of the brilliant bassist and composer William Parker three years ago, he was putting his poetry to his music on Corn Meal Dance. Yesterday, he introduced a new album that again revolves around poetry but this time it’s based on the poetic music ofRead More

A canny mixture of an old-school swinging style with the then-new cool sound, even if its name sounds like a goof. Shorty Rogers, who’d first garnered attention as part of bands led by Woody Herman (both the first and second Herds) and then Stan Kenton, had a way of confoundingRead More