Checking in with our thoughts on a few of tonight’s winners from the 2011 Grammy Awards, including the Black Keys — the top-rated Something Else! Reviews record from last year — as well as Buddy Guy, Neil Young, Stanley Clarke, Paul McCartney and Mavis Staples, among others. Click through theRead More

Photo by Jim Eigo by Nick DeRiso People think of clarinets as this sound from a different era, and the guys who play them as having done so in black and white. The late Alvin Batiste, who initially found his muse in Charlie Parker’s “Now’s the Time,” was never thatRead More

We already knew how well they can rock it, with searing lyrics and memorable melodies. ‘Go-Go Boots’ showed the Drive-By Truckers had soul.

by Mark Saleski The most frightening nightmare I have had involved none of the usual suspects. There were no scary monsters. Nothing came at me from underneath the bed or from the dark recess of my closet. Nobody was chasing me. I was not falling. I was not drowning (ThatRead More

Photo from www.Jonathan-Parker.com by S. Victor Aaron Many up and coming jazz artists we’ve covered here typically come from just about every corner of the U.S.A., attend a prestigious music school and, perhaps after some intermediate stop at a regional jazz hub, eventually end up in the intensely competitive butRead More

Photo from www.SashaMasakowski.com by Nick DeRiso Sasha Masakowski, at once fearless and charming, is featured on two new EPs, one as a leader with Musical Playground (a sampling from the forthcoming next-gen jazz recording Wishes on Hypersoul Records) and another as part of the New Orleans indie rock/electronic band BionicaRead More

“Naw man, don’t buy that record, the rest of the album is no good,” said the long-haired, moustached guy at the record store. I had just heard Billy Thorpe’s “Children of the Sun” on the local album-rock radio station and I just knew that the long player of the sameRead More

photo: Jazz Eyes Records by S. Victor Aaron BANN is a jazz supergroup of sorts, consisting of saxophonist Seamus Blake, bassist Jay Anderson, guitarist Oz Noy and drummer Adam Nussbaum. We know how supergroups can be hit-or-miss affairs; either egos clash and the different voices don’t click together, or theyRead More

Howlin’ Wolf had no right to rock it like this. Not after what he had been through.

Photo from petergabriel.com by Something Else Reviews Anybody who names his first four solo recordings after himself is going to require some deciphering, right? We’re here to help with a five-song spin through Peter Gabriel’s solo career, featuring both charting favorites and a few forgotten gems.             “HERE COMES THE FLOOD”Read More