Drummer Zigaboo Modeliste, the grease-popping soul stylist of Meters fame, settles into a creamy seasonal groove here — sounding in no small way like chitlin-circuit crooner Tyrone Davis. Appearing on this year’s New Life, a genre-busting triumph, “Holiday Kiss” turns the typical Christmas-time theme on its ear — following theRead More

New York City circa 1958, for the jazz aficionado, was the place to be. Possibly no other artifact can confirm this statement with more clarity than photographer Art Kane’s landmark portrait A Great Day in Harlem. You May Also Like: Esquire featuring Nikki Squire, “Ministry of Life” (2016): One TrackRead More

Paul McCartney, sitting in a plane waiting to return to his native England, saw the smoke rising from the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001. The son of a volunteer firefighter during the German Blitz of World War II, McCartney was moved to assemble an all-star concert You May AlsoRead More

Although the Peppermint Trolley Company’s biggest claim to commercial fame rests in the fact they recorded the theme to the first season of “The Brady Bunch,” they actually cut a clutch of artistically rewarding material that in a just world would have attained wider airplay. Residents of Redlands, California, theRead More

Drummer and composer Tyshawn Sorey is said to one of up-and-comers whose due for an arrival. Gaining notice as a member of Steve Coleman’s Five Elements, Steve Lehman’s combo as well as Pete Robbins’ sILENT Z, Sorey’s also studied under Anthony Braxton and is currently studying under George Lewis. ButRead More

The Cure, appearing at this year’s Bestival, offered a fibrous retrospective — tearing its textured later gothy efforts down to a nervy, straight-forward post-punk vibe that recalled the group’s breakthrough triumphs. You May Also Like: How I Belatedly Learned to Love the Cure’s ‘Wish’ The Cure, May 26, 2016: ShowsRead More

Ellis Marsalis’ ‘New Orleans Christmas Carol’ is a showcase for the underexposed patriarch of the city’s first family of jazz, and a record of sumptuous charm.

There’s something at once familiar, and entirely brand new, about Turkish drummer Ferit Odman’s just-released Autumn In New York. Taking his cue from jazz drumming and bandleading legend Art Blakey, Odman investigates a series of tunes associated with the Blakey band, and even includes former members of the Jazz MessengersRead More

Could Christmas get any cooler than a collaboration between Lemmy and Billy Gibbons on a Chuck Berry tune? You May Also Like: How Dave Grohl Surprised Everybody With That Paul McCartney Collaboration

Here’s a run down — with a few of our thoughts — on some notable music projects, both new and reissue, slated for release for the week of Dec. 6, 2011. You May Also Like: No related posts.