Chris Belleau is not just knee deep in the blues. He’s at least that far in on traditional Cajun, and up to his ankles in country. He’s even got a toe in classic mid-1960s rock. You May Also Like: Chris Robinson Brotherhood – Barefoot In The Head (2017)

I tried — I really did — to shake Herb Alpert. His silky smooth trumpet musings had been my introduction to something like jazz, though, and I’ve always associated his music with a time of unvarnished musical enthusiasm. You May Also Like: Paul McCartney – ‘Tug of War’ (1982; 2015Read More

Past associations with Cannonball Adderley and the Headhunters seemed to point toward a new melding of R&B and jazz here. Instead, Michael Wolff and Mike Clark have created a nimble, adventurous trio recording You May Also Like: Cannonball Adderley – ‘Poppin’ in Paris: Live at L’Olympia 1972′ (2024) Rob DixonRead More

Underneath Bobby Rush’s good-timing, groove-slinging persona is a canny musician, someone who traverses musical styles with such a broad, contagious smile that he makes it all look deceptively easy. You May Also Like: ‘Presto’ Proved That Everything I Thought About Rush, and Fate, Was Wrong Rush – ‘2112: 40th AnniversaryRead More

Bill Frisell’s appearance last Saturday with Marianne Faithfull at Paris’ New Morning club was another reminder of the jazz guitarist’s often underrated affinity for pop and rock music. You May Also Like: Bill Frisell’s Timeless ‘Live’ Opened Up a New Musical World for Me Bill Frisell – Music IS (2018)Read More

Jimi Hendrix’s legacy has been so brazenly, endlessly plundered, it’s fair to approach any so-called “new” material from the late guitarist with a deep distrust. Circumspection this time soon transforms into pure joy. You May Also Like: Jimi Hendrix – ‘Songs For Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts’ (2019) BurntRead More

“The Key of Love,” a bonus track on Michael Des Barres’ new Carnaby Street: Encore Edition, is the kind of blessedly ragged, totally real song you’re hoping Rod Stewart comes up with for his forthcoming pop album You May Also Like: Joni Mitchell’s ‘Dry Cleaner From Des Moines,’ ‘Crazy CriesRead More

JL Stiles comes out of a blues-playing tradition, but he moves far afield of anything so straight-forward on House of Murmurs, a layered, connective album that can’t be anchored to any one specific genre. You May Also Like: Pink Floyd, “Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast” from Atom Heart Mother (1970): One TrackRead More

Drummer Mike Clark, perhaps best known for his work with and without Herbie Hancock as a member of the Headhunters, is part of a new band now — the dazzlingly improvisational Wolff and Clark Expedition, with longtime friend Michael Wolff. You May Also Like: Herbie Hancock’s ‘Fat Albert Rotunda’ HintedRead More

A song about hard-won acceptance, Stone Blind Valentine’s “Think What You Will” begins with a raw acoustic riff from Colby Maddox before Emily Hurd enters — all steely resolve, but barely obscuring a sweeping moment of heartbreak. You May Also Like: The Blind Boys of Alabama’s Down in New OrleansRead More