Dr. Lonnie Smith, with nothing left to prove, turns this live offering into a clinic on defying expectations.

Nobody is going to accuse Pink Floyd — whether collectively, or apart — of inundating the market with product. The group has only issued three projects in the last 30 years, while its members have been just as stingy with solo albums. You May Also Like: No related posts.

There’s not much Memphis blues traveler Darren Jay can’t do, as his varied, deeply absorbing Drink My Wine makes abundantly clear. You May Also Like: Darren Barrett – ‘The EVI Sessions: Mr. Steiner’ (2019) Boz Scaggs – Out Of The Blues (2018) Ross Hammond and Jay Nair – ‘Hope’ (2020)

If there’s a knock on Aimee Mann, and I’m not sure I buy this, it’s that the singer-songwriter’s albums haven’t always done enough musically to properly feature her mood-setting lyrical complexity. Charmer certainly answers the criticism head on. You May Also Like: The Only Thing That Disappointed Me About AimeeRead More

The title is so very appropriate, and not just because this set was recorded during a week-long stint at the Village Vanguard. Fred Hersch, after a near death experience in 2008, has never sounded more present — more, in short, alive. You May Also Like: Mark Wade Trio – ‘TrueRead More

It’s perhaps faint praise to call Pepper Adams one of the best of jazz music’s baritone saxophonists, so thinly populated is the confederacy of players on this most unwieldy of instruments. You May Also Like: Bryan Adams Finally Established His Own Identity With ‘Cuts Like a Knife’ How Bryan AdamsRead More

Still witty, if a little more weathered, Steve Forbert returns with a full-band album marked by this notable spaciousness. There’s a thrilling willingness to let things play out. You May Also Like: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Moby, Eddie Vedder + others – ‘Change Begins Within’ (2017)

Not so much a collaboration as a smashing together of ideas, and I mean clanging them about with wild abandon, Love This Giant is a party record for pop nerds — all weird observations, glinting horn stabs and off-kilter beats. You May Also Like: Ever Wonder How David Byrne FitRead More

Even as Steve Hillage paid tribute to the psychedelic rock band Gong in 2006 at the Melkweg in Amsterdam, he also took a lengthy look back at his own underrated solo work from the 1970s. You May Also Like: Gong – Rejoice! I’m Dead! (2016) Gong Expresso – Decadence (2018)Read More

As Third International’s new double-sided single “Chemical Eyes/ Good Friday at Little Rock” spins, one thing becomes utterly clear: There’s no round hole to put this square peg. You May Also Like: My Chemical Romance Transcended Modern Rock With ‘Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge’ Monkey House, “Book of Liars” fromRead More