Articles by: Nick DeRiso

Vinyl

Dave Shank Quintet – Soundproof (2011)

There is often a West Coast cool this recording, thanks largely to the smoothly energetic phrasings of vibraphonist Dave Shank. That’s not to say, however, that Soundproof doesn’t have its moments of fiery interplay You May Also Like: Dave Stryker – Eight Track II (2016)

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Duke Robillard – Low Down and Tore Up (2011)

Blues records used to routinely sound like this: Loose and fun, almost anarchic in their pursuit of nothing more than good-time joy and real-time emotion. You May Also Like: How Pee Wee Ellis Finally Stepped Into the Spotlight With ‘Blues Mission’

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One Track Mind: Alyssa Graham, "High Time" (2011)

Alyssa Graham’s “High Time,” this melancholy remake, transforms a familiar Grateful Dead song from 1970 into a scorching tale of hope replaced by regret. You May Also Like: ‘Burning Questions’ Found Graham Parker Still Angry, If No Longer Young

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Half Notes: Tim Vaughn – Read Between the Lines (2011)

Asked to describe this new album, Canadian guitarist Tim Vaughn said: “It’s like Prince, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and Radiohead all met Los Lobos at a bar in “From Dusk Til’ Dawn,” and Jack White was playing there with Elvis Costello.” Thing is, as knee-slappingly over-the-top asRead More

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Heart – Greatest Hits (1998; 2011 Audio Fidelity Remaster)

The distractions when it comes to Heart (gender politics, obvious curtsies to Led Zeppelin, wall-to-wall 1980s power-ballads, etc.) are swept away You May Also Like: Elton John – Greatest Hits 1976-1986 (1992): On Second Thought

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Willie "Big Eyes" Smith (1936-2011): An Appreciation

Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, a former sideman with Muddy Waters who became a Grammy-winning performer in his own right, has died. You May Also Like: How Muddy Waters Came Roaring Back With ‘Hard Again’

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Something Else! sneak peek: Paul McCartney – Ocean's Kingdom (2011)

Listen in as Paul McCartney makes his initial foray into the world of dance with the forthcoming release Ocean’s Kingdom, commissioned for the New York City Ballet and performed by the London Classical Orchestra. You May Also Like: Paul McCartney Found Collaborative, First-Take Genius Again With ‘Electric Arguments’ Paul McCartney’sRead More

Vinyl

Sammy Figueroa and his Latin Jazz Explosion – Urban Nature (2011)

Rock fans know him for his work with David Bowie and the Average White Band, jazz fans from moments alongside Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins (they’re on tour now), soul and pop fans from turns with Chaka Khan and Mariah Carey. You May Also Like: ‘All That’s Jazz,’ by SammyRead More

Vinyl

Half Notes: The Reese Project – Evening in Vermont (2011)

A straight-ahead jazz quartet with instrumentation as atypical as their sensibilities, the Reese Project’s Evening in Vermont is perhaps best summed up in the track “All Wood,” a nifty combination of Miles Davis’ “All Blues” and the Beatles “Norwegian Wood.” That it’s performed on flute (Tom Reese), cello (Laurie HainesRead More

Vinyl

Thomas Dolby on ‘She Blinded Me With Science,’ ‘Hyperactive,’ others: Gimme Five

Even as Thomas Dolby got set to release A Map of the Floating City, his first album of new music in almost 20 years, his sound somehow remained both associated with the MTV era, and almost completely unbound by it. “If you’re right,” Dolby tells us, “it’s because everything isRead More