Ray Brown is one of those underrated guys who kept on producing important work well past his so-called prime, because he remained such an in-the-pocket guy. You can’t go wrong with the old Jazz at the Philharmonic stuff, of course. But I also typically recommend his late-period work on Telarc,Read More

They haven’t taken more than a week off since Nixon’s first term. They’ve withstood disco, fathering a rafter-shaking, swing-blues style that saw its own too-fey-by-half revival. (Did you ever notice that all those bands a few years back had names with the word Daddy in them?) So it is thatRead More

Branford Marsalis’ sibling producer Delfeayo said ‘Bloomington’ was the “most important concert recorded in our generation.” Thing is, he could be right.

by Nick DeRiso Almost certainly written by Paul McCartney in an attempt to mirror some of the heavier, more intellectually raw pieces that John Lennon had begun to craft. Lennon was not outwardly impressed — famously sniffing that it was “the best song Paul ever wrote” — but there areRead More

The late Louisiana blues legend Gatemouth Brown could be a grouchy man. How grouchy? Let’s find out.

by Nick DeRiso They were the Chanteuse, the Wild Hair (in more ways than one) and the Songstress. And now Fleetwood Mac has had a hit album in every decade since the 1970s. You May Also Like: Lindsey Buckingham wants Fleetwood Mac to be like the Eagles: ‘They always seemRead More

by Nick DeRiso Spring time. That means sudden storms, stingingly bright flowers — and birds. Or, for me, Bird. Here are a few recommended Charlie Parker sides to while away the sunshine and showers … “The Legendary Dial Masters, Vols. 1 & 2,” from 1996 on Jazz Classics For beginningRead More

A look back at a handful of Miles Davis recordings that you might not have already grown dead-dog sick and tired of.

By Nick DeRiso It you’re interested in Delta piano stylings, as seen through the sieve of Chicago’s mean streets, here’s a great place to begin your journey. Issued by Stan Lewis’s hip-shaking local indie label, “Chicago Piano, 1951-58” features Sunnyland Slim, Little Brother Montgomery, Memphis Slim and others. You MayRead More

by Nick DeRiso Perhaps the only album from after the so-called Classic Period (“Dark Side”-to-“Animals,” some would also include “The Wall”) that must be checked out by any prospective Pink Floyd fan — if only because it helps encapsulate the Rest of the Story, outside of Roger Waters’ monolithic influence.Read More