Joe Bonamassa – Different Shades of Blue (2014)
Joe Bonamassa’s new batch of songs points up the fact that the blues does come in so many different shades. And all of it is good.
Articles by: S. Victor Aaron
Thank You Scientist – Maps of Non-Existent Places (2012; 2014 reissue)
Thank You Scientist more than deserves a second audition; don’t miss out this time.
John Dieterich, Ben Goldberg, Scott Amendola – Short-Sighted Dream Colossus (2014)
They find plenty of common ground in this improvisational, experimental space.
An Appreciation: Joe Sample and the Crusaders, “It Happens Everyday” (1977)
Remembering a drop-dead gorgeous tone poem that was so emblematic.
Anna Webber, with John Hollenbeck and Matt Mitchell – Simple (2014)
Webber laid bare her compositions, leaving it in a few, capable hands and in doing so, made them flourish.
Wadada Leo Smith – The Great Lakes Suite (2014)
A summit meeting of progressive jazz titans, themed around the Great Lakes.
Medeski Scofield Martin Wood – Juice (2014)
A prominent acid-jazz trio and an elite guitarist discover each other all over again.
Mike Farris – Shine For All The People (2014)
Mike Farris is a mix of Al Green, Richard Manuel, Wilson Pickett – and more.
Something Else! sneak peek: Aram Bajakian + Julia Úlehla, “Ej, lásko, lásko” (2014)
Bajakian and Úlehla make “Ej, lásko, lásko” fresh and edgy, despite it’s long-ago, faraway origins.
Ben Tyree – BT3: Burn It! LIVE (2014)
Live in front of an audience is how this music demands to be played, if the musicians are good enough. Ben Tyree and BT3 are way more than ‘good enough.’
