The genius of Rob Mazurek doesn’t necessarily lie in all the musical ideas he has; it’s the modular approach he takes to those ideas. You May Also Like: Rob Mazurek’s Black Cube Marriage – Astral Cube (2017) Rob Mazurek – Chants And Corners (2017)
The real charm of 11 Tracks of Whack is not how much it sounds like classic Steely Dan, but how much it distances itself from it. You May Also Like: Walter Becker, “Cringemaker [Swamp Version]” (circa 1994) Walter Becker, “Medical Science [Demo]” (1994): Steely Dan Sunday Steely Dan, “Hey Nineteen”Read More
Amazon.com Widgets Charles Lloyd, the jazz legend hidden in plain sight, is as productive and vibrant coming up on his 75th birthday as he’s ever been. You May Also Like: Richard Lloyd Giddens Jr. – Mimosas (2017) David Garfield, “Sir Charles” from ‘Stretchin’ Outside the Box’ (2020): One Track MindRead More
Next week, the progressively minded jazz clarinetist Ben Goldberg will treat us to not one but two new albums, each by nearly entirely different supporting musicians. You May Also Like: Dan Blacksberg – Radiant Others (2017) Ben Goldberg School – Vol 1: The Humanities (2017)
Making up tunes on stage isn’t for the feint of heart, but the best musicians like Keith Jarrett can handle it. You May Also Like: Dizzy Gillespie and Friends – Concert of the Century: A Tribute to Charlie Parker (2016) Kali Z. Fasteau, featuring Kidd Jordan – Intuit (2016)
The red headed trumpeter from Chicago, Brad Goode, is a fine technician who mastered the bop language thanks to stints with such heavy hitters as Red Rodney, Dizzy Gillespie, Eddie Harris, Ira Sullivan, Frank Morgan, Curtis Fuller, Jack DeJohnette, and Rosemary Clooney. You May Also Like: Brad Cheeseman – TheRead More
Robben Ford’s most focused, unembellished album in like, forever, may have also been the easiest album the virtuosic blues/jazz/rock/you-name-it guitarist has made in a long spell, too. You May Also Like: How Robben Ford’s ‘The Inside Story’ Introduced the Yellowjackets to the World
Milwaukee area favorite son Ethan Keller has made records first as the frontman for the funk-rock band Greenscene and later as a solo artist. We’ve traced that solo career here going back to 2006’s Face Light and on through 2010’s Profit. You May Also Like: Ethan Keller – Dead ManRead More
Paul Motian’s death in late 2011 was a big loss, to be certain, but the still-vibrant 70-year-old Barry Altschul has for four decades demonstrated mastery over the finer points of jazz drumming, using its full range not just as a time keeping device but as a richly tonal instrument. YouRead More
Throw together a funky, faux-reggae pulse, some dancehall horns, a delectably angular Becker guitar solo and his light-hearted humor about a relationship based on desperation, and you have a “Hard Up Case.” You May Also Like: Walter Becker, “Hard Up Case (Live at Slim’s 1995)” (2024): Steely Dan Sunday
