Walter Becker once called himself as a “B+” guitarist. He’s certainly underrated there but as a bassist, I’d rate him even higher. Nonetheless, Becker had a history of making way for another bassist to play on a Steely Dan tune if he thought if that person was the better manRead More

Listening to Allison Miller’s superb CD from last year Boom Tic Boom, I appreciated how it covered a lot of ground within advanced modern jazz, helped along by such sympathetic supporting players in this piano jazz trio. But that album still left me wondering where this ace drummer, composer andRead More

Last year, the outlaw chamber music cooperative Anti-Social Music did something that was out of the ordinary for a democratic cooperative and presented songs only by of its thirteen members, Pat Muchmore. But there has never been anything ordinary about ASM to begin with. In one sense, you can callRead More

A rock song about Buddhism that you can dance the Charleston to, boasting not one but two bad-ass guitar leads? That’s a party tune, Steely Dan style.

Usually when we’re on the topic of a record led by a drummer, the story will be about a bandleader and sometimes, the primary composer, who also happens to be the drummer. You May Also Like: Claudio Scolari, Daniele Cavalca, Simone Scolari – Natural Impulse (2018) Dan Cavalca – ‘LightsRead More

When I listened to the all-time-great bassist Rufus Reid’s brand new CD Hues Of A Different Blue for the first couple of times, it kind of threw me for a loop. Last year’s release Out Front, an SER “Best of 2010: Mainstream and Modern Jazz” selection, was the perfect bass-ledRead More

Vibraphonist Gary Burton’s entire career as a musician has been about thinking outside the box and exploring new frontiers in jazz music. You May Also Like: No related posts.

Listening to this record before I even read Melvin Jones’ liner notes, I already knew what he meant by the title of this debut album by him. It’s an album that has many shades of jazz on display, and the constant is the pure, malleable trumpet voice of Jones. SoRead More

I don’t know if it’s a trend of not, but lately I’ve noticed a lot more unconventional trios in jazz. By “unconventional” I mean without the bass player, and the usual premise I’ve heard for doing this is to allow more freedom. Trying out uncommon configurations is an interesting andRead More

Even in Steely Dan’s misfires, there was a high level of sophistication and craftsmanship. But I still don’t care much for this song.