by S. Victor Aaron When I lived in a college dormitory, a guy down the hall from me turned me on to this ECM record Silent Feet by Eberhard Weber. The two long tracks and the one even longer track were entrancing to me, like going on this audial odyssey.Read More

The Doobie Brothers return with the same rich blend of acoustic and electric guitars, the strutting rhythm and those sumptuous backing vocals.

by Pico This past July the Axis Trio released Anthem, and it’s one of those defining records for this young and fledgling jazz threesome. The Axis Trio is comprised of pianist Amino Belyamani, bassist Sam Miniae and drummer and percussionist Qasim Naqvi. Belyamani is from Morocco, while Miniae is Iranian-AmericanRead More

by Pico Danilo Pérez is a name that’s come up often in this space whenever I’m boasting about what big names such-and-such artist has performed and/or recorded with. So, on the occasion of Pérez’s latest CD Providencia, perhaps it’s time to devote a little space to the guy who hasRead More

photo: Don Getsug by S. Victor Aaron Unless they have already been a key player in an established band, debut album of jazz solo artists tend to be uninspired affairs. Not yet finding their own identity, these neophytes often fall back on mimicking their major influences, making very competent butRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Cornet player Rob Mazurek has got to be one of the busiest guys on the robust Chicago fringe jazz scene. We loved Sound Is when it came out last year, which introduced his new quintet, but Mazurek has by then helmed or co-helmed so many otherRead More

“Different and original,” “Blur(s) stylistic boundaries,” “developed a new music all her own” are phrases that have been used to describe the music of San Francisco Bay area trumpeter and singer Sarah Wilson. Those are just the phrases that popped in my mind as soon as I popped Trapeze ProjectRead More

by Pico Within the realm of improvised music saxophone players, Anthony Braxton has few peers, but David S. Ware has to be considered a lifetime member of that exclusive club. A free jazz saxophonist who is also a technician of the highest order, Ware has that rare ability to blurRead More

by Nick DeRiso I always chuckle when I pull out this Columbia-Legacy compilation, a CD of pre-war tracks that boasts one of those blocky black PARENTAL ADVISORY stickers for explicit lyrics. It’s an album of steadfastly dirty blues songs — though innuendo replaces the jarring language of today’s brazen newRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Cello virtuoso Erik Friedlander must have found a second wind at 50 years old because yesterday he released his second album of all new material as many months. The album, incidentally, is called Fifty: 50 Miniatures For Improvising Quintet and in Friedlander’s typically atypical fashion, itRead More