photo by Pavel Korbut by S. Victor Aaron The Cuban influence on jazz has been resilient from the late forties on. From Desi Arnez and Mongo Santamaria to Paquito D’Rivera and Arturo Sandoval, the heritage remains as strong as ever, as evidenced by the left-field success of Ry Cooder’s BuenaRead More
by Pico Brad Leali (alto saxophone) and Claus Raible (piano) formed this quartet about three years ago and while they’re not all that well known, they certainly know their jazz roots well. These guys understand that jazz has always been a blues-based music form, but modern twists have all butRead More
‘Mantis’ will be the first Umphrey’s McGee album of all-new material, never before performed live.
by Pico Now with Thanksgiving and and that bloody shopping ritual called Black Friday behind us, the Christian season of Advent has begun. For the Catholic faith at least, it starts this Sunday, and lasts until Christmas Eve. This observation of the impending birth of Christ (and his second coming)Read More
It’s Thanksgiving, y’all, and while I don’t have a Thanskgiving-themed record or song with which to celebrate this national holiday, we can always be thankful of fresh new tunes by talented musicians. In the case of this chapter of “Quickies,” it’s all talented jazz musicians. For those not so inclined,Read More
Paul Bley’s sixty year career has been primarily one where he’s worked with some of the biggest names in the vanguard of jazz in the quest for experimentation and many times he’s marched to the beat of his own drummer. For a good part of that career, it was alsoRead More
“Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight,” from Paul McCartney’s collaborations as the Fireman, screams – literally – for attention.
by S. Victor Aaron Trumpeter and arranger Steven Bernstein might be the hardest working man in music these days. Just these last few years he has garnered a Grammy nomination (for Sexotica by his band Sex Mob) and a Annie nomination for scoring a children’s TV series; released an albumRead More
photo: Cryptogramophone by Pico The hermitic but acclaimed multi-reedist Bennie Maupin is suddenly prolific. As a sideman for Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock during fusion’s formative years, Maupin’s versatility and sensitivity across a wide variety of wind instruments garnered him work on important documents of the genre live Bitches BrewRead More
Scott LaFaro, Bill Evans and Paul Motian (photo: Steve Schapiro)What can be said about Bill Evans’ classic Sunday At The Village Vanguard that hadn’t already been said so many times over? If you’re new to jazz, here’s what you need to know: it is the beginning and the end ofRead More
