by Pico We’re getting to the end of the year and it feels as though there’s still too many 2008 CD’s to sift through and evaluate. I’m not ready for 2009 yet! Before launching into the ol’ year-end “best of 2008” lists, let’s quickly run through a couple of freshRead More

by S. Victor Aaron I always thought that the best covers are ones that takes a mediocre original and turns it into a genuinely good song. Such was the case when Atlanta roots rockers The Georgia Satellites took Ringo Starr’s hokey “Don’t Pass Me By” and gave it a swift,Read More

by Pico The topic of this review is yet another ESP-Disk release, and I’ve often wondered if ESP is an acronym for “not for the faint of heart” in Esperanto. I’m a lot more certain of this, though: Barnacled is a perfect fit for the label, which seems to relishRead More

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.