by S. Victor Aaron Soul-jazz was never a major genre, even in its seventies heyday, but the boys from Houston who called themselves The Crusaders were doing it better than just about anyone else then…and now. You May Also Like: Groove Legacy – Groove Legacy (2016) Joe Sample + NDRRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Piano records are tough to pick, because there’s always the temptation to include records by Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea and Bill Evans: 1) The Michael Wolff Trio; Jumpstart (1995)Before this guy was twenty, he was already good enough to be playing in Julian “Cannonball” Adderley’s band.Read More

by S. Victor Aaron After pulling off what could pass as one of the most improbable comebacks in rock history, Steely Dan re-emerges a mere three years later with another serious effort, Everything Must Go. SD modified its approach to this album somewhat to set it apart from the prior,Read More

Get your hands on Maceo Parker’s ‘Roots Revisited.’ It’s good, organic funky soul covering classic tunes by giants like Ray Charles, Charles Mingus and Sly Stone.

Much as Neil Young was the elder godfather to the grunge bands of a decade ago, guitarist John Scofield now enjoys a similar stature among the numerous funk-jazz jam bands that have sprouted up in the wake of the emergence of Medeski, Martin and Wood in the mid-nineties. Many ofRead More

by S. Victor Aaron PETER ERSKINE, Sweet Soul (1991) I’ve got scads of records led by John Abercrombie that show Erskine’s prowess on the skins better than this record. But here, Erskine does such a great job leading an ensemble that shifts from track to track. On some, we areRead More