Something Else!

Vinyl

Books: Keith Bradsher – High And Mighty (2003)

by Mark Saleski A friend of mine (a car aficionado, racer and mechanic) loaned me this. If you’ve ever been interested in how SUVs came into existence…and how they became so popular, then this might be of interest. The safety issues are well known (rollover risk, damage to other vehicles,Read More

Vinyl

One Track Mind: Les Dudek "Old Judge Jones" (1977)

by S. Victor Aaron Les Dudek is one of those guitarists you may have never heard of but you’ve certainly heard him. He was the harmony guitar part on The Allman Brothers’ first major hit “Ramblin’ Man.” He added slide and dobro to Steve Miller’s dual classics Fly Like AnRead More

Vinyl

Quickies: Bennie Maupin, Porcupine Tree, Dewey Redman

by Pico This version of Quickies focuses on new rock and old jazz. One thing they have in common: it’s all good. >Bennie Maupin The Jewel In The Lotus Multi-reedist Bennie Maupin first made his mark contributing that bad-assed bass clarinet to Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew and then joined HerbieRead More

Vinyl

Stanley Clarke – ‘The Toys of Men’ (2007)

After a quarter of a century away as he delved into lightweight urban contemporary, soundtracks and side gigs, I’m becoming a Stanley Clarke fan again.

Vinyl

One Track Mind: Steely Dan "Babylon Sisters" (1980)

by S. Victor Aaron As a nation is transfixed on the destructive fires going on in Southern California, the fate of millions living there seem to rest on something Man has no control over: those Santa Ana winds. Hot, dry gales that blow in from the desert to the eastRead More

Vinyl

Howard Wiley – The Angola Project (2007)

by S. Victor Aaron At the base level, music’s purpose is to entertain. Some musicians go beyond mere entertainment and use their music to promote a point of view, provoke thought and kindle certain kinds of emotions. Hand in hand with those higher goals are the use of music asRead More

Vinyl

One Track Mind: Stevie Wonder "That Girl" (1982)

by Pico Songs that I’ve known for a quarter of a century don’t tend to stay in my brain’s record rotation continuously for that long, but this song popped up out of nowhere in my consciousness once again. Maybe it’s a sign that it’s time to write about it. “ThatRead More

Vinyl

The Stryker-Slagle Band – Latest Outlook (2007)

by Pico David Stryker, like my main man John Scofield, is the kind of jazz guitarist who never seems satisfied with sticking in one style of music for too long. Earlier this week we presented a pretty damned impressive fusion side of his with 1998’s Shades Of Miles. Last year,Read More

Vinyl

Quickies: Stephen Stills, Keith Jarrett, Ethan Keller

This installment of “Quickies” actually boasts some more diversity than the last one. As in some (gasp) singer-songwriter records! Sandwiched in between is a jazz icon, who like the first entry, recorded some folk-rock back in 1968. Thankfully, he eventually chose the right genre. The last guy is in aRead More

Vinyl

Manu Katché – Playground (2007)

by S. Victor Aaron The French drummer Manu Katché has carved out a real nice career touring and recording behind names like Peter Gabriel, Sting, Joni Mitchell, Dire Straits, Michael McDonald and Joan Armatrading. So what kind of record would you expect from an A-list pop percussionist? If you saidRead More