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 Nick DeRiso It you’re interested in Delta piano stylings, as seen through the sieve of Chicago’s mean streets, here’s a great place to begin your journey. Issued by Stan Lewis’s hip-shaking local indie label, “Chicago Piano, 1951-58” features Sunnyland Slim, Little Brother Montgomery, Memphis Slim and others. You MayRead 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.

by Nick DeRiso Perhaps the only album from after the so-called Classic Period (“Dark Side”-to-“Animals,” some would also include “The Wall”) that must be checked out by any prospective Pink Floyd fan — if only because it helps encapsulate the Rest of the Story, outside of Roger Waters’ monolithic influence.Read More

One well-placed guitar note might be all Robert Cray hits, while others would play three or four.

by Nick DeRiso It’s been more than 50 years since Stan Lewis opened Stan’s Record Shop in downtown Shreveport. From his vantage point at the the top of Texas Avenue (I used to sneak down there after class), he would go on to create a once-lucrative business, then see theRead More

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