I am ashamed to admit that I’d never owned a copy of The Ventures’ Christmas Album, until a few years ago when I wandered into Bull Moose Music in Portland, Maine You May Also Like: Metallica’s Remix of “Some Kind of Monster” Finally Fixed What’s Wrong With ‘St. Anger’ TheRead More

As I write this, the power fails at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park just prior to kickoff of the Niners/Steelers Monday night football game. But as I am also listening to Frisco-based trumpeter Darren Johnston, I’m hearing lights-out music. You May Also Like: Darren Barrett – ‘The EVI Sessions: Mr. Steiner’Read More

Here’s a look back in tribute to some of the notable figures in music who died in 2011, broken down by the month in which they passed. You May Also Like: Jackson Browne’s ‘Hold Out’ Was Both Successful, and a Notable Stumble Natalie and Zachary Wilksch, “Can’t Get Your FaceRead More

There are records that are frankly too loud to be jazz, and swing too much to be rock. This is the slot for those things — a place where you’ll find everyone from Tony Levin and Derek Sherinian from Black Country Communion to Nels Cline and Bill Frisell. Click throughRead More

Produced by Dan Pavelich, ‘Hi-Fi Christmas Party, Vol. 3’ features a batch of the coolest holiday tunes you could hope for.

This, the majestic closing track of Born To Run, is the song that some people think should be retired. I’ll get to that bit of insanity in a little bit. You May Also Like: Reevaluating Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle’

There’s a problem with any list that attempts to rank players as if one is ‘better’ than another.

This plays like Vince Guaraldi for a new generation, as Harry Connick Jr. performs an all-original, Christmas-themed set that recalls the spirit of the season without falling into the cliches that often follow better known Yuletide classics. You May Also Like: The Jerry Granelli Trio – ‘Plays Vince Guaraldi &Read More

For the uninitiated here, “whack jazz” is a term of endearment. It’s jazz that is endearing to me because it’s brave, daring and breaks all the rules about what jazz is supposed to be You May Also Like: David S. Ware & Matthew Shipp Duo – Live In Sant’Anna Arresi,Read More

Frank Sinatra would have been 97 last Monday. His mystery still lingers with me, as does the memory of a concert — one of Sinatra’s last — when he recaptured all of that complexity. You May Also Like: Frank Sinatra’s ‘Lite-Up Time’ Shows Were the Last of Their Kind