by Tom Johnson It may not quite seem like it’s possible, but it’s been 7 years since Real Gone, the last album of original new music from Waits. You May Also Like: How Tom Waits Got Focused But Stayed Blessedly Weird on ‘Bad As Me’ Of All the Tom WaitsRead More

Let’s hand the reins over to Henry McCullough, singer-songwriter and ex-sideman with Paul McCartney and Wings, Joe Cocker and Spooky Tooth, among others.

Spencer Bohren, a Wyoming native now based in New Orleans, has travelled all over, yet still possesses a strong sense of place. He mounted an almost never-ending tour throughout the 1980s, but did so in an Airstream trailer with his wife and kids. You May Also Like: Spencer Davis GroupRead More

Improperly named, the Average White Band was anything but. First off, one of the rhythm guys, at least by this point, wasn’t white. Second, and this is far more important, they funked it up with a vigor and style that would never be confused with average. You May Also Like:Read More

by Mark Saleski It was at a small Japanese restaurant north of Boston (or south of Concord, New Hampshire, depending on your level of Hub-centricness). Sushi. Never had it before. You read about things like this for years. Suddenly, it’s your turn. You May Also Like: John Scofield – ‘SwallowRead More

Finally. After more than four years of noting on this space his key contributions to other people’s records, including list-topping performances led by David Torn, Chris Potter and Michael Formanek, we get to talk about a record actually led by one of the very top keyboardists working in downtown NewRead More

by Tom Johnson Some music feels overwhelming. When Battles hit their stride with Mirrored, the first feeling was that, as tight as they were, they felt like the wheels were just moments from being flung off. Or they were strapping you into a tilt-a-whirl that would quickly go out ofRead More

Why wasn’t Roland Hanna, a first-rate piano improviser and brilliant accompanist, more famous? Newly unearthed sessions for the IPO Recordings release Colors From a Giant’s Kit, again first-rate, again brilliant, don’t do anything to solve the riddle. You May Also Like: No related posts.

Productive and consistently good are two attributes that don’t usually go together in the record making business, but it’s been John Hiatt’s hallmark for a while, now. You May Also Like: No related posts.

The best pop songs are about more than their surface allures — the hook, the voice, maybe the lyric. The best pop songs are bound up both in simplicity and mystery, bringing you over a ridge to these stunning emotional vistas, even as you are still trying to get theRead More