by S. Victor Aaron John McNeil is a trumpet player, a veteran of the illustrious Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and has led recording dates since 1978. Bill McHenry is a sax player, has played with Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, Henry Grimes and Norah Jones, and has led recording dates sinceRead More

by Mark Saleski Time to return to one of my favorite topics: Why do I like that? Have you ever engaged in this kind of self-debate? There are all sorts of ways to play. There’s the Top-40 angle: “Come On Eileen…Bawitdaba!? Hmmm…I better not tell anybody,” the Angle of PureRead More

Grateful Dead co-founder Bill Kreutzmann, great groovy Meters bassman George Porter Jr. and hoodoo guitarist Papa Mali have joined together.

Cassandra Wilson, who consistently defies convention as this restless chanteuse, doesn’t disappoint with Silver Pony — issued today on Blue Note as the long-awaited part-in studio, part-live followup to her celebrated Loverly. She has the vocal phrasing, the dusky intellect, of Charlie Parker and the elastic intuition of Betty Carter.Read More

Paul McCartney’s “Band on the Run” still represents the creative highpoint of his career away from the Beatles, nearly four decades later. So, to paraphrase a tune here, what’s the use in repackaging the thing again? Well, a brilliant remaster of the original tapes, which have always been a littleRead More

by S. Victor Aaron What a stellar year it’s been for Posi-Tone Records. They’ve generated record after record of honest-to-goodness mainstream jazz done with taste, style, with exceptional sidemen and flawless production. After reviewing zero releases prior to 2010, we’ve now given our impressions on a dozen releases, eleven ofRead More

Fusion guitarist and Berklee grad Todd Clouser splits his residency between the frigid climes of Minneapolis, MN and the balmy, seaside vistas of Los Cabos, Mexico at the tip of the Baja California peninsula. Like scenery, Clouser enjoys contrasts in his music, too. After fronting a number of rock bands,Read More

by Mark Saleski The Vanishing Voter Project conducted over 80,000 interviews during the year 2000 United States presidential campaign. The goal was to study the reasons behind the the fact that the United States has one of the lowest voter turnout rates among industial nations. The resultant book, Thomas E.Read More

by Mark Saleski It’s the last great Rolling Stones album!! Sticky Fingers! Tattoo You! Exile On Main St.! Beggar’s Banquet! Goat’s Head Soup! Get Yer Ya-Yas’s Out! Uh, that one that Brian Jones was sort of on but not too much! Sure, it’s a silly argument. It’s also fun. SometimesRead More

by Mark Saleski The complete list of collaborators attached to pianist/composer/modern day Renaissance man Ryuichi Sakamoto could easily fill the space reserved for a full-length review. The short list includes Brian Wilson, Thomas Dolby, Iggy Pop, David Sylvain, Robbie Robertson, and Daniel Bernard Roumain. His film score resume, while somewhatRead More